BRIDGEPORT — The Rev. Mike Flynn, a beloved and longtime neighborhood priest, has died at 81, according to Nativity of our Lord parish.
Flynn died Tuesday afternoon, according to Wanda Dybas, secretary at the Nativity of the Lord, 653 W. 37th St., where Flynn had been a priest for 45 years before retiring in December. He died on the day of the Feast of Assumption, a Catholic celebration of the Virgin Mary's ascent into heaven.
The timing of Flynn's death was appropriate and fitting for a faithful man of God who felt a special closeness to Mary, Dybas said.
"We feel that he would be happy with that," she said. "He was very close with the Blessed Mother."
READ: After 45 Years, The Rev. Mike Flynn To Retire From Nativity Church
In fact, one of Flynn's most memorable homilies came annually on Mother's Day, when the affable priest would tell a story about his mom requesting that he steal a Christmas tree that always garnered laughs from the congregation.
With Flynn retired for this Mother's Day, something seemed to be missing, Dybas said.
"It was the first time in 45 years" she hadn't heard the story, Dybas said. "It was uncomfortable."
Ald. Patrick D. Thompson (11th) said Flynn was his priest his whole life and even baptized his children.
"He was a great friend of this community," Thompson said. "He will be missed."
Born in Canaryville, Flynn was ordained a priest in the Carmelite order in 1961. He also held a doctorate in psychology, and worked as a psychologist and counselor at the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center.
Flynn was a very popular figure at Nativity of Our Lord and the community, charming congregants with stories and helping neighbors with problems, according to friends interviewed for a DNAinfo article on his retirement.
In retirement, Flynn planned to write books about spiritual well-being and his life as a priest on the South Side. His fond memories of life as a priest in Bridgeport needed recording, he said.
“They say things like, ‘You’ve been a boon to the parish,’” Flynn said, sitting at a dining table in the church rectory, his voice cracking, his eyes filling with tears. “I tell them, ‘It goes both ways.’”
A wake for Flynn will start at 3 p.m. Tuesday at the Shrine of St. Therese, 8501 Bailey Road in southwest suburban Darien. A Mass will start at 7 p.m. at the Shrine. Burial will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday at the Carmelite plot at Mount Olivet Cemetery, 2755 W. 111th St., Chicago.
