Who is Fr. Flanagan, the newest American Venerable?
Who was Fr. Flanagan? What is he known for? And what happens next?
Pope Leo on Monday declared Fr. Edward Flanagan “Venerable,” advancing the Irish-born Omaha priest one step closer to canonization.
Who was Fr. Flanagan? What is he known for? And what happens next?
The Pillar explains.
Who was Fr. Flanagan?
Edward Flanagan was born in 1886 on a farm in Ireland, the eighth of 11 children. In 1904, he and his sister moved to the United States. He attempted seminary studies in America and then in Rome, but was forced to leave due to poor health. He eventually completed seminary and was ordained a priest in Austria in 1912.
Fr. Flanagan then returned to the U.S. He was incardinated in Omaha, where he had family members, including a brother who was also a priest. A series of natural disasters – including a tornado and drought – left many people in the area homeless and jobless in the years that followed. Flanagan worked to convert an old hotel, and later a boarding house, to offer shelter to them.
Over time, Flanagan became known for his work with youth. He was particularly concerned about at-risk boys. In 1917, he created an orphanage for boys. Within a year, he had 150 boys at the home. The project expanded, and in 1921, he founded the Boys Town on a farm just outside Omaha.
More than just an orphanage, Boys Town offered housing, schooling, spiritual formation, an opportunity to learn trades, and a junior government. Flanagan founded it on the motto that “There’s no such thing as a bad boy,” in contrast to the juvenile reformatories where delinquent boys were often sent.
Flanagan was later asked to help review models of care for orphans in other countries around the world. He died of a heart attack in 1948, while in Germany to assess child welfare conditions.
Is Boys Town still around?
Today, Boys Town is a national organization that offers a variety of services for children and families. These services include parenting classes, foster services, crisis response, and residential care for children and teens with behavioral and mental health challenges.
In addition, Boys Town National Research Hospital offers pediatric care and conducts research on an array of pediatric health issues.
Boys Town says it operates today in all 50 states and has served more than 3.5 million children and families since its founding.
What was the process for Fr. Flanagan to be declared “venerable?” And what happens next?
Flanagan’s canonization cause was opened in 2012, and he was given the title “Servant of God.”
Both the Archdiocese of Omaha and the Vatican have investigated the priest’s life.
The announcement from Pope Leo Monday confirms Flanagan’s life of “heroic virtue,” bestowing on him the title “Venerable.”
Catholics can now pray to Flanagan and ask for his intercession. To be declared “Blessed,” a miracle would need to be investigated and confirmed as being attributed to the priest’s intercession. A second miracle would be required for him to be canonized a saint.
We treat Venerable like “Ho hum,” still a long way from being a saint. But a finding of heroic virtue is a pretty major affirmation. People rush to canonize people like Cesar Chavez or Jean Vanier, then find out they were dastardly underneath. I am assured to learn that they’ve found no dirt to sully the legacy of Boystown and Father Flanagan.
Here to mention his connection to Mount St. Mary’s in Emmitsburg, where he studied before being admitted to seminary! He joins St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Servant of God Simon Bruté, and Bl. Stanley Rother as Americans canonized/with an open cause who have ties to the Mount.