| Honorific-Prefix: | His Excellency, The Most Reverend |
| Bernard Joseph Flanagan | |
| Bishop of Worcester | |
| Church: | Roman Catholic |
| Appointed: | August 8, 1959 |
| Enthroned: | September 24, 1959 |
| Ended: | March 31, 1983 |
| Predecessor: | John Joseph Wright |
| Successor: | Timothy Joseph Harrington |
| Previous Post: | Bishop of Norwich |
| Ordination: | December 8, 1931 |
| Ordained By: | Francesco Marchetti Selvaggiani |
| Consecration: | November 30, 1953 |
| Consecrated By: | Edward Francis Ryan, Vincent Stanislaus Waters, and John Patrick Cody |
| Birth Date: | March 31, 1908 |
| Birth Place: | Proctor, Vermont, US |
| Death Place: | Worcester, Massachusetts, US |
| Buried: | St. John Cemetery |
| Motto: | Respice ad Mariam (Look to Mary) |
| See: | Diocese of Worcester |
| Education: | College of the Holy Cross Pontifical North American College Catholic University of America |
| Vincent Joseph Hines | |
| Dipstyle: | |
| Offstyle: | Your Excellency |
| Relstyle: | Bishop |
Bernard Joseph Flanagan (March 31, 1908 - January 28, 1998) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Norwich in Connecticut (1953–1959) and as bishop of the Diocese of Worcester in Massachusetts (1959–1983).
Bernard Flanagan was born on March 31, 1908, in Proctor, Vermont, to John B. and Alice (née McGarry) Flanagan.[1] He studied at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, and at the Pontifical North American College in Rome.
Flanagan was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Burlington by Cardinal Francesco Selvaggiani on December 8, 1931.[2] He earned a doctorate in canon law from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., in 1943.[3] Flanagan then served as secretary to Bishop Edward Ryan and as chancellor of the diocese.
On September 1, 1953, Flanagan was appointed the first bishop of the Diocese of Norwich by Pope Pius XII. Flanagan received his episcopal consecration on December 3, 1953, in Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Burlington, Vermont, from Bishop Edward Ryan, with Bishops Vincent Waters and John Cody serving as co-consecrators. He was formally installed five days later, on December 8, in St. Patrick's Cathedral in Norwich. During his tenure, Flanagan oversaw the establishment of several secondary schools and parishes within his diocese.[4]
Flanagan was named the second bishop of the Diocese of Worcester on August 8, 1959, by Pope John XXIII. Flanagan was installed by Cardinal Richard Cushing on September 24, 1959. Flanagan attended the Second Vatican Council in Rome from 1962 to 1965, and was an ardent supporter of ecumenism. He once declared,
"There are many paths that we can and must travel, as we work and pray for the fulfillment of Christ's prayer that 'all be one'. One of these paths is the association of yet separated Christian churches in local and regional councils."In 1973, the diocese joined the Worcester County Ecumenical Council, a predominantly Protestant organization.[5] Flanagan also engaged in active dialogue with Archbishop Iakovos of the Greek Orthodox Church in America.[6]
Pope John Paul II accepted Flanagan's resignation as bishop of the Diocese of Worcester on March 31, 1983. Bernard Flanagan died on January 28, 1998, in Worcester at age 89.