Honoring Father Flanagan and Mary Dowd: A Legacy of Faith, Hope, and Healing

Father Flanagan believed the mission of Boys Town was his way of answering God’s call to live out the Gospel. He did this by seeing the beauty and dignity of every boy who came to Boys Town.

He once said, “a young person should never be made to feel that no great thing is expected of him or her.” He believed all of us were made for greatness in God’s eyes and that included the youth that came to live at Boys Town.

We recently received the joyful news that Pope Leo XIV has elevated Father Flanagan to the rank of Venerable in the Catholic Church. 

For the last 14 years, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints has been investigating and reviewing Father Flanagan’s life, writings and legacy.  The Dicastery for the Causes of Saints has come to the same conclusion that we’ve known for a long time -- Father Flanagan lived a life of heroic virtue and is someone we can look to as an example of how to live out holiness in our own vocation. 

Now we pray for miracles attributed to Father Flanagan so his cause for canonization can continue to advance.  It takes one miracle to be elevated to Blessed in the Catholic Church and a second miracle to be canonized a Saint. These miracles happen on God’s time, not ours, but it is a call for us to ask Father Flanagan’s intercession in matters both big and small. 

The day of the announcement he was made Venerable, I had a call with the Father Flanagan League in Ireland. They were ecstatic at the news, and it was a reminder just how far Father Flangan’s legacy reaches. 

As great as it is to see the celebration of his elevation to Venerable across the world, his greatest legacy is still in the lives of the youth who have been impacted and continue to be formed by Boys Town even today. They will always be the greatest miracles of Father Flanagan’s life. 

One of the most important ways his legacy lives on is through Dowd Chapel on Boys Town’s home campus. The beautiful church built by Father Flanagan and Mary Dowd continues to be a symbol of hope and healing for youth, alumni and all those who come to Boys Town for the celebration of the Mass, to pray, or simply to sit in the quiet beauty of the chapel. Your support of the Mary Dowd Society ensures Dowd Chapel continues to be that visible sign of the holy life lived by Father Flanagan.