History Of Mary Flynn Family In The 1920s

The Flynn Family in the Early 1920s In 1920, Mary Flynn moves with her family from 808 Exchange Ave. to 1302a St. Clair Ave. This allows her to continue to attend Sacred Heart School. They probably move so that they can be of help to mother’s sister, Nellie (Foley) Foley, and Nellie’s children. Living next store is a mixed blessing for 13-year-old Mary because her first cousin, Anna Rose Foley, comes home and tells her mother, Nellie, anything negative that happens to Mary at school. In turn, Nellie passes this negative information on to Mary’s mother with the end result being Mary gets into trouble. Her sisters, Kate, Nora, Helen, and Ann, are still living at home. One month shy of her 14th birthday, on December 5, Mary receives the sacrament of Confirmation at Sacred Heart. Also, around this time, Mary

The Pope urges that children make their First Communion at a younger age, that is, around the age of seven with the reaching of the age of reason. Although this upset many Catholics, the ruling could not be ignored and so the practice developed that First Communion would be made at a younger age, but at an older age (12-14) a child would make their Solemn Communion. This would include a High Mass, a renewal of baptismal promises, a consecration to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and a formal reception of communion by an entire class of students. The girls wear beautiful white dresses and the ceremony is often followed by the giving of gifts and having a party. Having no theological basis and coming so close to when children receive the sacrament of Confirmation, the practice mostly disappears by the end of the 1940s. (Below are pictures of Mary Flynn. On the left is her Confirmation photo and on the right is her Solemn Communion