Sixtus O'Connor

Father Richard James (Sixtus) O'Connor OFM (born March 15, 1909 in Oxford, New York State , † July 10, 1983 in Loudonville , New York, USA) was an American priest and during the Nuremberg trial of the major war criminals Pastor of Catholic prison inmates.

Life

Richard J. O'Connor was one of the seven children of John O'Connor and his wife Elizabeth Ann Cooke. The mother was German-Swiss and taught her son the German language.

O'Connor attended St. Bonaventure College in Allegany , New York. On August 19, 1929 he joined the Franciscan order . In 1930 he took the temporary and in 1933 the perpetual vows . In the course of his religious life he was first called Sixtus O'Connor, from 1968 Richard J. O'Connor.

He received his bachelor's and master's degrees from St. Bonaventure University. He was ordained a priest on June 12, 1934. From 1934 he also studied philosophy at the universities of Munich and Bonn in Germany until the Second World War forced him to return to the USA. From 1939 to 1943 he was an associate professor of philosophy at Siena College in Loudonville , New York State. In 1943 he became a chaplain to the 11th Armored Division of the 3rd Army under General George S. Patton . Later in the war he served the 1st Infantry in the same function.

After the Second World War, O'Connor, together with the Evangelical Lutheran clergyman Henry F. Gerecke, was entrusted with pastoral care for the prisoners of the Nuremberg trial of major war criminals, as he spoke fluent German due to his years of study in Germany. Father O'Connor “mastered this difficult task in a clever and sensitive manner to everyone's satisfaction”.

In intensive conversations with several prisoners he brought about their conversion to the Catholic faith. The best known example was the governor general of Poland Hans Frank . On October 16, 1946, he accompanied 10 war criminals with pastoral care during the execution .

After this assignment, O'Connor returned to St. Bonaventure College, where he taught philosophy and German from 1947 to 1950. The following years he was Guardian and taught philosophy at St. Stephens Seminary in Croghan, New York. From 1953 he was a professor at Siena College . There he was chairman of the philosophy department in 1963/1964 and vice-president of the college from 1956 to 1964. He was vicar of the Franciscan monastery.

Richard J. O'Connor died on July 10, 1983 in New Siena Monastery and was buried in St. Agnes Cemetery, Menands, New York.

Memberships

• Catholic Philosophy Association
• Society of Medieval and Renaissance Philosophy
• ROTC ( Reserve Officer Training Corps ) Scholarship Committee

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1. ↑ For this and for the résumé: Obituary in Schenectady Gazette July 12, 1983
2. ↑ For this and for the curriculum vitae: Obituary for archived copy ( memento of the original from October 29, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
3. ↑ Prison Commandant Burten C. Andrus, quoted in: William J. Hourihan: U.S. Army Chaplain Ministry to German War Criminals at Nuremberg, 1945-1946 . online, p. 6 (PDF; 151 kB)
4. ^ Prison inmate Franz Xaver Schwarz , former Reich Treasurer of the NSDAP, quoted in John E. Dolibois: Pattern of Circles: An Ambassador's Story . P. 167.
5. ↑ O'Connor, Sixtus, Monthly Report, Nov 1,1946. Monthly Reports and Personnel Files, 1920-1950 RG 247, Records of the Office of the Chief of Chaplains 1902-1964, National Archieves at St. Louis.
6. ↑ St. Bonaventure facility list: http://web.sbu.edu/friedsam/archieves/Biographies/faculty/htm  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. .