Alois Karl Hudal | |
---|---|
Titular Bishop of Aela | |
![]() Photograph of Hudal from the title page of his book The Foundations of National Socialism (1937) | |
Church | Catholic Church |
Installed | 1933 |
Term ended | 1963 |
Predecessor | Charles-Marie-Félix de Gorostarzu |
Successor | Trịnh Văn Căn |
Other post(s) | Rector of Collegio Teutonico (1923-1952) |
Orders | |
Ordination | July 1908 |
Consecration | June 1933 by Eugenio Pacelli (later Pope Pius XII) |
Personal details | |
Born | |
Died | 13 May 1963 Grottaferrata, Rome, Lazio, Italy | (aged 77)
Alma mater | University of Graz Collegio Teutonico |
Motto | Ecclesiae et Nationi |
Signature | ![]() |
Alois Karl Hudal (also known as Luigi Hudal; 31 May 1885 – 13 May 1963) was an Austrian bishop of the Catholic Church and Nazi sympathizer, based in Rome. For thirty years, he was the head of the Austrian-German congregation of Santa Maria dell'Anima in Rome and, until 1937, an influential representative of the Catholic Church in Austria.
In his 1937 book, The Foundations of National Socialism, Hudal praised Adolf Hitler, and his policies and indirectly attacked Vatican policies. After World War II, Hudal helped establish the ratlines, which allowed prominent Nazi German and other European former Axis officers and political leaders, among them accused war criminals, to escape Allied trials and denazification.