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4w ago

Pope Leo XIV Declares Boys Town Founder Father Flanagan Venerable

The decree advances his cause to a stage requiring verified miracles for beatification, then canonization.

A statue of the Rev. Edward Flanagan is seen outside the home where he lived in Boys Town, Neb., on Sept. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Smith)
The tomb of the Rev. Edward Flanagan is seen in Dowd Memorial Chapel in Boys Town, Neb., on Sept. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Smith)
FILE - Father Edward J. Flanagan, founder of Boy's Town, Nebraska, speaks into a microphone at Meiji Stadium in Tokyo, May 28, 1947 during a Japanese Boy Scout Jamboree. At right, wearing his school uniform, is Crown Prince Akahito. (AP Photo/Charles Gorry, File)
FILE - Boys Town students hold portraits of Boys Town founder Father Edward Flanagan outside St. Cecilia Cathedral in Omaha, Neb., Feb. 27, 2012. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik, File)

Overview

  • Pope Leo XIV signed the decree recognizing Father Edward Flanagan’s heroic virtue after the Vatican dicastery reviewed his dossier during an audience with Cardinal Marcello Semeraro.
  • Advancement now requires one approved miracle for beatification and a second for canonization, with alleged miracles scrutinized by medical and theological experts.
  • Archbishop Michael McGovern of Omaha welcomed the decision, and Boys Town praised the announcement as affirming Flanagan’s mission to serve vulnerable youth.
  • Flanagan, born in Ireland in 1886, immigrated to the U.S. in 1904, was ordained in 1912, founded Boys Town in 1917, and died in 1948 in Berlin while on a child‑welfare mission.
  • Boys Town grew from a small home into a self-governing community with schools and services that today include a research hospital and a national crisis hotline.