Celebrating his 50th anniversary of ordination, Msgr. Sean P. Flynn is taken back to what he thought life as a priest would be like when he was in the seminary in Ireland: “I didn’t have a clue.”
PHOTO GALLERY: Msgr. Sean P. Flynn- 50 years
For priests in Ireland at that time, life was very routine. They were celebrating Mass, ministering to the sick and visiting parishioners in their homes.
“Work as a priest has been much more varied than I expected. Every parish had something special,” he said. “My 50 years have been very fulfilling. I’ve been involved in things that when I was ordained, I never thought I would be doing.”
Considering a vocation
Msgr. Sean P. Flynn
Msgr. Flynn was the eldest of six children in Ireland. He lived on a farm and his family was very religious. He attended Catholic elementary and high school.
He said he was impressed by a local priest who would visit his elementary school. Msgr. Flynn found him very kind and caring. This was the beginning of his consideration of a vocation as a priest. At that time, there was an overabundance of priests in Ireland. He considered going to foreign missions, specifically in Africa, but it seemed like it might be too much of a challenge given the language and cultural differences.
Msgr. Flynn became interested in studying to be a priest for the Diocese of Trenton when an Irish priest of the Diocese visited to recruit priests. So the young man attended St. Patrick’s College in County Carlow and was ordained by Bishop Patrick Mulligan of Clogher June 8, 1975, at his home parish.
“All I knew about America was what I saw on TV and in movies,” he recalled.
A classmate in high school who was a year ahead of him also signed up for the Diocese of Trenton and was a source of support and camaraderie when Msgr. Flynn first came to Trenton. His first assignment was as parochial vicar at Sacred Heart Parish in Mount Holly.
“I was apprehensive about going to America,” he said. “My parents were very glad that I became a priest, but my mother was not happy that I was going to the U.S.”
Initially he was quite lonely. He could only go home once a year and “I counted the days.” Despite that, he officiated at the weddings of his brothers and sister and baptize his nieces and nephews.
Msgr. Flynn, right concelebrates Mass in St. Denis Church, Manasquan. In retirement he lives in Villa St. Denis located on the parish campus.
JOHN BATKOWSKI
Parish assignments
In 1981, he was named associate pastor at Blessed Sacrament in Trenton, where he served for three years before being named associate pastor at St. Denis in Manasquan. As life comes full circle, Msgr. Flynn currently resides at Villa St. Denis, a retirement community for priests on the campus of St. Denis Parish. He says it’s gratifying to see parishioners he remembers from his time there and that parishioners remember him.
In 1989, he was named parochial vicar at St. Dorothea Parish in Eatontown and became pastor in 1990. In 1996, he was named pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Toms River. At the time, St. Joseph was the largest parish in the Diocese, with 7,500 families, a high school, elementary school, and a hospital. Again, he wondered if he could meet these challenges.
“I compared myself to a fireman,” he recalled. “One blaze would break out, say an issue involving one of the schools, and I would put that one out and another one would break out.”
In addition to issues related to the schools and administration, he had his primary role as a pastor and priest. He likened it to the song “New York, New York”: “If you can make it at St. Joe’s, you can make it anywhere.”
Msgr. Flynn still keeps in touch with some of the high school graduates and has celebrated their weddings.
In 2008, he was named pastor of St. Mark Parish in Sea Girt. In 2023, he retired from that position.
Reconciling fallen-away Catholics
Beside his assignments in parishes, Msgr. Flynn was appointed as the bishop’s representative for Catholic hospitals and served as an Engaged Encounter Team priest and diocesan coordinator for AIDS programs. In 1993, he was appointed dean of the Central Monmouth Deanery and was named a monsignor. He also served on the Committee on Ministry in Non-Correctional and Health Care Institutions in the Diocese.
Many of these assignments led to experiences he could not have imagined when in the seminary in Ireland.
His work with hospitals and with AIDS patients brought into focus the suffering of many who are estranged from the Church. He speaks compassionately about how many times people become alienated from the Church because of misinformation, such as thinking that divorce in itself means one cannot practice the faith.
“Many people love the Church but have been away for a long time. It was very fulfilling to me, because you had a chance to talk to them, reconcile them with the Church and the Lord, hear their Confessions and bring them the Eucharist. In many things, you don’t see immediate results, but in these situations, you have immediate results.”
He cited Project Rachel is another example of this, helping women who have had an abortion and may be away from the Church because of the misconceptions that they were excommunicated or going to hell.
“There is no sin that can’t be forgiven,” Msgr. Flynn said, contrasting Judas and St. Peter. Judas despaired and hanged himself. St. Peter denied Christ, but sought forgiveness.