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A priest from the middle of the 20th century known for rescuing wayward boys is extremely relevant for today’s society, when the defense of the vulnerable is increasingly important, says The Chosen’s Jonathan Roumie.
Roumie is the narrator of Heart of a Servant – The Father Flanagan Story, a new documentary about the founder of Boys Town, Fr. Edward J. Flanagan. The film premieres this Tuesday, October 8.
“Father Flanagan's relevance and the necessity for somebody like him in the modern age, especially when it comes to defending children, defending unborn children” is what attracts Roumie to his cause, the actor said Saturday during an online press conference. “I think his cause is a timeless cause, and his fight is a timeless fight. Children are always going to be the most vulnerable, just as what it feels like these days, the least protected, to an extent, of society, and we need to do everything we can to protect them.”
The film, produced by Spirit Juice Productions, focuses on Fr. Flanagan’s efforts to build Boys Town in rural Nebraska, in spite of opposition.
Roumie was joined during the online conference by filmmaker Rob Kaczmark; Father Flanagan League President Edward Morse; and Dr. Jonathan Reyes of the Knights of Columbus.
Two other aspects of Flanagan’s life and work that struck Roumie were the importance of raising children with the love of Christ in their life, and the way the priest saw Christ in each individual he encountered.
“I think it comes down to completely opening up your heart to another human being in the way that Jesus would, and opening your heart to Jesus, in a way where there's an amount and an intensity of love exchanged with that person and for that person,” said Roumie, who portrays Jesus in The Chosen. “To see that in somebody else, and to be able to just connect with somebody on a level, whether or not you know them, whether or not you just met them five minutes ago, is that you have an open spirit. You have an open heart ready to receive whatever encounter the Holy Spirit is trying to create between you and somebody else, for whatever reason.”
Flanagan's life
Born in Ireland in 1886, Flanagan served as a parish priest in the Diocese of Omaha, Nebraska. He founded an orphanage and educational complex west of Omaha in what is now Boys Town, Douglas County, Nebraska. The complex also serves as a center for troubled youth.
Flanagan's work became widely known, especially after he was played by Spencer Tracy in the 1938 movie Boys Town. In the post-World War II era, Flanagan was invited by General Douglas MacArthur to visit Japan and Korea, and later Austria and Germany, to give him advice about improving conditions for children in the occupied countries.
Flanagan died on May 15, 1948.
In 2012 the Diocese of Omaha initiated the process for canonization of Fr. Flanagan. Documentation of the cause was sent to the Vatican in 2015.
