Father John Sullivan, a beloved priest of the Diocese of Sacramento for more than 51 years, died on Oct. 24 at Mercy McMahon Terrace in Sacramento, where he resided since 2021. He was 90.
A vigil service will be held on Thursday, Nov. 2 at 6 p.m. at St. Francis of Assisi Parish, 1066 26th St. in Sacramento. Bishop Jaime Soto will preside at a funeral Mass on Friday, Nov. 3, at 12 p.m. in St. Francis Parish. A reception and then burial will follow.
Father Sullivan, pastor of St. Patrick Parish in Placerville from May 1995 to November 2000, retired on Nov. 1, 2000 and was named Pastor Emeritus of St. Patrick Parish.
Prior to serving at St. Patrick Parish, he served as pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Colusa from February 1986 to April 1995 and as pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Fort Jones from October 1974 to February 1986.
Prior to his assignments as pastor, he served as assistant pastor of St. Basil Parish in Vallejo from December 1972 to October 1974. He also served in special assignments on the College of Consultors from January 2012 to December 2021, and on the Presbyteral Council from 2008 to 1011.
Following his retirement in 2000, he lived in residence at Holy Trinity Parish in El Dorado Hills and assisted with Masses until February 2002. He was also in residence and assisted with Masses at Holy Family Parish in Citrus Heights from March 2002 to November 2009, and at Divine Mercy Parish in Sacramento from November 2009 to January 2010. He also assisted with Masses at St. Lawrence Parish in North Highlands, St. Francis Parish in Sacramento, and at the Sisters of Mercy in Auburn every Tuesday for 14 years.
Father Sullivan was born in Lodi, the fifth of seven children born to Eugene Sullivan and Anne Farrell. The family lived midway between Lodi and Galt on a dairy farm that included vineyards. He had seven siblings.
He graduated from Galt High School in 1951 and registered for the draft. He was drafted a year later at age 19 and he served in the Army Medical Corps in Korea during the Korean conflict in the first half of the 1950s. He returned to California in February 1955.
Father Sullivan’s parents were not in good health, and since he was the last of the children living at home he took care of them. He started working for the Crane Company, a wholesale plumbing business, where he was employed for 18 months. He then took a job at McClellan Field in Sacramento as a data processor for the next seven years.
His mother died in 1960 and his father sold the ranch and had sufficient funds to take care of himself financially. In 1963, Father Sullivan made a Cursillo with Father Eugene Lucas and Franciscan Father Anton Pollard. He said the Cursillo enabled him to come to grips with his life and that the Lord was saying to him, “John, do something with your life!”
Salvatorian Father Cletus LaMere, who was director of vocations for the diocese at that time, recommended that Father Sullivan go to St. Nazianz Seminary in Milwaukee to do his senior year over in order to catch up on Latin and Greek. At age 31, returning to high school was difficult for him.
The Salvatorians ran Mount St. Paul College in Waukesha, WI, and Father Sullivan attended there and graduated in 1969. He then transferred to St. Patrick Seminary in Menlo Park, CA.
He finished his first year of theology but as he began his second year he was unsure about continuing. He told rector, Father James Laubacker, that he might not continue but the rector offered him other options.
During his third year, Father Sullivan lived at St. Timothy Parish in San Mateo and commuted three days a week to the seminary. At the end of his second year of theology, he was ordained a deacon at age 38 and enjoyed his year at the parish. On Dec. 16, 1972, he was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Alden J. Bell in the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in Sacramento.
During his pastorate at St. Patrick Parish in Placerville, parishioners converted the former sisters’ convent into the Mother Teresa Maternity Home for unwed mothers-to-be. The parish also started a ministry to the homeless of Placerville by obtaining property east of the city, which was funded by El Dorado County. The county put up the building and the parishioners fed the poor and homeless.
At age 67, Father Sullivan decided it was time to retire from active ministry. Without knowing it, he needed bypass surgery. He had the surgery in April 2001 and felt much better. It took him a year to regain his full strength and to feel healthy again.
Later, Father Sullivan moved to reside at the Priests’ Retirement Village in Citrus Heights. While there, he created a summer garden that produced vegetables for the other priests and was the first coordinator or “mayor” of the Priests’ Village for two years.
He is survived by his brothers and sisters, Bill Sullivan, Margaret Kozlowski, Sheila Stetson and D. Timothy Sullivan. He was preceded in death by siblings Eugene Sullivan (1989) and Terese Sullivan (1949). He is also survived by 27 nieces and nephews and countless friends.
For those who would like to continue his work and generosity, in lieu of flowers please make donations to Mother Teresa Maternity Home or Upper Room Dining Hall, both in Placerville.
Much of this article was taken from a biography of Father Sullivan written by Father John Boll of the diocese.