Walter Francis Sullivan

Walter Francis Sullivan (June 10, 1928 – December 11, 2012) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church.^[1] He served as the eleventh Bishop of Richmond from July 19, 1974 to September 16, 2003. From 2003 until his death, Sullivan resided in Saint Paul's Parish in Richmond and continued to be active in the diocese, assisting his successor Bishop Francis X. DiLorenzo.

Early life

He was born on June 10, 1928, in Washington, D.C. He received his seminary education at St. Charles College and St. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore, Maryland, and was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Richmond on May 9, 1953. He served as associate pastor at St. Andrew's Parish in Roanoke and St. Mary's Parish in Fort Monroe (Hampton). In 1960, he received a degree in Canon Law from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. and became Secretary of the Diocesan Tribunal in May of that year.

He was named chancellor of the diocese in February 1965 and rector of the cathedral in October 1967. He was consecrated an auxiliary bishop for the diocese on December 1, 1970 and was installed as the Bishop of the newly-redrawn Diocese of Richmond on July 19, 1974.

Bishop

He served on the boards of the Churches' Center for Theology and Public Policy in Washington, DC; the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy; the Christian Children's Fund based in Richmond; the Catholic Committee of Appalachia; and numerous diocesan boards. He had been on the boards of the National Catholic Office for Persons with Disabilities and on the administrative board of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Sullivan was a national leader of the religious community's involvement in the work of justice and peace. He served as Bishop-President of Pax Christi USA, the national Catholic peace movement, from 1991 to 2001. He also served on the writing committee for the 10th anniversary statement of the US Catholic Bishops' peace pastoral, "The Harvest of Justice is Sown in Peace" (1993).

Motto

"To Unite All in Christ". The motto is derived from the prayer of Jesus Christ for unity at the Last Supper: "That all may be one, even as thou, Father, in me and I in thee; that they may also be one in us, that the world may believe that you have sent me" (John 17:21).

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