Prayer and Devotion
Join us in Prayer:
There is nothing more powerful to our faith and lives than prayer. It provides us the opportunity to give thanks and share our needs with God. There is also strength in numbers with prayer. Prayer is the foundation of devotion. Father Flanagan was a man in constant prayer and infinite faith with Christ.
The groundswell of devotion toward Father Flanagan is essentially an international family of prayer. The evidence of the groundswell is an attempt by the Father Flanagan league to measure the scope and effects of prayer. Examine the devotional report and gage for yourself the significance of the groundswell and the power of prayer.
To whom do we pray and what do we pray for?Always we pray to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. As with the saints and loved ones who are dear to us, we also ask Father Flanagan to join our prayers and intercede on our behalf before the Lord. Everything you can possibly examine about Father Flanagan demonstrates that even now he is totally absorbed in God’s will and next to Christ. Who better to intercede and petition our needs with the Lord? We pray for and seek Father Flanagan’s intercessions for everything. Healing, happiness, forgiveness, strength, hope and thanksgiving. There is significant evidence that Father Flanagan is interceding on our behalf and that the Lord is listening. |
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“Pray, for prayer can work miracles.”
Servant of God Father Edward Joseph Flanagan, 1886-1948
- Start a Prayer Group
- Prayer Meeting Outline
- Send Us Your Prayers
- Testimony
- Visit Us On Pilgrimage
Start a Prayer Group
The more that pray, the better! It’s easy to start a prayer group and we encourage you to use the materials provided here to get started. The Father Flanagan League holds a prayer meeting the second Tuesday of every month in Father Flanagan’s tomb in the Immaculate Conception Church at Boys Town. You can hold a prayer meeting anywhere. Speak to your pastor about holding a prayer meeting at your church. Keep an intercessional prayer petition book at your gathering place.
Prayer Meeting Outline
The Father Flanagan League has eight years of monthly prayer booklets available for download here. Many are appropriately themed for special times of the year like Christmas, Easter and St. Patrick’s Day. Prayers are said in unison by the group and individuals take turns with the various other readings. The booklets follow this general outline and the meetings typically last approximately 15 minutes:
- An Opening Prayer (written by Father Flanagan)
- A Psalm or Gospel
- An inspirational writing authored by Father Flanagan
- Signs of Holiness in Father Flanagan
- Prayer for the canonization of Father Flanagan accompanied by the intercessional prayers of the gathered
- A Closing Quote from Father Flanagan
Send Us Your Prayers
Download the prayer petition form (PDF) and mail it to us, use our online petition form or email your prayers to the League and we will place them in the prayer petition book beside Father Flanagan’s tomb.
Testimony
Are your prayers being answered? We need your testimony if you have sought Father Flanagan’s intercession and your prayers were answered. The League has testimony from people throughout the world including those who may have experienced or witnessed a miracle through the intercession of Father Flanagan. Download the attached testimony form, email us with your testimony or ask that our solicitor of testimony contact you for an interview.
Your prayers and testimony are vital for this devotional effort. Most importantly, your prayers are vital for you! The intercession of Father Flanagan is here for all of us!
Visit Us On Pilgrimage
The Father Flanagan League leads pilgrimages to the sites at Boys Town where Father Flanagan lived, worked, walked and is buried. The purpose of the pilgrimage is to learn more about Father Flanagan’s sanctity, examine his heroic virtue and to pray. Pilgrimages typically last three hours and are typically held in the morning and concluding in Father Flanagan’s tomb after the daily 11:40 AM mass held at the Immaculate Conception Church, Boys Town, NE.
Call us or email us to schedule a pilgrimage. We can accommodate a group of any size.
The pilgrimage is not a public tour of Boys Town. Tours of Boys Town can be scheduled by contacting the Boys Town Visitors Center.
Resources
PDF Downloads:Prayer Petition FormTestimony Form |
Online Forms:Prayer Petition
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Links:Monthly Prayer
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FAQs
Do you need a documented miracle in order to initiate the Cause for Sainthood?
No miracle is needed at the initial stages of the process. Once the Pre-Diocesan and Diocesan phases are complete and the cause goes into the Roman Phase, one documented miracle is needed for Beatification and another for Canonization.
Do I need permission from the Church to ask for Father Flanagan’s intercession in my prayers?
No. In non-public prayer, you can always ask, without permission, for any living or deceased person to intercede with you in your prayer petitions.
Where is the Father Flanagan League Society of Devotion in this process?
Father Flanagan is now recognized by the Catholic Church as Servant of God Edward J. Flanagan, and his Cause is in the Roman Phase and before the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints. A Positio (position paper) has been completed which summarizes the life and evidence of heroic virtue of Servant of God Flanagan, and it makes the closing argument before the historical commission, a theological commission and final review of a group of cardinals and bishops at the Dicastery. The historical commission review was completed in 2018, and the theological commission is expected to convene by early 2023. It is our sincere hope and prayer that these three bodies will forward a recommendation to the Pope, that Servant of God Edward J. Flanagan is worthy of being declared Venerable. The League anticipates these steps to be completed by 2024.
Where is the jurisdiction over the process when Father Flanagan was born in Ireland, ordained in Austria, performed the majority of his mission work in the United States and died in Berlin, Germany?
The diocese where the person died has the jurisdiction or what the Catholic Church calls, “the competence,” over the cause. In the case of Father Flanagan, he died in Berlin, Germany, while developing a program for the care of World War II orphans. However the bishop of Berlin has agreed to transfer the jurisdiction (competence) for the cause to the bishop of Omaha by the League’s postulator and this move has been approved by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. This is a good example why the actors need to hire a canon lawyer.
How long does it take to canonize a person who has been declared “Blessed”?
It varies. For example, this past year, Benedict XVI approved the canonization of Blessed Camilla Battista da Varano, who founded the convent in Camerino. The miracle which took place for her canonization occurred in 1877: the cure of a girl called Celia Ottaviane in Camerino, who suffered from rickets. Blessed Camilla’s cause for canonization was then delayed for about 100 years due to problems with the original postulator. It was taken up again in 1998, and in December of 2009, Benedict XVI signed the decree approving the miracle for her canonization.
Does the Roman Catholic Church pay the costs of the canonization process?
No. The “actors” must pay for the process from petitioning a Bishop, covering the expense of the Episcopal & Historical Commissions for the Diocesan Phase through the impaneling of a review board before the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints during the Roman Phase. The official “actors” for Father Flanagan are those involved in the Father Flanagan League: Society of Devotion and all people throughout the world who support the League in its work.
Why does it cost money to declare a person a saint in the Catholic Church?
The costs involved are mainly:
- Hiring a postulator (a Canon lawyer).
- Paying for reproduction and translation of all public documents written by the candidate.
- Paying for travel expenses necessary to secure primary testimony of personal witnesses and source documents. For example, any official writings of Father Flanagan from his tours in various countries throughout the world have to be verified.
- Paying travel expenses for witnesses and personnel in the Roman Phase.
- Preparation and distribution of devotional materials and outreach
How do I start a Prayer Group to help promote the holiness of Father Flanagan?
You can start your own prayer group in a private home without anyone’s permission. However, if you want to hold your prayer meetings at your church, you definitely want to get permission from your pastor. We encourage you to speak with your pastor about your desire to promote the holiness of Father Flanagan and to ask for his guidance as to time and place to hold a prayer meeting. Whether meeting in private or publicly at your church, we encourage you to download the monthly prayer meeting pamphlets and other prayer cards available to you for free on this website.