Pankratius Pfeiffer

Pankratius Pfeiffer SDS (Italian: Pancrazio Pfeiffer; born Markus Pfeiffer; 18 October 1872 – 13 May 1945) was a German Catholic priest and superior general of the Salvatorian order for 30 years. During the Nazi occupation of Rome during the Second World War, he acted as an informal liaison between Pope Pius XII and the German leadership. In this capacity, he rescued hundreds of Jews and others in Rome from execution by the Nazis. He also persuaded the Nazis to spare several Italian cities from destruction during their retreat from Italy. As a result, Pfeiffer became known as "the Angel of Rome."