Father Flanagan’s relatives long for his canonization

Ed and Jack Flanagan live 3,800 miles apart and live distinct lives – Jack as a father, grandfather and semi-retired financial professional in Honolulu, and Ed as a bachelor and owner of a cleaning business in Omaha.

They share common ancestors, but one in particular recently brought them together: Venerable Father Edward J. Flanagan, the founder of Boys Town.

The two were among Father Flanagan’s relatives and other worshipers at a Sept. 13 Mass of Thanksgiving at Boys Town, celebrating Father Flanagan’s advancement in the Catholic Church’s canonization process.

Father Flanagan’s new title, Venerable, was bestowed upon him on March 23 by Pope Leo XIV, recognizing Father Flanagan’s heroic virtues. The next steps to be declared a saint are beatification, followed by canonization. Each step would require a Church-sanctioned miracle.

Both Ed and Jack hope to see those milestones reached during their lifetime. Both have helped organize prayer groups in their communities that would aid in that effort as they pray for people in deep need of miracles, through their great-uncle’s intercession.

Being Father Flanagan’s relative is an honor, they said in an interview ahead of the Sept. 13 Mass, which was celebrated by Archbishop Michael G. McGovern and concelebrated by Archbishops Emeritus George J. Lucas and Elden Francis Curtiss and a number of archdiocesan priests.

About 600 people filled Dowd Memorial Chapel of the Immaculate Conception for the historic Mass, including an entourage from the Flanagan family.

“Of course, it’s an honor,” to be related to Father Flanagan, Jack said. “We’re all humble and grateful.”

“Look at what he’s done,” Ed said about his great-uncle, “all the good that he did. He went all over the world spreading his mission.”

Ed Flanagan, left, and Jack Flanagan stand near a statue of Father Flanagan at Boys Town. SUSAN SZALEWSKI

Father Flanagan, who lived from 1886 to 1948, pioneered care for troubled youths. He recognized their inherent dignity, no matter their race or creed, and created a home for them. The Boys Town model has since been copied around the world.

The Archdiocese of Omaha priest famously said: “There are no bad boys. There’s only bad environment, bad training, bad example and bad thinking.”

Father Jeff Mollner, Boys Town’s national director of mission and spirituality, thanked Flanagan family members at a reception following the Mass of Thanksgiving.

Father Jeff Mollner

“We want to give thanks not only for his (Father Flanagan’s) remarkable legacy, but also for the family roots and values that helped shape him and turned him into the man we know and revere to this day. As Father Flanagan’s family, you hold a very special place in the story of Boys Town.” 

Ed is a grandson of Father Flanagan’s brother Michael. At age 63, he was too young to have known Father Flanagan. But Ed’s father spent a lot of time on the Boys Town campus, making friends with the residents.

As an adult, Ed worships regularly at the Boys Town chapel. He helped start the Father Flanagan League Society of Devotion in 1999, at the request of Boys Town alumni.

Jack, 76 and a grandson of Father Flanagan’s brother James, was born two years after Father Flanagan’s death. Though he, too, never met his famous relative, he did know four of Father Flanagan’s siblings, including one who also was a priest.

Jack said he remembers his family meeting with the Flanagan siblings for Sunday dinners and visiting Msgr. Patrick Aloysius Flanagan at his church rectory in Omaha.

Venerable Father Flanagan is pictured with his parents and siblings before he became a priest. He is seated at left in the front row. BOYS TOWN

Jack’s father worked for Father Flanagan at Boys Town and continued to do so after Father Flanagan’s death.

The son said that he and his siblings would go to Boys Town with their father. “We would spend the whole day while he was working in the summer and just run around the campus. And it would end at the lake with hot dogs at 3 o’clock in the afternoon,” he said.

Later, Jack himself worked at Boys Town, on a lawn crew.

“I probably cut every bush on this property,” he said with a smile. He also remembers going to movies at a theater on the Boys Town campus.

“I have a good foundation and appreciation for Boys Town and for Father Flanagan and what he did,” Jack said.

He said that he long sought a way to contribute toward his great-uncle’s sainthood cause. So he started a prayer group, with the help of his pastor and a fellow parishioner, devoted to Father Flanagan in Honolulu. About 15 people regularly gather for prayer on the third Wednesday of every month.

The prayer group is now one year old and one of several groups around the world with a devotion to Father Flanagan.

Some groups can’t keep their devotion sustained. But not Jack’s group. “I plan to keep it going all the way to his sainthood,” he said.

Both Jack and Ed urged more prayer for those who are learning about their saintly relative and asking for his intercession.

“The one thing that I was told from my grandma is just pray,” Ed said. Father Flanagan “prayed like nobody’s business,” he said. “He was the first one in the chapel every day, the last one to leave. He believed in prayer, and he believed it works.”

The sainthood process is “a long journey,” Ed said, “and I think we’re getting closer.”

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