Kitty Fitzgerald (1897-1945)

Kitty (Sr Aidan) Fitzgerald from Kilbritten, Bandon, set sail for Japan in 1920, and from there to Manchuria in 1936, where she lived in constant danger during the war years. She courageously placed herself in front of Russian soldiers who wanted to get to young Japanese girls in a house nearby. She surprised all with her bravery.

She was described by the army chaplain as “a fearless woman, outstandingly brave, who radiated the love of God. She worked among all refugees without distinction; she welcomed and helped Nazis thrown out of their homes with no place to go, Japanese women and children in search of asylum, as well as Chinese people fleeing from the communists. To her they were all unfortunate people in need of help…”

In 1945 she brought to her house three Japanese orphans who had contracted typhoid. Soon she too contracted the disease and died that same year.

The seeds of God’s love sown on Chinese soil have surely borne fruit in ways we may never know.

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