Mags GarganFr John Sullivan SJ has been made Venerable
The Irish Jesuit community is celebrating the news that Pope Francis has declared a Dublin Jesuit Venerable, putting the priest one step further on the road to sainthood.
Fr John Sullivan SJ has been associated with a number of cures, including the nephew of 1916 leader Michael Collins. He was the son of the Lord Chancellor of Ireland, Sir Edward Sullivan and Lady Bessie Josephine Sullivan. In 1896 he was received into the Catholic Church and some four years later he entered the Jesuit order. Most of his priestly life was spent in Clongowes Wood College in Co. Kildare.
Headmaster of the school Fr Leonard Moloney SJ said the whole school was delighted by the news. “We are both humbled and delighted at this news and very grateful for it,” he said.
Prayed
“This is a day so many have worked and prayed for over the years,” said Fr Conor Harper SJ, vice-postulator for the cause.
“Fr John showed remarkable holiness and his reputation as a truly saintly person spread far and wide. So there was great devotion to him in his lifetime and that devotion has continued since his death in 1933. Many people believe that his prayers have brought the healing power of God into their lives, and his tomb in the Jesuit church in Gardiner Street is visited daily by those who seek his help.”