James Stephen Sullivan (July 23, 1929 – June 12, 2006) was an American

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Fargo in North Dakota from 1985 to 2002. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the

Diocese of Lansing The Diocese of Lansing ( la, Diœcesis Lansingensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church located in the south-central portion of Michigan around Lansing. It encompasses an area of including the counties o ...

in Michigan from 1972 to 1985. In 2021, the Diocese of Lansing stated that Sullivan had credible accusations of sexually abusing minors during the 1960's.

Biography

Early life

Sullivan was born on July 23, 1929 in

Kalamazoo, Michigan Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County. At the 2010 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 74,262. Kalamazoo is the major city of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropolit ...

, to Stephen and Dorothy (née Bernier) Sullivan. After attending St. Augustine Cathedral School in Kalamazoo, he attended high school and two years of

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...

at St. Joseph Seminary in

Grand Rapids Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the ...

. He then studied at Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit, where he obtained a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in 1951. He completed his

theological Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

studies at St. John Provincial Seminary in

Plymouth, Michigan Plymouth is a city in Wayne County, Michigan, United States. The population was 9,370 at the 2020 census. The city of Plymouth is surrounded by Plymouth Township, but the two are administered autonomously. Plymouth is a western suburb of Metro ...

Priesthood

Sullivan was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

to the priesthood for the Diocese of Lansing by Bishop Joseph H. Albers on June 4, 1955. After doing pastoral work in

Flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and start fir ...

, Lansing, and

St. Joseph Joseph (; el, Ἰωσήφ, translit=Ioséph) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who, according to the canonical Gospels, was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. The Gospels also name some brothers ...

, he served as

private secretary A private secretary (PS) is a civil servant in a governmental department or ministry, responsible to a secretary of state or minister; or a public servant in a royal household, responsible to a member of the royal family. The role exists in t ...

to Bishop Albers and his successor Bishop

Alexander M. Zaleski Alexander Mieceslaus Zaleski (June 24, 1906 – May 16, 1975) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Lansing in Michigan from 1965 until his death in 1975. He previously served as an auxil ...

, and then as assistant

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

and

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ...

of the diocese. He also served as vocations director and founder of Liturgical Publications.

Auxiliary Bishop of Lansing

On July 25, 1972, Sullivan was appointed auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Lansing and

titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of ''Siccesi'' by

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

. He received his episcopal

consecration Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

on September 21, 1972, from Bishop Zaleski, with Bishops Michael Green and

Paul Vincent Donovan Paul Vincent Donovan (September 1, 1924 – April 27, 2011) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the first bishop of the new Diocese of Kalamazoo in Michigan from 1971 to 1994. Biography Early life Paul Donovan w ...

serving as co-consecrators.

Bishop of Fargo

Following the death of Bishop Justin Driscoll, Sullivan was named the sixth bishop of the Diocese of Fargo by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

on March 29, 1985. He was installed at St. Mary's Cathedral on May 30, 1985. During his tenure, Sullivan established the Fargo Catholic Schools Network and the Opening Doors, Opening Hearts evangelization program. He improved the financial condition of the diocese and funded the Priest Pension Plan through the Shepherd's Care Campaign. Sullivan became nationally known for his work against

abortion rights Abortion-rights movements, also referred to as pro-choice movements, advocate for the right to have legal access to induced abortion services including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their pre ...

for women, initiating the annual Walk with Christ for Life in 1992. In 1993 he was chosen by John Paul II to address the English-speaking audience attending

World Youth Day World Youth Day (WYD) is an event for young people organized by the Catholic Church that was initiated by Pope John Paul II in 1985, sometimes nicknamed in later years as the "Catholic Woodstock". Its concept has been influenced by the Light-Li ...

in Denver, Colorado. Sullivan also served as episcopal liaison to the

Cursillo ''Cursillos in Christianity'' ( es, Cursillos de Cristiandad, "Short courses of Christianity") is an apostolic movement of the Catholic Church. It was conceived in Spain between 1940 and 1949 and began with the celebration of the so-called "first c ...

movement and the Catholic Marketing Association, as president of the

World Apostolate of Fatima In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

, and as a member of the advisory board for Catholics United for the Faith.

Resignation and legacy

John Paul II accepted Sullivan's resignation as bishop of Fargo on March 18, 2002. He resided at the

rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage. Function A clergy house is typically ow ...

at Holy Spirit Parish in Fargo before moving to Rosewood on Broadway, a

skilled nursing facility A nursing home is a facility for the residential care of elderly or disabled people. Nursing homes may also be referred to as skilled nursing facility (SNF) or long-term care facilities. Often, these terms have slightly different meanings to in ...

, in 2006. James Sullivan died of complications from

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

on June 12, 2006, at age 76. In July 2021, the Diocese of Lansing announced that several sexual abuse allegations against Sullivan were credible. While assigned to Church of the Resurrection Parish in Lansing in the 1960's, he inappropriately touched and used sexual language with two young boys. Immediately following this news, the John Paul II Catholic Schools network in Fargo renamed Sullivan Middle School as Sacred Heart Middle School.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sullivan, James Stephen 1929 births 2006 deaths Sacred Heart Major Seminary alumni People from Kalamazoo, Michigan Roman Catholic bishops of Fargo 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Roman Catholic Diocese of Lansing Religious leaders from Michigan Catholics from Michigan