Joseph B. Flanagan leaned back in a chair and searched for an answer to the question to why did he give up a prosperous insurance business and a place on the Lake Charles, La., city council to become executive secretary of the St. Vincent de Paul Society in Atlanta.

It definitely wasn’t for money because he will earn a great deal less. “I’m not making a financial sacrifice,” he said, “because my material needs are less and have never been paramount. The job is going to give me a measure of fulfillment. I will be able to involve myself and talk about Christ to people who have never heard laymen talk about Christ.”

Flanagan, soft spoken and scholarly looking at 51, continued to explain why he came to Atlanta. “The Church in Atlanta has a fine image and a reputation for openness. I hope that the society can create increasing depth to that image with lay activity among the poor who want them to know the Church means what it says.”

“The welfare programs are good, but they are established on material needs and are not carried out with any feeling of spirituality,” he commented.

The St. Vincent de Paul Society can get the message of Christ’s love to the poor, he said. “The message has been discussed in churches by members of the clergy, and if laymen accept the responsibility of witnessing Christ the message will reach into every area of the community.”

Flanagan came to Atlanta in a roundabout way. He applied for the Institute of Lay Theology at San Francisco, but was rejected because of his age. It was through the institute that he made contact with the society in Atlanta.

Flanagan said one of the reasons for his decision was that three of his four children are now self-supporting. A son, Dennis, will attend high school here. “I’ve enjoyed meeting and working with people more than I did business, but before now I had to think of my family,” he said.

The scope of his job is somewhat uncertain because this is the first time the society had tried an executive secretary in the country. Flanagan does hope to become a clearing house for the society and develop awareness of the need of Atlanta’s poor and the need of programs to assist them.

A sheet describing the job classification says it is the job of the executive secretary to assist in the revitalization of existing conferences, to develop new conferences within communities as opposed to the concept of parish conferences, to promote closer ties between the society with other civic and church organizations and to involve young people.

Flanagan explained that the 15 conferences are set up by laymen to help the poor within their parishes. “We will work mainly in depressed areas. The poor congregate in areas where their income allows them to live. Many have an income of sorts that is just above the welfare level, but is not enough to give them any hope for the future.”

He said he hopes the society can also become involved in prison work “to help those who will soon be leaving prisons.” The new executive secretary did point out that, “we don’t intend to centralize cases -- those are confidential and are kept in each parish, but we hope to distribute the case load.” A native of Rutland, Vt., Flanagan has a B.A. degree in English and was active in the Knights of Columbus, Scouting and served on the Diocesan Human Relations Council in Lake Charles.

His wife, Mary Hope, said, “I have followed him across the country a couple of times so I was ready to go if this is what he wanted. We’re at an age when we’re ready to pull a stunt like this.”