Posted on 02/26/2012 10:19:53 AM PST by NYer
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Father Edward Flanagan, the founder of the famous Boys Town orphanage, will be declared a “Servant of God” next month as the Archdiocese of Omaha opens his cause for beatification.
“For years many in the Omaha community and beyond have venerated the memory of Fr. Edward Flanagan,” Archbishop George Lucas said Feb. 21. “I am happy that we can begin the process of examining the holiness that was apparent in his life and ministry, to see if he might be canonized.”
The archbishop started the process at the request of the Father Flanagan League Society of Devotion. The league was formed in 1999 to advocate the opening of the cause for Fr. Flanagan’s canonization and to educate people about his life and his mission as a mentor and protector of youth.
The league’s president, Steven Wolf, said the organization is “humbled and overjoyed” by the archbishop’s acceptance of the petition to examine the priest’s heroic virtue and sanctity.
Fr. Flanagan is most famous for founding Boys Town, an orphanage for boys that grew into a major provider for at-risk children and families.
He was born July 13, 1886 in County Roscommon, Ireland. He traveled to the U.S. in 1904. He was ordained a priest in 1912 and assigned to what was then the Diocese of Omaha.
After a period of working with homeless men in Omaha, he founded a boarding house for all boys, regardless of their race or religion. He soon moved his work to Overlook Farm on the outskirts of Omaha, where he cared for hundreds of boys.
The home became known as the Village of Boys Town, growing to include a school, dormitories and administration buildings. The boys elected their own government to run the community, which became an official village in the state of Nebraska in 1936.
One of his famous phrases was “There are no bad boys. There is only bad environment, bad training, bad example, bad thinking.”
The priest rose to national and international prominence for his work. Actor Spencer Tracy won an Oscar for his portrayal of Fr. Flanagan in the 1938 movie “Boys Town.” The actor later donated the award to the priest.
U.S. president Harry Truman asked Fr. Flanagan to travel the world to visit war orphans and to advise government leaders on how to care for displaced children.
He died of a heart attack in Berlin on May 15, 1948. His remains are interred in Boys Town’s Dowd Memorial Catholic Chapel.
Fr. Steven Boes, national executive director of Boys Town, said the organization is “extremely happy” that its founder is being considered for sainthood.
“Though the process will be investigating proven miracles associated with Fr. Flanagan, we know that miracles occurred every day in his work to heal children in mind, body and spirit. These everyday miracles still occur as Boys Town continues Flanagan’s work by saving children and healing families today,” he said.
Before the cause can open, Archbishop Lucas will post a notice on the doors of Omaha’s St. Cecilia Cathedral on Feb. 27. The notice will be on display for two weeks to alert the public about the cause and to invite them to share their thoughts with the tribunal in charge of the investigation, archdiocesan chancellor Deacon Tim McNeil said.
The cause will formally open on March 17 with a 9 a.m. prayer service at Boys Town’s Immaculate Conception Church. Fr. Flanagan will receive the official title “Servant of God.” The local tribunals of religious officials and experts responsible for investigating Fr. Flanagan’s virtues and interviewing witnesses will also be sworn in.
At the conclusion of the archdiocese’s investigation, the cause’s documentation is sent to the Congregation of the Causes of Saints at the Vatican. The congregation can recommend that Pope Benedict XVI declare Fr. Flanagan to have demonstrated heroic virtue and is worthy to be declared “venerable.”
This action would allow prayer cards and other material to be printed to encourage the faithful to pray for Fr. Flanagan’s intercession and canonization. If anyone gives credible evidence of a miracle through his intercession, he may be beatified. An additional miracle is then required for canonization—the declaration by the Church that it is as certain as it can be that he is in heaven.
Wolf said the Father Flanagan League Society of Devotion sees the opening of the cause for beatification “as a response to the Holy Spirit that is moving through an international groundswell of devotion.” His group estimates that there is devotion to Fr. Flanagan in nine countries and 36 U.S. states.
Deacon McNeil said the canonization of Fr. Flanagan could inspire the more than 230,000 Catholics of northeast Nebraska.
“If he could live a holy and exemplary life in Omaha, why can’t we all?” he asked.
Spencer Tracy, who won an Oscar for his portrayal of Fr. Flanagan in the 1938 film Boys Town, would be proud. The film was nominated for 3 Oscars, including Best Picture.
He straightened out Whitey.
One of my favorite movies.
A great one..
but so was Gunga Din...
A GRRRRRRREAT man! BTTT!
But I liked Boys Town much more than I liked Gunga Din.
Gunga Din is toward the bottom of my favorite war movies.
Yes, Father Flannagan was a very great man. He certainly merits Sainthood.
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Some would say it's because of racism.
Me, I think it's because Gunga Din is a fictional character. Plus he wasn't a Catholic.
This man was orders of magnitude more worthy than JPII.
He saw the abuse of children going on in Irish Catholic orphanages, and publicly called the ecclesiastic hierarchy on it ( to their consternation). Had they listened the Catholic Church would be in a very different position on the world stage today.
Agreed.
It was one of the first of such scandals to hit the news (at least locally). To their credit, once it was found out (or at least made public), they took steps to clean it up very quickly.
Such places as that are always targets of perverts—it is why orphanages have always been considered very evil places. Evil people want access to vulnerable children and children where there is no family is the safest bet.
It is why Marxists want to destroy the Natural Family-—Children without two loving parents are very susceptible to all sorts of abuse, since there is no parental time for them, since single parents have to put their children in daycares. Daycares were invented by Lenin.
The Second Mile was set up for boys by perverts, so boys could be passed around for homosexual orgies.
There are evil people in the world who want to take advantage of children—that will always exist-—I think the Catholic Church realizes this now. You can set up extra precautions to prevent abuse. Hopefully, that is done.
Originally a Nebraska girl here. Visited Boys Town and met Fr. Flannigan too, I believe.
Well deserved, praise God.
The stories he told me of his life there were truly inspiring..........
That's over the line. I was in Catholic Orphanage in NYC and there were no perverts and it was a great place. It doesn't exist now but I am thankful for the memories. Thank you Pappy O'B.
The stories he told me of his life there were truly inspiring..........
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