O'Grady, Desmond Michael, 1929-2021

Desmond M. O'Grady was an Australian journalist, author, and playwright who resided and worked in Rome. He was born in Melbourne in 1929 to Edward and Winifred Kiernan O'Grady. In 1950, he began his studies with the Arts Faculty at the University of Melbourne, where he graduated in 1953. He taught English Literature and History at the secondary level in Victoria until he sailed for Europe in 1955. O'Grady took his diploma in Italian from the University for Foreigners in Perugia, Italy. Upon earning his diploma in Italian, he worked in Rome for the US Catholic Immigration Office interviewing refugees from Eastern Europe. In 1957, he married a Roman, Giuseppina Culotta, and with her returned to Melbourne where he worked for a time in the Australian Immigration Department. While in Australia, he became foreign editor and then literary editor of the renowned weekly magazine The Bulletin, but for family reasons returned to Rome in 1962. He became a journalist while in Rome, covering the Second Vatican Council and other Vatican affairs for the National Catholic Reporter, The Washington Post, Our Sunday Visitor, and the English Tablet. He also published fourteen books of fiction and non-fiction, including novels, collections of short stories, history and biography. O'Grady died in Rome on 26 November 2021.