Joseph Francis Flannelly (October 22, 1894—May 23, 1973) was an American clergyman of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. He served as an auxiliary bishop of the

Archdiocese of New York The Archdiocese of New York ( la, Archidiœcesis Neo-Eboracensis) is an ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church ( particularly the Roman Catholic or Latin Church) located in the State of New York. It encompasses the boroug ...

from 1948 to 1969.

Biography

Joseph Flannelly was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

to Michael J. and Mary A. (née Considine) Flannelly. He attended Cathedral College in his native city, and made his theological studies at St. Joseph's Seminary in

Yonkers Yonkers () is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. Developed along the Hudson River, it is the third most populous city in the state of New York (state), New York, after New York City and Buffalo, New York, Buffalo. The popul ...

. He was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...

to the priesthood on September 1, 1918. His first assignment was as a curate a
Our Lady of the Rosary Church
in Yonkers. He there supervised the parochial school, taught singing, and organized and coached the school

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

teams. He also served as chaplain of the local fire department. In 1938, he was transferred to St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City, serving as an assistant to Monsignor Michael J. Lavelle. The following year he succeeded Lavelle as administrator of St. Patrick's Cathedral, a post in which he remained until his retirement in 1969. Under Flannelly's guidance, St. Patrick's underwent extensive changes; these changes included the installation of a new

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...

and a rose window in the west wall of the edifice, major improvements of the organ, and the completion of five sculptured bronze doors facing Fifth Avenue. He became a

papal chamberlain A Papal Gentleman, also called a Gentleman of His Holiness, is a lay attendant of the pope and his papal household in Vatican City. Papal gentlemen serve in the Apostolic Palace near St. Peter's Basilica in ceremonial positions, such as escorting d ...

in 1941, and was raised to the rank of domestic prelate in 1943. In August 1948, he celebrated the

Requiem Mass A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead ( la, Missa pro defunctis) or Mass of the dead ( la, Missa defunctorum), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, ...

for the late

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...

. On November 9, 1948, Flannelly was appointed Auxiliary bishop of New York and

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 Catholic, Eastern Orthodox ...

of ''Metelis'' by Pope Pius XII. After receiving news of his appointment, he stated, "I am delighted, of course, that I am going to be a successor of the Apostles, and I am humbly grateful to God." He received his episcopal consecration on the following December 16 from Cardinal

Francis Spellman Francis Joseph Spellman (May 4, 1889 – December 2, 1967) was an American bishop and cardinal of the Catholic Church. From 1939 until his death in 1967, he served as the sixth Archbishop of New York; he had previously served as an auxiliary ...

, with Bishops Joseph Patrick Donahue and Stephen Joseph Donahue serving as co-consecrators, at St. Patrick's Cathedral. At his consecration, he wore the same

vestment Vestments are liturgical garments and articles associated primarily with the Christian religion, especially by Eastern Churches, Catholics (of all rites), Anglicans, and Lutherans. Many other groups also make use of liturgical garments; this ...

s worn by Cardinal Spellman and Pope Pius XII at their own consecrations. He was also given the

episcopal ring An ecclesiastical ring is a finger ring worn by clergy, such as a bishop's ring. As pontifical accoutrements In Western Christianity, rings are worn by bishops as well as other clerics who are given the privilege of wearing pontifical vestment ...

of Cardinal

Patrick Joseph Hayes Patrick Joseph Hayes (November 20, 1867 – September 4, 1938) was an American cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of New York from 1919 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1924. Early life and ...

and the

pectoral cross A pectoral cross or pectorale (from the Latin ''pectoralis'', "of the chest") is a cross that is worn on the chest, usually suspended from the neck by a cord or chain. In ancient and medieval times pectoral crosses were worn by both clergy and ...

of Archbishop John Hughes. He selected as his episcopal

motto A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. Mot ...

: ''"Pro Hominibus ad Deum,"'' which, freely translated, means, "Ordained for men in the things that appertain to God" (). In 1950, Flannelly issued an admonition to be read at each of the seven Sunday Masses in St. Patrick's Cathedral: "We note with alarm and regret the growing custom of holding parties in business offices on the days immediately preceding

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

. We caution the faithful against such parties for the following reasons: 1) these parties ignore the sacred character of Advent, which is a time of becoming preparation for the coming of our divine Savior; 2) the days immediately preceding Christmas are invariably days of fast and abstinence...3) at many of these parties there is excessive use of intoxicating drinks. These sinful excesses cause untold harm in various ways to the participants and their families. They corrupt the morals and lower the morale of the community and the nation." He was an ardent proponent of the restoration of

religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...

to the public school system, and was once quoted as having said that "in the face of Communist activities bent on taking God out of government and business, the most important first thing we have to do is put religion back in education." After reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75, Flannelly resigned as Auxiliary Bishop of New York on November 8, 1969. He later died at St. Clare's Hospital, aged 78.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flannelly, Joseph Francis 1894 births 1973 deaths Clergy from New York City Participants in the Second Vatican Council 20th-century American Roman Catholic titular bishops Saint Joseph's Seminary (Dunwoodie) alumni Burials at St. Patrick's Cathedral (Manhattan)