Pope Leo XIV declared Father Edward Flanagan, the founder of Boys Town, venerable on March 23, recognizing his heroic virtue and moving him one step closer to sainthood.
The declaration marks an important milestone in the Catholic Church’s process for canonization. With this decree, Father Flanagan receives the title “Venerable” and now requires two approved miracles—one for beatification and another for canonization—before he can be recognized as a saint.
The pope signed the decree during an audience with Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for the Causes of Saints. Father Flanagan was born in County Roscommon, Ireland in 1886 and emigrated to the United States at age 18. He is best known for founding Boys Town near Omaha, Nebraska—a home dedicated to orphaned and at-risk youth. Archbishop Michael G. McGovern said on March 23 that “Father Flanagan made such an impression on the hearts of people, Catholic and non-Catholic, that people still speak of him with pride and a sense of reverence, even.” McGovern also said: “I was always impressed by his courage. He faced a lot of opposition and yet he kept going forward and really believed in what he was doing, and that made all the difference in the world for these youth, and so we’re very, very proud that his legacy continues. I hope that people get to know him better.”
Father Flanagan started with a rented house and five boys on December 12, 1917. His belief was summarized by his statement: “There are no bad boys. There is only bad environment, bad training, bad example, bad thinking.” The small home eventually grew into a self-governing community west of Omaha which became incorporated as its own municipality in 1934. Today Boys Town operates group homes along with educational institutions like grade schools and high schools; it also includes a post office, bank, national research hospital, and national hotline for children in crisis.
Father Flanagan gained national attention after actor Spencer Tracy portrayed him in the film “Boys Town” (1938). Following World War II he advised Gen. Douglas MacArthur about improving conditions for children in Japan and Korea’s occupied territories before traveling through Austria and Germany on similar missions. In 1946 he publicly criticized Irish industrial schools’ treatment of children—a position later vindicated by a government report published decades after his death from a heart attack while working abroad in Berlin at age 61.
His cause for sainthood began formally in 2012; documentation about his life reached Rome by 2015 with further accounts presented to church authorities four years later.
In addition to Father Flanagan’s recognition as venerable under this decree from Pope Leo XIV were Italian Cardinal Ludovico Altieri (bishop of Albano who died serving cholera victims), French priest Henri Caffarel (founder of Teams of Our Lady), Italian layman Giuseppe Castagnetti (noted politician close to Padre Pio), Sister Stanislawa Samulowska (Polish missionary who served over five decades in Guatemala), and Sister MarĂa Romero AlgarĂn (Spanish religious leader active until her death).
As interest grows around these causes—including those outside Nebraska—the legacy left behind continues through both ongoing work at Boys Town today as well as broader awareness inspired by their stories.
