Immaculate Conception. Dowd Memorial Chapel

About Dowd Memorial Chapel

Dowd Memorial Chapel of the Immaculate Conception — commonly called Dowd Chapel — is the Catholic parish church at the center of the Village of Boys Town, Nebraska, and a central attraction on the Boys Town National Historic Landmark campus. For more than 80 years it has stood as a sanctuary of healing and hope for Boys Town youth and as a place of worship for the surrounding Omaha community. Inside the nave, behind a wrought-iron gate inscribed 'Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam,' lies the Father Flanagan Shrine, where the founder of Boys Town is entombed in a bronze casket. The parish is served by the priest who serves as Boys Town's National Director of Mission and Spirituality, currently Father Jeff Mollner, and is part of the Archdiocese of Omaha.

History and Founding

The chapel was built in 1939 and dedicated in 1941, funded by Miss Marie Dowd of New York City, who had been moved by the 1938 MGM film 'Boys Town' and asked Father Flanagan what he most needed. He told her the boys could not all fit in the improvised chapel then held in a wing of a dormitory. Father Flanagan personally selected each of the chapel's ten stained-glass windows — all imported from Belgium — and had a carillon installed at construction to ring the Angelus at 6 a.m., noon, and 6 p.m. He moved into the chapel's rectory in 1941 and lived there until his death in Berlin on May 15, 1948, while on a child-welfare mission for President Truman. His remains were returned to Nebraska by military aircraft, two Requiem Masses were celebrated at Dowd Chapel to accommodate the mourners, and he was entombed in the Father Flanagan Shrine. Several weeks later, President Truman visited Boys Town and laid a wreath on the tomb. The Archdiocese of Omaha opened Father Flanagan's canonization cause on March 17, 2012, and he was given the title 'Servant of God' at a prayer service held in this chapel.

• 1939 — construction begins on Dowd Memorial Chapel of the Immaculate Conception
• 1941 — chapel dedicated; gift of Miss Marie Dowd of New York City
• 1941 — Father Flanagan moves into the Dowd Chapel rectory from the Father Flanagan House
• 1948 — Father Flanagan dies in Berlin on May 15; entombed in the Father Flanagan Shrine inside the chapel
• 1948 — President Harry S. Truman visits Boys Town and lays a wreath on the tomb
• 2012 — Archdiocese of Omaha opens Father Flanagan's canonization cause; he receives the title 'Servant of God' at a prayer service in Dowd Chapel

Architecture and Sacred Features

The chapel was designed in the tradition of a 15th-century English Gothic church, in a typical cross formation. Both the interior and exterior are finished in Indiana Bedford limestone, with strong buttresses lining the nave, a simple timber ceiling, and an English tile roof. Rich dark woods contrast with the pale stone, and the main chapel seats about 700 worshippers. Father Flanagan personally chose each of the ten stained-glass windows — all imported from Belgium — which depict child saints and saints who worked with children. A side altar sculpturally illustrates the boy Jesus teaching in the temple, with figures carved from linden wood. The Father Flanagan Shrine is set off from the nave by a wrought-iron gate inscribed in Latin, 'Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam' (All for the Honor and Glory of God); Father Flanagan is entombed in a bronze casket whose cover bears words and pictures describing his life, and the surrounding limestone depicts eight scenes of his life.

• 15th-century English Gothic style, cross-formation plan
• Indiana Bedford limestone interior and exterior
• Ten stained-glass windows imported from Belgium, selected by Father Flanagan, depicting child saints and saints who worked with children
• Side altar with linden-wood carvings of the boy Jesus in the Temple
• Father Flanagan Shrine, guarded by a wrought-iron gate inscribed 'Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam'
• Carillon bells installed in 1941 at Father Flanagan's request, restored and ringing again from September 13, 2024

The Father Flanagan Shrine

Adjacent to the nave, on the west side of the chapel, the Father Flanagan Shrine is the resting place of Father Edward J. Flanagan (1886–1948), founder of Boys Town. He is entombed in a bronze casket set on a limestone base depicting eight scenes of his life, separated from the worship space by a wrought-iron gate bearing the Latin inscription 'Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam.' The shrine is a focal point of prayer and pilgrimage: each year, visitors and Boys Town youth come to pay their respects, and the chapel regularly hosts pilgrimages and special liturgical events at the tomb.

• Father Flanagan's bronze casket with words and pictures depicting his life
• Limestone base with eight scenes of Father Flanagan's life
• Wrought-iron gate inscribed 'Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam'
• A site of regular pilgrimage and prayer

Clergy and Spiritual Leadership

The pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish–Dowd Chapel is, by tradition, the priest who serves as Boys Town's National Director of Mission and Spirituality. The current pastor, Father Jeff Mollner, was appointed in March 2024 and began his duties on April 2, 2024; he is the sixth Catholic priest to serve as spiritual leader of Boys Town. Previously, Father Mollner served as pastor of St. Bernadette Parish in Bellevue and Holy Ghost Parish in Omaha, and as chaplain and spiritual counselor at Daniel J. Gross Catholic High School. He has 15 years of priestly ministry and broad experience in youth ministry at the grade-school, high-school, and collegiate levels. Earlier pastors who shaped the parish's modern life include Monsignor Robert Hupp and Rev. Valentine J. 'Val' Peter, the longtime Boys Town Executive Director who also served as Senior Associate Pastor at Dowd Chapel until his retirement and death in 2020.

• Current Pastor: Father Jeff Mollner (since April 2, 2024)
• Father Mollner is also Boys Town National Director of Mission and Spirituality
• Sixth Catholic priest to serve as spiritual leader of Boys Town
• Pastors who preceded him: Father Edward J. Flanagan (1941–1948), Monsignor Robert Hupp, and Fr. Val Peter

Music and Liturgy

Music is an important part of worship at Dowd Chapel, both for the Boys Town community and for the wider parish. Boys Town's Mission and Spirituality department maintains a Youth Choir program that sings at the Sunday 9:30 AM Mass and on Holy Days of Obligation, with weekly rehearsals. A separate Director of Music for Dowd Memorial Chapel leads congregational music services in collaboration with the pastor and the Mission and Spirituality team. The 1941 carillon, installed at Father Flanagan's request to ring the Angelus at 6 a.m., noon, and 6 p.m., was silent from the 1980s until it was fully restored with new digital equipment and rang again on September 13, 2024.

• Youth Choir — sings at the Sunday 9:30 AM Mass and Holy Days of Obligation
• Director of Music for Dowd Memorial Chapel — leads congregational music services
• Carillon restored and ringing again from September 13, 2024

Mary Dowd Society and Chapel Restoration

The Mary Dowd Society is a giving society of donors who help fund the ongoing upkeep and beautification of Dowd Memorial Chapel. Boys Town has described the chapel as 'one of the most iconic buildings in the Village of Boys Town' and as 'a sanctuary of healing and hope' for Boys Town youth, but notes that more than 75 years of use have left it in need of extensive repairs. Current restoration priorities include the stained-glass windows, the antiquated heating and cooling systems, and the organ and sound system, along with the recently completed carillon restoration.

• Mary Dowd Society — annual giving society supporting the chapel
• Named in honor of Miss Marie Dowd of New York City, who funded the chapel's original construction
• Current restoration priorities: stained-glass windows, HVAC, organ and sound system
• Carillon fully restored and ringing again from September 13, 2024

Boys Town and the Wider Campus

Dowd Chapel sits at the heart of the Village of Boys Town, a National Historic Landmark and the original home of Father Flanagan's Boys' Home. Boys Town was founded in 1917 by Father Flanagan in downtown Omaha and moved to its present 1,310-acre campus west of the city in 1921; the Village of Boys Town is incorporated as its own municipality. The historic campus includes the Father Flanagan House museum, the Hall of History (which displays Spencer Tracy's Academy Award for the 1938 film 'Boys Town'), schools, family-style homes, the Garden of the Bible, the Herbert B. Chambers Protestant Chapel of the Nativity of Our Lord (built 1991), and athletic facilities. Youth of other faiths are taken into town to local synagogues, mosques, or other houses of worship, in keeping with Father Flanagan's belief that 'every boy must learn to pray; how he prays is up to him.'

• Village of Boys Town — incorporated municipality, 1,310-acre campus
• Father Flanagan's Boys' Home — National Historic Landmark (founded 1917, moved to Overlook Farm 1921)
• Father Flanagan House museum (built 1927; Father Flanagan's home until 1941)
• Hall of History — displays Spencer Tracy's Oscar for 'Boys Town' (1938)
• Garden of the Bible — three-acre garden with more than 150 plant species mentioned in the Bible, designed by Boys Town youth
• Herbert B. Chambers Protestant Chapel of the Nativity of Our Lord (1991), linked to Dowd Chapel by the Garden of the Bible

Visiting Dowd Memorial Chapel

Dowd Memorial Chapel is a key Boys Town campus attraction and is open to the public for Mass and for visits to the Father Flanagan Shrine. The Boys Town attractions page notes that 'each week, thousands of worshippers from Boys Town and the surrounding Omaha community attend the services' in the chapel, and that visitors are warmly welcomed at Father Flanagan's tomb. The official address is 13943 Dowd Drive, Boys Town, NE 68010, and the parish can be reached by phone at (402) 498-1030.

• Address: 13943 Dowd Drive, Boys Town, NE 68010
• Phone: (402) 402-498-1030
• Open to the public for daily and Sunday Mass
• Father Flanagan's tomb is accessible to visitors inside the chapel