John Joseph Sullivan | |
---|---|
Bishop of Kansas City-St. Joseph | |
In office | 1977-1993 |
Orders | |
Ordination | September 23, 1944 by Bishop Albert Lewis Fletcher |
Consecration | September 19, 1972 by Archbishop John R. Quinn |
Personal details | |
Born |
Horton, Kansas |
July 5, 1920
Died | February 11, 2001 Jeanne Jugan Center |
(aged 80)
Nationality | American |
Denomination | Roman Catholic |
Parents | Walter and Mary (née Berney) Sullivan |
Education | St. Benedict's College |
Alma mater | Kenrick Seminary |
John Joseph Sullivan (July 5, 1920 – February 11, 2001) was an American bishop of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Grand Island (1972-1977) and Bishop of Kansas City-St. Joseph (1977-1993).
John Sullivan was born in Horton, Kansas, to Walter and Mary (née Berney) Sullivan. His father worked for the Electro-Motive Company. At age 10, he moved with his family to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He received his early education at the parochial schools of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, where he also served as an altar boy to Bishop Francis Kelley. He attended St. Benedict's College in Atchison, Kansas, for two years before entering Kenrick Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1939. He was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Albert Lewis Fletcher on September 23, 1944, for the Diocese of Oklahoma City-Tulsa.
Following his ordination, Sullivan became a curate at Holy Family Cathedral in Tulsa. He also served as director of Catholic Activities and as chaplain at the University of Tulsa. Bishop Eugene J. McGuinness originally intended for him to study canon law at the Catholic University of America, but instead assigned him as pastor of St. Mary's Church in Guthrie in 1947. While in Guthrie, he recruited college students to work as volunteers among the poor. Sullivan became pastor of St. James Church in Oklahoma City in 1959. From 1961 to 1968, he was national director of lay volunteers for the Catholic Church Extension Society. Returning to Tulsa, he was made pastor of the Church of the Madalene and episcopal vicar for Eastern Oklahoma.