Father Richard Sullivan SDS RIP – from the Chew Valley Parish

Date: 19 August 2007

It is with great sadness we report the death of Father Richard Sullivan, Parish Priest of Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Parish, Chew Valley.

When Father Richard was appointed as Parish Priest at the Catholic parish of Sacred Heart Chew Valley in 1999 he was already 72 and had survived a heart surgery eight years earlier. Few would have begrudged him the chance to enjoy a well deserved rest at a quiet parish in the beautiful Somerset countryside. However, nothing could be further from the truth. This quiet but sociable monk from the Salvatorian order clearly saw the parish as his latest project in a long and distinguished priestly career.

Over the next eight years he made a big impact on the parish and endeared himself to his parishioners, raising the profile of Catholicism in the Chew Valley and across the West Country. He took his message to Radio Bristol and various local press and established a collaborative ministry with no less than 35 parishioners holding various offices to secure the future running of the parish. He set up the pastoral parish council
Father Richard was famed for his social events. He believed that the parish should be a community and brought the congregation together not only at a spiritual level but also socially. He enjoyed the annual parish lunch and held regular cheese and wine evenings. One of his stated objectives was for all 130 parishioners to attend at least one social event and most think he achieved it. The greatest parish events, to be remembered by all who attended was the bicentenary in 2006.

Most of all he was dynamic. Father Richard knew how to make things happen. One parishioner said, “He knew how to get the best out of people.” He recently devised a parish directory which was copied throughout the diocese.

At school it was said of him “that no good will ever come of him” but fortunately, this did not prove to be the case. From the humble beginnings in Liverpool, to the joy of being a Parish Priest in Chew Magna, he was to prove this saying to be without foundation. He was born into a family of five children, three girls and two boys, in a poor quarter of Liverpool.

He entered the priesthood later than most having already played his part as a soldier, liberating prisoner of war camps at the end of World War Two and later working for Customs and Excise. Later in life he maintained his military link by joining the Territorial Army as a Chaplain and attaining the rank of Major.

He rejoiced in his priesthood and he was proud to be a Salvatorian. He entered the community in 1952 and was attracted to it because he had such a broad remit: Serve people everywhere, by all the ways and means which the love of Christ inspires. He eventually served two terms as Superior of the local Salvatorian Community (the equivalent of bishop).

Richard spent many years of his priestly life working in the student world, at Christleton Hall, Mary Ward, Aston University and Keele University. He also served as Parish Priest in two Salvatorian parishes. He maintained his friendship with many who had been students of his. Often he travelled to distant parts of the world as he accepted an invitation to visit them, to marry them, or to have a holiday but many also travelled the world to visit him. During his life he taught three current Bishops. He had commented that he couldn't vouch for their knowledge of theology, but he was sure that they knew how to dissect a frog!

After six years as Provincial he came to Chew Magna. He always had a pet project and in 2007 it was the evangelisation project- to “reach out to lapsed and retired Catholics across the parish and show them what the modern church has to offer”. This already achieved success with two non Catholics converting to the faith.

He was an excellent story teller with a fund of jokes, for as he often said: “You’ve gorra laugh!” In 2004 he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Open University.

Having reached the ripe old age of 81, Richard had notified Bishop Declan of his intention to retire. He had another book to finish and many other things to do – retirement would be to a flat in Reading- generously provided for him (by friends) and he had already spent some days of each week there – getting used to it. But it was not to be – the sudden onset of his cancer and his subsequent operation, hospitalisation and return to home, as he referred to Chew Magna. Here he prepared for the last stage of his earthly journey, supported by parishioners and friends.

When he made the decision to let nature take its course, he did so because was ready to say “good-bye” to us and “hello” to his maker. He had missed out meeting him some sixteen years ago (1991) but this time the Lord could well have said to him “I have been waiting 81 years for you – what has kept you?” He died peacefully on Saturday 28 July 2007, in his own bed, in his own home.

Paul Harper
Useful URL : http://www.sds.org