St. John O'Sullivan (pronounced "sin-jin") (1874 –1933) was a

Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the Holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in layman's terms ''priest'' refers only ...

who personally undertook the restoration of the old

Mission San Juan Capistrano Mission San Juan Capistrano ( es, Misión San Juan Capistrano) is a Spanish mission in San Juan Capistrano, Orange County, California. Founded November 1, 1776 in colonial ''Las Californias'' by Spanish Catholic missionaries of the Franciscan O ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Early life

O'Sullivan was born in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

on March 19, 1874. He then attended the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

. While at the university, he became determined to become a priest, and was accepted by his home

Diocese of Louisville The Archdiocese of Louisville is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church that consists of twenty-four counties in the central American state of Kentucky, covering . As of 2018, the archdiocese contains app ...

. He enrolled in Saint Bernard's Seminary in

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...

, to do his theological studies, graduating in 1904, when he 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 ...

by the Bishop of Louisville,

William George McCloskey William George McCloskey (10 November 1823 – 17 September 1909) was an American Catholic priest, who became the fourth Bishop of Louisville, Kentucky. Life Early life William George McCloskey was born in Brooklyn, New York on November 10, 182 ...

Mission San Juan Capistrano

Within months of his ordination, O'Sullivan was diagnosed as suffering from

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

, and advised that his prognosis was poor. He decided to seek a drier climate in order to cope better with the disease and, with his bishop's permission, moved to the American Southwest. He helped in various

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

es in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

and

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

. In this way, he came to know the Rev. Alfred Quetu, the Catholic

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

of Prescott, Arizona. The pastor suggested that O'Sullivan might find the abandoned

in California might provide him a place for him to exercise his ministry in a manner compatible with his health. O'Sullivan traveled to the Mission, where he fell in love with the site. O'Sullivan was put in charge of the ruined Mission on July 5, 1910, making him the first priest to be resident at the mission since 1886. He set up a tent in the ruins of the mission, where he lived and began to minister to the local community. With a vision of how the Mission had looked in its heyday, he led restoration efforts at the Mission while he recovered. Working with his own hands, he began the restoration of the church, carving new beams and plastering and repairing the old walls. As the Mission began to regain its former glory, the priest found that his health was improving.

Honours and legacy

In 1918 the Mission was given

parochial Parochial is an adjective which may refer to: * Parishes, in religion ** Parish churches, also called parochial churches * Parochial schools, primary or secondary schools affiliated to a religious organisation * Parochialism Parochialism is the ...

status by the Bishop of Monterey-Los Angeles, John Joseph Cantwell, with O'Sullivan named as its first

in modern times. He was later named a Supernumerary Privy Chamberlain by the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

, entitled to be addressed as "

Monsignor Monsignor (; it, monsignore ) is an honorific form of address or title for certain male clergy members, usually members of the Roman Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" ca ...

". O'Sullivan wrote ''Little Chapters About San Juan Capistrano'' in 1912, and in 1930 co-authored ''Capistrano Nights: Tales of a California Mission Town'' with Charles Francis Saunders and Charles Percy Austin. O'Sullivan died in

Orange, California Orange is a city located in North Orange County, California. It is approximately north of the county seat, Santa Ana, California, Santa Ana. Orange is unusual in this region because many of the homes in its Old Town District were built before ...

, in 1933 and was buried in Calvary Cemetery in the

East Los Angeles East Los Angeles ( es, Este de Los Ángeles), or East L.A., is an unincorporated area in Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 118,786, a drop of 6.1% from 2010, when it was 126,496. For statistical purpo ...

neighborhood of the city. On November 7, 1934, his remains were re-interred in the cemetery of the old Mission, adjacent to the Serra Chapel which he had helped to rebuild, where they rest today.Hallan-Gibson, p. 83 The O'Neill Museum was created at the Mission and serves headquarters of the San Juan Capistrano Historical Society and the repository of all its archives.

References

External links

"Little Chapters about San Juan Capistrano" by Father St. John O'Sullivan, 1912
{{DEFAULTSORT:Osullivan, St. John 1874 births 1933 deaths Religious leaders from Louisville, Kentucky University of Notre Dame alumni Saint Bernard's Seminary alumni 20th-century American Roman Catholic priests Priests of the Spanish missions in California History of Orange County, California Burials at Calvary Cemetery (Los Angeles) Burials at Spanish missions in California American Roman Catholic missionaries Roman Catholic missionaries in the United States Catholics from Kentucky

Early life

Mission San Juan Capistrano

Honours and legacy

See also

References

External links