Edward J. Flanagan

Monsignor Edward Joseph Flanagan

Archdiocese	Omaha
Orders
Ordination	26 July 1912
Personal details
Birth name	Edward Joseph Flanagan
Born	(1886-07-13)13 July 1886 Leabeg, County Roscommon United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
Died	15 May 1948(1948-05-15) (aged 61) Berlin, Germany
Buried	Dowd Memorial Chapel Immaculate Conception Parish Boys Town, Nebraska, US
Nationality	Irish
Denomination	Catholic
Occupation	Founder of Boys Town
Education	Bachelor of Arts (1906) Master of Arts (1908)
Alma mater	Mount St. Mary's University Emmitsburg, Maryland, US
Sainthood
Title as Saint	Servant of God

Ordination history of Edward J. Flanagan
Diaconal ordination
Date of ordination	25 July 1912
Place of ordination	University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria-Hungary
Priestly ordination
Date of ordination	26 July 1912
Place of ordination	University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria-Hungary

Monsignor Edward Joseph Flanagan (13 July 1886 – 15 May 1948) was an Irish-born priest of the Catholic Church in the United States. He founded the orphanage known as Boys Town located in Boys Town, Douglas County, Nebraska, which now also serves as a center for troubled youth.

Early years

Flanagan was born in the townland of Leabeg, County Roscommon, near the village of Ballymoe, County Galway, Ireland.^[1] His parents were John (a herdsman) and Honoria Flanagan.^[2] He attended Summerhill College, Sligo, Ireland.

In 1904, he immigrated to the United States and became a US citizen in 1919. He attended Mount St. Mary's University in Emmitsburg, Maryland, where in 1906 he received a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Master of Arts degree in 1908. Father Flanagan studied at St. Joseph's Seminary in Dunwoodie, New York. He continued his studies in Italy and at the University of Innsbruck in Austria where he was ordained a priest in 1912. His first parish was in O'Neill, Nebraska, where from 1912 he served as an assistant pastor at St. Patrick's Catholic Church. He then moved to Omaha, Nebraska, to serve as an assistant pastor at St. Patrick's Church and later at St. Philomena's Church.

In 1917, he founded a home for homeless boys in Omaha. Bishop Jeremiah James Harty of the Diocese of Omaha had misgivings, but endorsed Father Flanagan's experiment. Because the downtown facilities were inadequate, Flanagan established Boys Town, ten miles west of Omaha, in 1921. Under Father Flanagan's direction, Boys Town grew to be a large community with its own boy-mayor, schools, chapel, post office, cottages, gymnasium, and other facilities where boys between the ages of 10 and 16 could receive an education and learn a trade. Flanagan did not believe in the reform school model, and stated, "there's no such thing as a bad boy".^[3]

Fame

A 1938 film starring Spencer Tracy, Boys Town, was based on the life of Father Flanagan, and Tracy won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance. Mickey Rooney also starred as one of the residents. Spencer Tracy spent his entire Oscar acceptance speech talking about Father Flanagan. "If you have seen him through me, then I thank you." An overzealous MGM publicity representative announced that Tracy was donating his Oscar to Flanagan without confirming it with Tracy. Tracy's response was: "I earned the...thing. I want it." The Academy hastily struck another inscription, Tracy kept his statuette, and Boys Town got one, too. It read: "To Father Flanagan, whose great humanity, kindly simplicity, and inspiring courage were strong enough to shine through my humble effort. Spencer Tracy."^[4]

Some scenes from the movie were filmed at Boys Town, and Father Flanagan reviewed the script prior to the filming. A sequel also starring Tracy, Men of Boys Town, was released in 1941.

Father Flanagan himself appeared in a separate 1938 short MGM Miniatures film, The City of Little Men, promoting Boys Town and giving a tour of its facilities.^[5]

The actor Stephen McNally played Flanagan in a 1957 episode of the ABC religion anthology series, Crossroads.^[6]

Father Flanagan received many awards for his work with the delinquent and homeless boys. Pope Pius XI named him a Domestic Prelate with the title Right Reverend Monsignor in 1937. He served on several committees and boards dealing with the welfare of children and was the author of articles on child welfare. Internationally known, Father Flanagan traveled to the Republic of Ireland in 1946, where he was appalled by the children's institutions there, calling them "a national disgrace"; his observations raised negative comments against him in the Irish press and the Oireachtas, and he was forced to leave the country.^[7] He made a similar trip to Japan and Korea in 1947 to study child welfare problems, as well as to Austria and Germany in 1948. While in Germany, he died on 15 May 1948 of a heart attack. He is interred at Dowd Memorial Chapel of the Immaculate Conception Parish in Boys Town, Nebraska.

Legacy

In 1986, the United States Postal Service issued a 4¢ Great Americans series postage stamp honoring him. Father Flanagan is a member of the Nebraska Hall of Fame.

On February 25, 2012, the Catholic Archdiocese of Omaha, Nebraska opened the canonization process of Father Flanagan. At a March 17, 2012 prayer service at Boys Town's Immaculate Conception Church, he was given the title, "Servant of God", the first of three titles bestowed before canonization as a Catholic saint. The investigation was completed in June, 2015, and the results forwarded to the Vatican. If the Vatican approves the local findings, Flanagan would be declared venerable. The next steps would be beatification and canonization.^[8]

References

↑ "Mercy! Mercy". Time (magazine). 7 December 1931. Retrieved 21 June 2007. He was Father Edward J. Flanagan. Father Flanagan was born in Roscommon, Ireland, 45 years ago.
↑ "Roscommon Census, 1901". leitrim-roscommon.com.
↑ "History Ireland". History Ireland.
↑ Clooney, Nick (November 2002). The Movies That Changed Us: Reflections on the Screen. New York: Atria Books, a trademark of Simon & Schuster. pp. 212–213. ISBN 0-7434-1043-2.
↑ The City of Little Men, TCM Extras (formerly One Reel Wonders), 10 May 2013.
↑ "Stephen McNally". Internet Movie Data Base. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
↑ "A History of Neglect". paddydoyle.com. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
↑ "Sainthood effort: Omaha Archdiocese completes investigation of Boys Town founder Father Flanagan". Omaha.com.

External links

Media related to Edward J. Flanagan at Wikimedia Commons

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Omaha
Ordinaries	Bishops James O'Connor Richard Scannell Jeremiah James Harty Joseph Francis Rummel Archbishops James Hugh Ryan Gerald Thomas Bergan Daniel E. Sheehan Elden Francis Curtiss George Joseph Lucas
Auxiliary Bishops	Daniel E. Sheehan Anthony Michael Milone
Churches	Cathedral St. Cecilia Cathedral Parishes St. Anthony's Church, Cedar Rapids St. Leonard Church, Madison Holy Family Church, Omaha Immaculate Conception Church, Omaha Sacred Heart Church, Omaha St. Frances Cabrini Church, Omaha St. John's Church, Omaha St. Joseph Church, Omaha St. Bonaventure Church, Raeville
Education	Higher education Creighton University College of Saint Mary High schools Archbishop Bergan High School, Fremont Cedar Catholic High School, Hartington Central Catholic High School, West Point Creighton Preparatory School, Omaha Daniel J. Gross Catholic High School, Bellevue Duchesne Academy, Omaha Holy Family High School, Lindsay Marian High School, Omaha Mercy High School, Omaha Mount Michael Benedictine Abbey and High School, Omaha Norfolk Catholic High School, Norfolk Pope John XXIII Central Catholic High School, Elgin Roncalli Catholic High School, Omaha St. Francis High School, Humphrey St. Mary's High School, O'Neill St. Peter Claver Cristo Rey Catholic High School, Omaha Scotus Central Catholic High School, Columbus V. J. and Angela Skutt Catholic High School, Omaha
Priests	Blase J. Cupich William Joseph Dendinger Edward J. Flanagan Joseph G. Hanefeldt Edward Joseph Hunkeler Patrick Aloysius Alphonsus McGovern John Linus Paschang
Other	Boys Town Notre Dame Academy and Convent
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