Glennon Patrick Flavin
Encyclopedia
Glennon Patrick Flavin was an American
prelate
of the Roman Catholic Church
. He served as Bishop of Lincoln
from 1967 to 1992.
, Missouri
, the youngest of six children. His father was a police
lieutenant
. His brother Cornelius (Monsignor Flavin) also joined the priesthood
, and was the pastor
of Timothy Dolan
(future Archdiocese of New York
) when young Father Dolan served at The Church of the Immaculota in Richmond Heights. After graduating from St. Louis Preparatory Seminary, he studied at Kenrick Seminary
.
He was ordained
a priest by Archbishop John J. Glennon
on December 20, 1941. He then served as a curate
at St. Michael Church and taught algebra
at the Cathedral Latin School in St. Louis. In 1948 he was named assistant director of the Archdiocesan Mission Office, becoming its director in 1956. He became a curate at the Cathedral of St. Louis
and private secretary
to Archbishop Joseph Ritter in 1949.
On April 17, 1957, Flavin was appointed Auxiliary Bishop
of St. Louis and Titular Bishop
of Ioannina by Pope Pius XII
. He received his episcopal
consecration
on the following May 30 from Archbishop Ritter, with Bishops Charles Herman Helmsing
and Leo Christopher Byrne
serving as co-consecrators
. He selected as his episcopal motto
: "Ut Christus Regnet" (Latin
: "That Christ May Reign").
In addition to his episcopal duties, he became pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Church in University City
in 1960. Following the promotion of Bishop James Vincent Casey to Archbishop of Denver
in February 1967, Flavin was named the seventh Bishop of Lincoln
, Nebraska
, by Pope Paul VI
on May 29, 1967. Known for his conservative
views, he greatly increased the number of priestly vocations during his tenure.
He founded the School Sisters of Christ the King in 1976. In 1981 he prohibited women from serving as lector
s during Mass
; in response, Archbishop Rembert Weakland
called his actions "a step backward and offensive."
After twenty-four years as bishop, Flavin retired on March 24, 1992. He died from cancer
at his residence in Denton
, aged 79. He is buried in the chapel
of the Cathedral of the Risen Christ.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
prelate
Prelate
A prelate is a high-ranking member of the clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin prælatus, the past participle of præferre, which means "carry before", "be set above or over" or "prefer"; hence, a prelate is one set over others.-Related...
of the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
. He served as Bishop of Lincoln
Roman Catholic Diocese of Lincoln
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Lincoln is a Roman Catholic diocese in Nebraska, and comprises the majority of the eastern and central portions of the state south of the Platte River. The episcopal see is in Lincoln, Nebraska. It was established on August 2, 1887, by Pope Leo XIII...
from 1967 to 1992.
Biography
Glennon Flavin was born in St. LouisSt. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
, the youngest of six children. His father was a police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
. His brother Cornelius (Monsignor Flavin) also joined the priesthood
Priesthood (Catholic Church)
The ministerial orders of the Catholic Church include the orders of bishops, deacons and presbyters, which in Latin is sacerdos. The ordained priesthood and common priesthood are different in function and essence....
, and was the pastor
Pastor
The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....
of Timothy Dolan
Timothy Dolan
Timothy Michael Dolan is an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He is the tenth and current Archbishop of New York, having previously served as Archbishop of Milwaukee and Auxiliary Bishop of St. Louis ....
(future Archdiocese of New York
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York covers New York, Bronx, and Richmond counties in New York City , as well as Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster, and Westchester counties in New York state. There are 480 parishes...
) when young Father Dolan served at The Church of the Immaculota in Richmond Heights. After graduating from St. Louis Preparatory Seminary, he studied at Kenrick Seminary
Kenrick-Glennon Seminary
Kenrick–Glennon Seminary is a private not-for-profit Roman Catholic Seminary located in Shrewsbury, Missouri in St. Louis County. The Seminary is named after Archbishop Peter Richard Kenrick and Cardinal John J. Glennon, former Archbishops of Saint Louis. The Seminary traces its origins to the...
.
He was ordained
Holy Orders
The term Holy Orders is used by many Christian churches to refer to ordination or to those individuals ordained for a special role or ministry....
a priest by Archbishop John J. Glennon
John J. Glennon
John Joseph Glennon was an Irish American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of St. Louis from 1903 until his death in 1946, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1946.-Early life and ministry:...
on December 20, 1941. He then served as a curate
Curate
A curate is a person who is invested with the care or cure of souls of a parish. In this sense "curate" correctly means a parish priest but in English-speaking countries a curate is an assistant to the parish priest...
at St. Michael Church and taught algebra
Algebra
Algebra is the branch of mathematics concerning the study of the rules of operations and relations, and the constructions and concepts arising from them, including terms, polynomials, equations and algebraic structures...
at the Cathedral Latin School in St. Louis. In 1948 he was named assistant director of the Archdiocesan Mission Office, becoming its director in 1956. He became a curate at the Cathedral of St. Louis
Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis
The Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis, also known as the Saint Louis Cathedral or the New Cathedral, was completed in 1914 in St. Louis, Missouri, as the archdiocesan replacement for the Cathedral of St. Louis, King of France...
and private secretary
Personal assistant
A personal assistant or personal aide is someone who assists in daily business or personal tasks. It is common in design to have a PDA, or personal design assistant....
to Archbishop Joseph Ritter in 1949.
On April 17, 1957, Flavin was appointed Auxiliary Bishop
Auxiliary bishop
An auxiliary bishop, in the Roman Catholic Church, is an additional bishop assigned to a diocese because the diocesan bishop is unable to perform his functions, the diocese is so extensive that it requires more than one bishop to administer, or the diocese is attached to a royal or imperial office...
of St. Louis and Titular Bishop
Titular bishop
A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese.By definition a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop the tradition of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches is that he be ordained for a specific place...
of Ioannina by Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII
The Venerable Pope Pius XII , born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli , reigned as Pope, head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City State, from 2 March 1939 until his death in 1958....
. He received his episcopal
Bishop (Catholic Church)
In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an ordained minister who holds the fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders and is responsible for teaching the Catholic faith and ruling the Church....
consecration
Consecration
Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service, usually religious. The word "consecration" literally means "to associate with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different groups...
on the following May 30 from Archbishop Ritter, with Bishops Charles Herman Helmsing
Charles Herman Helmsing
The Most Reverend Charles Herman Helmsing was an American Roman Catholic bishop.- History :...
and Leo Christopher Byrne
Leo Christopher Byrne
Leo Christopher Byrne was the Roman Catholic Coadjutor Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, in Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota....
serving as co-consecrators
Consecrator
Consecrator is a term used in the Roman Catholic Church to designate a bishop who ordains a priest to the episcopal state. The term is often used in Eastern Rite Churches and in Anglican communities. The term "Principal Consecrator" is used to designate the primary bishop who ordains a new bishop...
. He selected as his episcopal motto
Motto
A motto is a phrase meant to formally summarize the general motivation or intention of a social group or organization. A motto may be in any language, but Latin is the most used. The local language is usual in the mottoes of governments...
: "Ut Christus Regnet" (Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
: "That Christ May Reign").
In addition to his episcopal duties, he became pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Church in University City
University City, Missouri
University City is an inner-ring suburb in St. Louis County, Missouri. The population was 35,371 in 2010 census. The city was shaped by Washington University in St. Louis, whose campus abuts the city to the southeast....
in 1960. Following the promotion of Bishop James Vincent Casey to Archbishop of Denver
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Denver
The Archdiocese of Denver is the Roman Catholic Archdiocese for Denver, Colorado and the Colorado counties of Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Jefferson, Larimer, Logan and Weld in the northern part of the state. The Archdiocese's home is at the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate...
in February 1967, Flavin was named the seventh Bishop of Lincoln
Roman Catholic Diocese of Lincoln
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Lincoln is a Roman Catholic diocese in Nebraska, and comprises the majority of the eastern and central portions of the state south of the Platte River. The episcopal see is in Lincoln, Nebraska. It was established on August 2, 1887, by Pope Leo XIII...
, Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
, by Pope Paul VI
Pope Paul VI
Paul VI , born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding Pope John XXIII, who had convened the Second Vatican Council, he decided to continue it...
on May 29, 1967. Known for his conservative
Conservative Christianity
Conservative Christianity is a term applied to a number of groups or movements seen as giving priority to traditional Christian beliefs and practices...
views, he greatly increased the number of priestly vocations during his tenure.
He founded the School Sisters of Christ the King in 1976. In 1981 he prohibited women from serving as lector
Lector
Lector is a Latin term for one who reads, whether aloud or not. In modern languages the word has come to take various forms, as either a development or a loan, such as , , and . It has various specialized uses:...
s during Mass
Mass (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...
; in response, Archbishop Rembert Weakland
Rembert Weakland
Rembert George Weakland was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Milwaukee from 1977 to 2002. He is the author of A Pilgrim in a Pilgrim Church: Memoirs of a Catholic Archbishop, which explores Church reform issues, his homosexuality, and the child abuse crisis....
called his actions "a step backward and offensive."
After twenty-four years as bishop, Flavin retired on March 24, 1992. He died from cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
at his residence in Denton
Denton, Nebraska
Denton is a village in Lancaster County, Nebraska, United States. It is part of the Lincoln, Nebraska Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 189 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Denton is located at ....
, aged 79. He is buried in the chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
of the Cathedral of the Risen Christ.