New film on life of Father Flanagan hopes to advance priest’s cause for canonization

CNA Staff, Oct 7, 2024 / 06:00 am

A new film depicting the life and work of Father Edward J. Flanagan titled “Heart of a Servant: The Father Flanagan Story” will be released in theaters across the United States for one night only on Tuesday, Oct. 8.

The film portrays the Catholic priest’s unwavering commitment to caring for abandoned and orphaned youth starting from the Great Depression to after World War II, all while defying racist laws in order to serve the most vulnerable and give them hope for a future. The film covers a range of topics — from Flanagan’s health issues to his immigrating to the United States to his founding of Boys Town, Nebraska.

The film is narrated by popular Catholic actor Jonathan Roumie, known for his role as Jesus Christ in “The Chosen.”

The movie had its premiere on Sept. 13 in Boys Town, where CNA had the opportunity to sit down with the several of the individuals involved in Servant of God Edward Flanagan’s cause for canonization.

CNA spoke with Deacon Omar F.A. Gutierrez, notary in the cause for canonization, Father Ryan Lewis, JCL, the archbishop’s delegate, and Steve Wolf, vice postulator in the cause for canonization and a Boys Town alumnus.

Wolf explained that as with any cause for canonization, Flanagan’s began with a “groundswell of devotion among his former boys and girls, former youth.”

From there, the challenge became quantifying the growing devotion before meeting with the archbishop to present the case. This was done through demonstrating the thousands of prayer cards distributed, nationally and internationally, and presenting anecdotal information about Flanagan from people who had admired him over the years and during his lifetime.

Archbishop George Lucas of Omaha accepted the petition and formally opened Flanagan’s cause in 2012. The diocesan phase included creating a historical and theological commission to dig deeper into his life and teachings. The archdiocese closed the diocesan phase in 2015.

In 2019, Flanagan’s cause advanced with the presentation of the “positio,” which summarizes the records collected by the Archdiocese of Omaha and argues that Flanagan demonstrated heroic virtue. It was presented to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints on July 22, 2019, along with a letter of support from Lucas.  

“It’s been very exciting. Everything that we did with regard to his life — it was very invasive in the sense of its thorough looking into his life — and the more we dug and the deeper we dug the more and more convinced we became of this man’s sanctity, of his holiness,” Lewis said. “We knew he was a good man and a good priest but he really excelled in the life of virtue.” 

Lewis added that those involved in Flanagan’s cause have come to believe that one of the reasons his foundation, Boys Town, has performed so well over the years is because “it was built on the foundation of such a holy man.”

Wolf added that he believes “his example is needed now more than ever.”

“He offers a guide for people that want to help families in crisis, children in crisis,” he said. “He’s as relevant in the things he said, the way he approached youth care, the evolution of his mission here in Boys Town — it’s just so fundamentally needed now as much as ever.”

Lewis also pointed out that highlighting the life of a priest who did such important work with the youth can serve as a “morale boost to the Catholic Church here in America.”

“Here in America where we have the abuse crisis, to lift up a priest like him, an American priest who worked with youth and did so in such a holy, magnificent way, positive way, impacting so many lives,” he said, “I think it would be a wonderful example and what a morale boost to the Catholic Church here in America, to the Catholic Church in Ireland, and even beyond, to be able to lift this American priest up and say look at this positive example and emblematic of all the many priests who serve so faithfully and so well but sometimes get a bad rap.”

Gutierrez, who has been a deacon for seven years, shared that the title of the film, “Heart of a Servant,” “speaks to my diaconate.”

“I think his life of service came from his identity as a priest. He knew he was called to the priesthood, and the film tells the story about how because of health he kept failing out and failing out but he maintained,” he said. “And I think part of the fruit of his life is the fruit of him being faithful to his identity, and as a deacon that’s what we’re called to do as well — to be faithful to our identities as servants and really serve God’s people and allow the Lord to have that bear fruit.”

The three men shared that they hope this movie will help advance his cause by having more people come to know his story and feel inspired to ask for his intercession.

“I think whoever views it, whether they knew Flanagan or not, is going to get not just a look at him but a really excellent view of his life, which should inspire them to pray to him and ask for his intercession,” Lewis expressed.

“We want to lift him up and hopefully count him among the saints in heaven.”