Father Patrick Flynn, who ministered in Annapolis, dies at 83

Redemptorist Father Patrick Flynn, who served the parish of St. Mary in Annapolis for nearly two decades, died  Jan. 14 in his native South Africa. He was 83. 

During his many ministries, Father Flynn specialized in working with the sick and hospitalized. 

Father Flynn first ministered in the state’s capital for a brief stint in 1993 before a lengthy stay from 2000 to 2017 at St. Mary.

He professed his temporary vows on Feb. 16, 1964 and made his final profession Feb. 16, 1967. He was ordained in Durban July 11, 1969 after completing his studies at Hawkstone Hall in Shrewsbury, England. 

From 1969 to 1978, Father Flynn served as a parish priest in the Vice Province of Pretoria, South Africa. In 1978, with the permission of his vice-provincial, he petitioned the provincial of the Baltimore Province to minister in the United States. He was assigned to St. Clement’s Parish in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., as the associate pastor and continued in that ministry until 1987 when he returned to South Africa.  

According to a Redemptorist profile, Father Flynn found it difficult to accomplish his ministry during the volatile atmosphere of South Africa at that time and so he requested a permanent transfer to the Baltimore Province. The Provincial Council of London and the Provincial Council of Baltimore approved his request. He completed a three-month course on pastoral studies before returning to the United States.

Father Flynn’s first assignment on his return to the U.S. in 1988 was to St. Anthony Parish in Lancaster, Pa. In 1989 he was transferred to St. Peter’s in Philadelphia as a full-time parish missionary. He spent a short time in Pittsburgh at St. Philomena’s parish before being sent to St. Mary Parish in Annapolis in 1993. He had short stays again in Lancaster and Our Lady of Fatima before returning to Annapolis in September of 2000 where he ministered until he returned to South Africa in 2017 for health issues and to be near family.

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