Rev. Patrick Flanagan, C.M.

Rev. Patrick S.L. Flanagan, C.M., Ph.D., serves as Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at St. John’s University in Queens, New York. A Vincentian priest and scholar originally from Wantagh, Long Island, he has dedicated his career to exploring the intersection of theology, ethics, and technology, seeking to apply the principles of Catholic Social Teaching to address contemporary moral challenges. 

Fr. Flanagan earned his Ph.D. in Theological Ethics from Loyola University Chicago, where his dissertation, Calling the Sleeper to Awake: The Common Good as an Ethic of Information Technology, anticipated many of today’s ethical questions in the digital world. He also holds an M.Div. from the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception and a B.S. in Biology Education from Niagara University, where he graduated magna cum laude. In May 2025, Father Flanagan completed the certification program with the National Catholic Bioethics Center. 

At St. John’s, he leads a department of over fifty faculty and staff, overseeing major curricular reforms, faculty development, and new interdisciplinary programs, including its recent Medical Humanities minor. His teaching spans Christian ethics, healthcare ethics, business ethics, and Catholic Social Thought. An accomplished author and editor, Fr. Flanagan has co-authored Good Business: Catholic Social Teaching at Work in the Marketplace (2014; rev. ed. 2025) and published in journals such as the Journal of Moral Theology, Journal of Catholic Social Thought, and Journal of Business Ethics, where he serves as co-editor of the Journal of Religion and Business Ethics.   He serves as a board member of the Catholic Theological Society of America and the Society of Christian Ethics, where he is also Treasurer, as well as HeartShareNY, his alma maters Holy Trinity Diocesan High School and Niagara University, the Vincentian Solidarity Office, and the Vincentian International Mission Services.  

Beyond academia, Fr. Flanagan offers Eucharist at St. Agnes Cathedral in Rockville Centre, serves as chaplain to local police departments, and appears frequently in national media as a commentator on Church affairs and moral issues for outlets such as USA Today, Newsmax, and Spectrum News. His vocation and scholarship are united by a commitment to the Vincentian mission—bringing faith, reason, and compassion to the service of those most in need.