80 years after historic meeting with Pope, Irish Regiment returns to the Vatican

By Joseph Tulloch

80 years ago today, the 12thth June 1944, a group of soldiers from the 38th Battalion of the British Armyth The (Irish) Brigade met with Pope Pius XII.

These soldiers were the first Allied troops the Pontiff had met since the liberation of Rome from the Nazis eight days earlier.

Ireland was neutral during World War II and on 38th The brigade belonged to the British armed forces, but was made up of a mixture of Irish volunteers and Britons of Irish descent.

Today, eighty years after this historic meeting between Pope Pius XII and the 38th Brigade, a delegation from the unit (now known as the Irish Regiment) met Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square.

Vatican News spoke with Major General Colin Weir, head of the regiment, as well as British Ambassador Chris Trott, who helped organize his visit, about the Irish regiment's meetings with the popes.

1944: Meeting with Pope Pius XII

General Weir said the meeting with Pope Pius XII was “truly one of the legends of our regiment's history.”

The Audience, he added, is “one of those unique stories that doesn't involve a lot of courage, heroism, many casualties or the achievement of a difficult goal.” It was just one of those unique experiences that comes in times of turmoil.

Rome had been liberated on the 4th June. Around the 12ththOn the day of the meeting with the Pope – organized by Irish priests at the Vatican – the unit was already on the new front line north of the city.

As the brigade was in an active combat zone, only a small group was withdrawn from the front lines to meet the Pontiff.

General Weir said the brigade commander at the time had initially decided that only Catholics would be present at the meeting with the Pontiff, but after an “outcry” from Protestant members of the brigade, a mixed delegation had been sent.

80 years since D-Day

General Weir noted that the group he led from the Irish Regiment had recently visited Normandy for the 80th anniversary of the Landing.

The visit to Rome, he said, was an acknowledgment that while some Irish Regiment troops were preparing for D-Day eighty years ago, others were fighting their way to across North Africa, Sicily and southern Italy. aimed at the liberation of Rome and the entire Italian peninsula.

He stressed that “these two efforts – in southern Europe and in northwest Europe – were extremely important; they complemented each other and our regiment played a very important role in both. We wanted to recognize it.

General Weir described meeting with Pope Francis today as a “tremendous privilege,” noting that he is due to retire in less than a month and saying the meeting is “extremely high” on his list of Professional experiences.

The Pope “moved” by his meeting with soldiers

The major general's visit to the Vatican was facilitated by the British Ambassador to the Holy See, Chris Trott.

Ambassador Trott told Vatican News that the original plan was for the Irish regiment delegation to pose for a photo with the pope.

However, upon their arrival, he said, the pope asked the regiment's musicians to play for him.

“I was very moved,” said the ambassador, “because it was unexpected; it was the Pope's own initiative.

“I think it was in response to the fact that the general had given the Pope a banner with the regimental insignia on one side and the Pope's crest on the other, and I think he very much appreciated that. So it was a very good morning.