The Crucifix in the Passionist public chapel of  Immaculate Conception Monastery, Jamaica, NY, is a gift of the German bishops of Bavaria to Fr. Fabian Flynn, CP, for helping restore a broken Europe, particularly Germany and Hungary, after the 2nd World War. A book describing his work, “The Priest Who Put Europe Back Together”, by Sean Brennan, an historian from the University of Scranton, appeared in 2018.

Father Fabian was ordained a Passionist in Immaculate Conception Monastery in 1931 and served in its retreat center after ordination. He went on to become an editor for The Sign magazine, a Passionist publication.

During the Second World War, Fabian became an army chaplain in 1943. He served in combat with the 1st Infantry Division for 16 months. His service included North Africa, Sicily, France, and Germany. His unit ended up in Nuremberg, Germany, during the Nuremberg war trials. Fabian became chaplain for Allied participants in that trial. He also ministered to Germans in Nuremberg, including those on trial as war criminals.

During the trial, he celebrated Mass every Sunday. The Mass brought Allied personnel and German Catholics together in one of Nuremberg’s war-torn Catholic churches.

After army service, Father Fabian became Director of the newly created Catholic Relief Services in Germany and Hungary from 1946-49. He worked for Catholic Relief until his death in 1973. He helped millions of refugees displaced by wars and other tragedies in Europe and elsewhere. 

Catholic Relief Services was established by the American bishops in 1943, as an agency to bring aid to the victims of war overseas. It was distinct from Catholic Charities whose task was to aid those in need in the United States..   

At the end of his service in Germany, the Catholic bishops of Bavaria honored Father Fabian. They did not give him a medal or other sign of appreciation. Instead, they gave him a large 16th-century crucifix from their war-ravaged country. It was an appropriate remembrance of his ministry. He fulfilled one of the hardest teachings of Jesus: “Love your enemies, do good to those who persecute you.” 

The Crucifix holds a prominent place in the Passionist monastery chapel today. It serves as a fitting expression of the work he did then. It is also a timely reminder of what we need to do today.

After the Second World War, the victorious Allied countries made a thoughtful decision. They avoided the mistake made after the First World War when Germany was left bitter and impoverished in defeat. They decided a peaceful Europe could only come through the development of a stable peacetime economy in Germany and other European countries. America channeled a large part of its relief aid through Catholic Relief Services. Father Fabian was an administrator of that aid. 

Historians today recognize the wisdom of that approach, and many warn about abandoning it. How we deal with enemies and rivals is currently a hot political issue.. 

People of faith, whatever their political affiliation, look to a higher wisdom Jesus teaches. “ Love your enemies, give to those who hate you…Be children of the Most High,for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.
Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” ( Luke 6)

Jesus lived according to this wisdom. “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do,” Jesus said from the cross. The cross expresses his teaching.

The Crucifix in our Jamaica chapel holds the suffering Jesus, truly God and truly human. We profess this mystery over and over whenever we pray and celebrate our sacraments. We have to keep this mystery in mind. 

Jesus became one of us. He calls all humanity to his Cross: the poor who hunger and thirst, victims of war and other tragedies, soldiers lost or scared in battle, women and children without a home, the old, the sick, the frail, yes even our enemies and rivals. All are there.