Father Cronan Flynn, C.P., St. Paul of the Cross Province (1897-1961)

Born on March 24, 1897 on the lower west side of Manhattan, New York, he was the son of William J. Flynn and Anna T. Crossan. When he was a young boy his family moved to City Island, New York in the Bronx. He graduated from Public School 17 in 1912. For two years he was a student at Xavier High School on 15^th Street, Manhattan and then left school to go to work. In the spring of 1916 he attended a mission preached by Father James Molloy at St. Mary, Star of the Sea Church, City Island and afterwards applied to the Passionists. He entered the Preparatory Seminary, Baltimore, Maryland in September 1916. He professed his Passionist vows on October 9, 1919. Almost his entire student life was spent at St. Mary’s Monastery, Dunkirk, New York except for one year when he was assigned to Scranton, Pennsylvania. He was ordained at the Newark diocesan seminary, South Orange, New Jersey on February 27, 1926. On July 1, 1927 he was delegated to receive the vows of his brother Joseph Leo Flynn, C.P. Most of Father Cronan Flynn’s ministry was in parish work. He was assistant pastor at St. Joseph’s Parish, Union City, New Jersey from 1927 until 1930. He then went to the diocese of Marquette, Michigan to serve there with Bishop Paul J. Nussbaum, C.P. in Wakefield from 1930 until 1936. He was pastor of St. Gabriel’s, Brighton, Massachusetts from 1939 until 1947. He also was director of students at St. Michael’s Monastery, Union City from 1936 until 1938, vicar at St. Ann’s, Scranton from 1938 until 1939, chaplain at St. Agnes Hospital, Baltimore from 1947 until 1950 and Sign Magazine field representative from 1950 until 1952. For nine years before his death he was an assistant pastor at Immaculate Conception Parish, Jamaica. He died in Mary Immaculate Hospital after being diagnosed with cancer of the spleen. He was the first religious to be buried at the Jamaica monastery.