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Father John Sullivan

 



Each third Saturday of the month at 1 p.m. Gardiner St Church. Special homily and blessing with crucifix of Fr John after Mass.



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Remembering Fr John Sullivan SJ

Fr John Fitzgerald SJ

Fr Fitzgerald is one of the few Jesuits who knew Fr John Sullivan personally. This is his homily at one of the  monthly Mass in thanks for the life of Fr John and prayer for his canonisation.

The bones of Fr John Sullivan are your precious possession. They draw his clients from near and far. If John is beatified, St Francis Xavier’s will be a place of pilgrimage like St Thomas a’Becket is at Canterbury, Blessed Pope John XXIII at St Peter’s, Bl. Mother Teresa at Calcutta, and as Cardinal Newman will be at the Oratory in Birmingham. The people in a quiet corner of County Kildare still keep such fond memories of John.

They were greatly encouraged as he was so drawn to the poor and suffering. I knew John in the last three years of his life – my memories are boy’s memories – a child’s impressions – but still so vivid. His appearance so well captured in Sean Keating’s drawing – the sunken cheeks, the fine crop of brown hair, the bowed head, the penetrating eyes – a true man of God. I remember his wrinkled leathery hands. Meeting you on a stone corridor on a bleak cold winter’s evening he would clap those hands and say “Cheer up, cheer up, cheer up”. He well knew the mood of small boys – short of funds, nursing chilblains and facing into two hours’ study. I have a memory of Johnny O shuffling quickly from the sacristy, head bowed, halting at the altar rails – a welcome interruption to the evening rosary. Always he would describe a visit he had made to some sick or dying person. He was no gifted story-teller, no gifted preacher. There were no embellishments; sincerity shone through, telling of his complete devotion to the sick and needy.

John was occupied with the People’s Church and the boys’ spiritual needs with very little teaching. He took the smallest ones for Religion classes. Often we delighted to annoy him by rowdiness and irreverence. This drew the condemnation we intended: “Audacious fellow – pugnacious fellow!” Deep down we revered him, but we played on him.

If some day you visit the Boys’ Chapel, you see at the back on your left Fr John’s Confessional. The “toughs” – the ones never selected as prefects and who won no prizes – were most often there. The smaller boys would crowd into his very bare room after supper. We would come away with rosaries and ‘Agnus Deis’ which John got from convents he knew. The People’s Church is the easiest place for a visitor to find. There is where John spent long hours and helped so many in times of trial and prayed for long hours.

Father John was our Spiritual Father. His life and interests revolved round the boys’ spiritual needs. He took no part and had no interest in our games – never appeared at matches, debates, concerts or plays. Free time meant time for prayer or the sick

No use asking Johnny O to pray for victory at Croke Park today, but he will listen to your sorrows, he will pray for your sick and departed ones.

The day of Fr John’s funeral in 1933 comes back clearly. I was in the youngest group and so was up front in the Chapel, and near the coffin. I tried without success to cut off a splinter – as a keepsake, a relic. We had been privileged to know Fr John for three years. Not everyone is so blessed – perhaps only a few have been close to saintliness in one who so well mirrored the Lord Jesus, the Suffering Servant. It is a joy to be here in St Francis Xavier’s and to share your treasure – the Venerable John Sullivan.

Who  was Father John Sullivan?

Fr John Sullivan SJ: a loyal servant of God 1861-1933
John Sullivan was born into a prosperous Protestant background in Victorian Dublin. Though his mother was a Catholic, it was a surprise to the whole family that he converted to the Catholic faith and entered the Jesuit novitiate at the turn of the century. Conor Harpey SJ tells his story.

John Sullivan was born on 8 May 1861 at 41 Eccles Street, in the heart of old Georgian Dublin. His father, Edward, the future Lord Chancellor of Ireland, was a successful barrister and was already showing signs of what was to be brilliant success in future life. His mother, Elizabeth Bailey, came from a prominent land-owning family in Passage West, Co. Cork.

The Sullivans were Protestant and the Bailey's were Catholic. John was baptised in the local Church of Ireland parish, St. George's, Temple Street, on 15 July 1861. It was soon after this that the family moved to 32 Fitzwilliam Place, which was to be the Sullivan home for forty years. John grew up in the gentle comforts and privileges of the fashionable Dublin society of the time, and was raised in the Protestant tradition of his father.

Portora and Trinity
In 1872, the young John was sent to Portora Royal School, Enniskillen. In later years - and shortly before his death - he remembered his old school as a place where he went 'bathed in tears', but when the time came to leave some years later, he 'wept more plentiful tears'.

John loved Portora and, to this day, Port ora remembers him. His name is inscribed there on the Royal Scholars Honours Board in Steele Hall. Another famous Dublin name that features on the board is that of Oscar Wilde. Both were to achieve fame in later life, but for very different reasons.

While at Portora, John often visited Devenish Island on Lough Erne. Was it here, in the silence and peace of that holy place, that he felt early stirrings of the spirit which would lead him to God?

After Portora, John went to Trinity College, Dublin, where he studied Classics. He was awarded the Gold Medal in Classics in 1885. This medal, among others, is carefully preserved in Clongowes Wood College, Co. Kildare.
The death of his father, Sir Edward Sullivan, the Lord Chancellor of Ireland, in April 1885 was a great shock to him. John dearly loved his father and had already started his studies in Law at Trinity with the intention of following in his father's chosen career.

The inheritance he received after his father's death ensured that he was very comfortable in financial terms. He was a very handsome man of charm and grace. He was an outdoor activities enthusiast. He loved cycling and long walks in hills and mountains at home and abroad. A friend of the Sullivan family, Fr. Tom Finlay, S.J., who lived in the Jesuit residence in Leeson Street, once referred to him as 'the best dressed man around Dublin'.

Pivotal moment
Then something very strange happened. In December 1896, at the age of 35, after some years of soul searching, he decided to become a Catholic. He was received at the Jesuit Church in Farm Street, London.

According to a granddaughter of his brother, Sir William Sullivan, who remembers her grandfather talking about the affair, the family was 'shellshocked' at the news. This is not to say that the family was in any way hostile to his decision. The astonishment was all the more acute in that John had never shown any special interest in religion which would have led him to making such a decision. He had always seemed to be a typical Protestant of the best sort!

The effect on Lady Sullivan, John's mother, can only be imagined. All her life, she had been a devout Catholic. John's decision must have been an answer to some of her prayers. She died two years later in 1898.

Society of Jesus
A further surprise awaited the Sullivan family. In 1900 John decided to become a Jesuit and entered the Jesuit novitiate in Tullabeg, Co. Offaly.

At the end of his two years novitiate, he took his vows as a Jesuit and then was sent to St. Mary's Hall, Stonyhurst College, England to study philosophy. Already his holiness was obvious to many who lived with him.
In 1904 he came to Milltown Park to study theology, and he was ordained a priest on 28 July 1907. He was then appointed to the staff in Clongowes Wood College, Co. Kildare, where he was to spend the greater part of his life as a Jesuit.

Solitude and holiness
The solitude and peace of the beautiful surroundings of Clongowes must have reminded him of Devenish Island and Lough Erne.

Fr. John's reputation for holiness spread rapidly around Clongowes and the neighbourhood. Despite his brilliant mind and academic achievements, it was his holiness that was recognised. Many revered him as a saint. He prayed constantly: he walked with God continually, he listened to him, and he found him. That's what people recognized in him.

Healing power
Many who were in need of healing flocked to him and asked his prayers - and strange things happened. The power of God seemed to work through him, and many were cured.

He was always available to the sick, the poor, and anyone in need. The call to serve God in serving those who suffered in any way was a driving force for the rest of his life. He was always caring for others, a source of comfort and peace to anyone in trouble. He brought many to God by pointing out the way that leads to the deepest and ultimate peace.

Whenever possible, he was at prayer. Every available moment was spent in the chapel. He walked with God, and lived every conscious moment in his presence. At times he hardly seemed to notice the world around him.

Life of severe penance
He was in constant union with his Maker, and cared little for the material things of life. One old lady who lived near Clongowes managed to penetrate the secret of his extraordinary holiness. Fr. Sullivan was very hard on himself, she pointed out, but he was never hard on others. He ate the plainest of food, and lived a life of severe penance. He left everything in order to follow the call of the Lord, and in that he found riches of a different order.
What a contrast with the rich young man of his earlier years!

On 19 February 1933, Fr. John Sullivan died in St. Vincent's Nursing Home in Leeson Street, close to the Sullivan family home.

Since that time, he has been revered by many as a saint. During his lifetime, many flocked to him in times of trouble and anxiety, confident of the power of his prayers; and that confidence continues. He is still loved and remembered.

Cause for canonisation
In June 2002, the findings of the Supplementary Tribunal of the Archdiocese of Dublin for the Cause of the Canonisation of the Servant of God were forwarded to the Holy See. There is a constant demand for blessings with his vow crucifix, which is kept in St. Francis Xavier's, Gardiner Street, where Fr. John's earthly remains repose in the Sacred Heart Chapel. Many come to pray at his tomb.

There are many accounts of comfort and healing from those who have been blessed with Fr. John's Cross. There is also a constant demand for relic cards.

In this month of his birthday, let us remember this man of God, and give thanks for the outstanding example of a life totally absorbed in his Maker and in the mission of bringing God's healing and peace to a suffering world.

Prayer for the beatification of Fr.John Sullivan:
O God, you honour those who honour you.
Make sacred the memory of your servant John Sullivan,
by granting through his intercession the petition we now make (name the petition)
and hastening the day when his name will be numbered among those of your saints.
We make our prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen.

____________________________

FR. JOHN SULLIVAN - JESUIT PRIEST OF CLONGOWES WOOD Leinster Leader 2 August 2007

Memories of saintly Jesuit still recalled in north Kildare
by
LIAM KENNY
THIS year marks the centenary of the ordination to the priesthood of a Clongowes based priest who holds a great place in the affections of many in the Clane and north Kildare environs. Fr. John Sullivan (1861-1933), was ordained on the 28 July 1907 as a member of the Society of Jesus, commonly known as the Jesuits. Most of his priestly life was spent in Clongowes Wood College where as well as his collegial duties he also spent time visiting the homes of the people in localities such as Mainham, Clane, Rathcoffey, and Staplestown. On some occasions his habit was simply to call to the house of a lonely or ill person and console them with his reservoirs of prayerfulness and humanity; on other occasions he brought some little necessity while in a number of remarkable cases his presence and prayer seems to have brought an exceptional transformation in terms of relieving the pain of those in the advanced stages of illness.
A fellow Jesuit of a somewhat later generation, Fr. Fergal McGrath, SJ, published a book on Fr. Sullivan’s life in 1945 and summed up his service to the people of the Clane area as follows: ‘ The apostolate of the poor, the suffering, and the afflicted never flagged during thirty years. Father Sullivan was a great walker, and his figure was a familiar one on the roads around Clongowes.’
Among the cures attributed to Fr. Sullivan in the McGrath book is an account of the cure of a Micheal Collins, three year old nephew of the famous Michael Collins, and son of Mr. and Mrs. Sean Collins who were then living in Celbridge. One night in October 1928 young Michael woke the household shouting in distress. Dr. Charles O’Connor of Celbridge was sent for and diagnosed a condition of severe infantile paralysis. This diagnosis was confirmed the following day by an eminent Dublin surgeon who advised sending the boy to the Mater Hospital but held out little hope for his recovery. While this was happening some Celbridge locals who knew of Fr. Sullivan’s repute for cures suggested to the Collins parents that they might make contact with Clongowes and ask for his prayers. Mrs. Collins herself drove to Clongowes to see the holy Jesuit. He promised to say Mass for the child. In fact he did much more than that. Later in the week he cycled all the way to Dublin (Fr. Sullivan was sixty-six at the time) and said a prayer at young Micheal’s bedside. Within hours of Fr. Sullivan’s departure the young lad – who had been deemed incurable by the consultants – showed an improvement and the ward sister noted his limbs beginning to move with normality. He went on to make a full recovery and indeed became a champion school swimmer.
Another cure attributed to Fr. Sullivan was that of Miss Kitty Garry who was ten and lived at Kingsfurze near Naas. She took weak in school one day and was diagnosed as having TB, a common and deadly affliction in the Ireland of the 1920s. Her parents brought her over to Fr. Sullivan who blessed her and, according to Fr. McGrath’s account clapped his hands and said ‘Don’t worry; she’ll grow up a great big strong girl.’ A month later her family doctor confirmed recovery from the TB diagnosis.
Of course much of Fr. Sullivan’s work in the district around Clongowes was centred on more low key works of prayer and charity. His memory is still treasured by the people of the Clane and Rathcoffey areas and a fine modern memorial to him can be viewed in the cemetery impeccably maintained by the Mainham Graveyard Association. The process for his eventual recognition by the Vatican is underway. Although beatification is a tortuous process his Jesuit successors can take heart from the example of Fr. Charles, the Passionist priest of Mount Argus, Dublin, who was canonised by Pope Benedict earlier this summer.
For further reading about Fr. John Sullivan see: More memories of Father John Sullivan by Fergal McGrath, SJ, published by Irish Messenger Publications.
An article by Liam Kenny in the Leinster Leader of 2nd August 2007 from his regular feature, 'Nothing New Under the Sun,' on the Jesuit priest, Fr. John Sullivan of Clongowes Wood. Our thanks to Liam.

 
 




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