The room grew still as the crew could hear a soft weeping in the recording booth.
Director Rob Kaczmark had just given some context to the actor who was getting into character to voice an emotional piece of narration.
The material to be narrated was dense; a historical letter written during a time period in which the consequences of war reverberated through America.
“I have two sons, and to have that many kids that are in war, it's got to affect you on a really deep level” says Kaczmark.
Kaczmark, a 12-time Emmy award winner, devout Catholic, and father of two boys, hadn’t known much about The Right Reverend Monsignor Edward Joseph Flanagan until the good folks from the Father Flanagan League approached his studio for assistance with telling a story.
“I knew very little about Father Flanagan at that point. And they said, ‘well, you know the old movie Boys Town,’ And I was like, ‘I still don't!’ So I went out and bought the DVD and watched Boys Town, and then it's like, oh, okay, this is incredible.”
That was back in 2017 and what transpired from this initial call was a meeting of minds that resulted in the new documentary, Heart of a Servant: The Story of Father Flanagan, which will premiere for one day only on October 8. (Editor's note: As of January 2025, Heart of a Servant: The Story of Father Flanagan is now available to stream!)
Father Flanagan & Boys town
Though powerful, the story of Father Flanagan is relatively unknown.
Throughout his entire life, Father Flanagan, born in 1886, struggled with illness - but in no way did it slow him down. He found a calling to his life’s work while ministering as a parish priest to the victims of a violent tornado in Omaha, Nebraska. As he worked with the homeless and jobless men of the city, he found a common denominator that concerned him: all had broken homes or parental neglect in their background. So he began ministering to boys and when the city disliked that all boys, regardless of the color of their skin or national origin, were housed in the same building, Father Flanagan moved and built a city: Boys Town.
His work eventually took him to twelve countries and 31 states; he was sought out by Presidents and world powers for his counsel.
In 2012, Father Flanagan was named a Servant of God by the Diocese of Omaha and his cause for sainthood was forwarded to Rome in 2015. It now rests with the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints at the Vatican as the next step, where intense investigations and a “trial” of sorts takes place.
But despite his popularity - including his cause for sainthood, a major Hollywood picture titled Boy’s Town starring Spencer Tracy and Mickey Rooney, and media coverage about Father Flanagan’s activities - this American icon is mostly unknown to many Catholics in America today.
The film, Heart of a Servant: The Story of Father Flanagan, aims to change that to bring awareness to this Servant of God and, perhaps, the next American saint.
The untold story
The documentary, produced by Spirit Juice Studios and in association with the Father Flanagan League, aims to tell the whole story of this priest’s remarkable life - including his belief that the dignity of the human person is paramount. This belief made him controversial in early 20th century America - an era still struggling with dehumanizing racism and the unpopularity of Catholicism. This deep mission of Father Flanagan and the overwhelming friction that he received when trying to accomplish his mission is something not many people understand. According to Kaczmark:
“It sounds pretty run of the mill” says Kaczmark, “there's many things that take care of children now and it doesn't matter what, race, religion, and creed [you are] but back then, in the 40s and 50s, that just wasn't allowed in certain parts of America…Father Flanagan held up to that struggle because he was right - he was called by God, we're all created in God's image, and Father Flanagan felt called to take care of those people.”
Father Flanagan’s belief in the dignity of the human person didn’t stop with Boys Town accepting boys of all races and creeds - it was powerfully on display in the aftermath of Pearl Harbor when Father Flanagan provided a safe space for Japanese families to live during the unjust vilification of Japanese Americans and their internment in camps.
“we must not permit ourselves to be smeared with the same moral filth we are criticizing in our enemies.”
Father Flanagan strongly rejected this unjust point of view, speaking out against those who criticized this. In one quote he said, “we must not permit ourselves to be smeared with the same moral filth we are criticizing in our enemies.”
The film covers this chapter in Boys Town history through the testimony of Marilyn Takahashi-Fordney, affectionately known as “Winkie,” a former resident of Boys Town.
"My Dear" & the care of the Human Person
The care and dignity of the human person was paramount for Father Flanagan and this can most simply be seen in Father Flanagan’s preferred greeting: “my dear.” From the boys in his care to presidents - Father’s care of people and their souls was a main part of his mission.
Deacon Omar F. A. Gutiérrez, the Notary for the Cause for Canonization of Father Flanagan, summed it up in the film by saying that Father Flanagan had the “amazing charism to make you feel human and seen”
‘Dear, don’t you know there’s so much here to make you a Saint?’
One doesn’t have to dig far in order to see this on display - he impacted so many lives that, when his boys went on to serve in the Second World War, so many listed him as their next of kin that he was nicknamed “America's Number One War Dad” Father Flanagan cared about people’s souls. This is seen most powerfully within the film through Father’s interaction with a boy who opted not to receive communion during Mass. Kaczmark explains the scene, presented on screen by Deacon Gutiérrez:
“Deacon really gets me going. You know, there’s a scene where there’s a young boy who felt like he couldn’t receive Communion and Father Flanagan didn’t pry, but afterwards he goes up to him, and he says ‘Dear, don’t you know there’s so much here to make you a Saint?’ and Deacon gets very emotional. I get emotional”
The actor
With scenes filmed on location in Ireland, Germany, Austria, Japan, and throughout America - one of the final pieces of the puzzle was to replace temporary narration with what would be the final narration track.
Jonathan Roumie, known for his portrayal of Jesus in the independent hit show The Chosen, and for his unapologetic Catholic faith which he has been very vocal about, was cast to tell the story of Father Flanagan as the documentary’s narrator.
It was a moment of divine providence when the crew learned that Roumie himself had asked Father Flanagan for prayers in the past and had developed a particular devotion to Father Flanagan.
“It's not just a job, you know, because you can hire anyone under the sun to do a narration, and they'll go, they'll do a good job, but it's a job,” says Kaczmark, “I think for Jonathan, he goes, ‘I say yes to very little because I just can't say yes to too many things’. And he goes, ‘I just felt really inspired by the story.’ And…I think God brought it and he made it all happen”
Roumie was in the recording booth, recording narration for the feature-length documentary, and they got to a scene that was portraying Father Flanagan writing a letter to the president in the trauma that was post World War II where he was offering his service to help the youth around the world.
The material was heavy.
“I have two sons, and to have that many kids that are in war, it's got to affect you on a really deep level ”
“It’s coming from a moment when a lot of his boys served, and some died in the war,” says Kaczmark, “he was named America's war dad…I have two sons, and to have that many kids that are in war, it's got to affect you on a really deep level. What if he was very fragile right now and wanted to offer himself?”
This vulnerability and brokenness was the direction Kaczmark coached Roumie toward for this particular letter narration.
“Then, I heard Jonathan weeping . . .
As Roumie was in the voiceover booth, the crew was in the sound room and couldn’t see him. What followed was silence. Perhaps only 30 seconds to a minute, according to Kaczmark’s recollection, but the silence was long enough that the crew started to feel like something might be wrong.
“Then, I heard Jonathan weeping. He was getting into character of it, and then he read it. And he read it from that moment of Father Flanagan really just wanting to help, and was a little fragile inside, and that's the cut that's in the film,” says Kaczmark of the emotional moment, “It just really touches me, because it's sort of at this middle point of the film - Boys Town's been there. It's been established. It's been doing a thing, but then Father Flanagan is called to the next part of his life and to serve more globally.”
As America continues to struggle with issues that can only be described as a diminishing of the human person, the story of America's Number One War Dad - a humble caregiver for the vulnerable, zealous advocate for the dignity of the human person, and quite literally America’s father - is a powerful story and one that America can’t afford to forget. ■
“The work will continue, you see, whether I am there or not, because it is God’s work, not mine” - Servant of God Father Edward Flanagan
EDITOR'S NOTE: This film is now available for streaming online! Check it out.
