The Real Deal: Father Flanagan

This letter from Archbishop Michael G. McGovern appeared in the Summer 2026 edition of The True Voice magazine. Copies of the magazine can be found at parishes across the archdiocese.

Dear Friends,

May 21st is the anniversary of my ordination as a Catholic priest.

For 32 years now, I’ve been blessed by God in being a priest of Jesus Christ and having the opportunity to serve people in the Lord’s name. Thinking back to my time in the seminary preparing to be a priest, those days included studying the priests I knew and considering what qualities they had that I wanted to imitate in my own life as a Catholic priest.

At the time of my ordination in 1994, a wise priest on the faculty of the seminary wrote me a note in which he penned the words, “It will take many years for you to become the priest that I know that you want to be, and I know that you can be.” I have often pondered those words and am grateful for his insight that priesthood is a life that involves growth.

Growing up in Chicago, I would watch the film “Boys Town” once a year on Sunday afternoons on WGN and was impressed by Spencer Tracy’s portrayal of a caring priest who could be firm while giving people a second chance in their life choices. That priest is Father Edward Flanagan.

Since arriving as the Archbishop of Omaha, I have had the opportunity to learn more about the life of Father Flanagan, who has recently been declared venerable by the Holy See. Edward Flanagan is an excellent example of the priest I want to be. If you read the writings of Father Flanagan, you can see he had a generous heart, a heart for the poor and a heart for youth. He also had a deep desire to serve the Lord as a priest. There were a number of hurdles that young Flanagan had to overcome to reach priestly ordination. Yet he persevered and eventually came to Omaha as a young priest to serve the people here.

BOYS TOWN

This fall, we will be offering more opportunities for a wider audience to learn about and appreciate the life of Venerable Father Edward Flanagan. I hope that you will spread the word about his life and goodness and that people will begin asking Father Flanagan to remember them and their needs before the Lord. Together we can help devotion to Father Flanagan spread. I look forward to hearing people share how Father Flanagan has helped them. I pray that in time someone will experience a miracle that can be attested to the intercession of Father Flanagan.

May we each be inspired by Father Flanagan and continue to use our gifts to aid our neighbor, especially the poor and the most vulnerable, and give glory to God not just by what we say but by what we do.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Archbishop Michael McGovern

For more information about Father Flanagan, visit the Father Flanagan League at fatherflanagan.org.