Good Fridays with Bishop Sullivan

I don’t know the extent of Bishop Sullivan’s ministering to the incarcerated members of our society.   What I do know is that he had deep compassion and love for these people.   Along with other prison-related issues, he supported improvements needed in Virginia’s probation system and sought an end to the death penalty.

Bishop Sullivan also loved to celebrate Good Friday services with Catholic inmates incarcerated at the Greensville Correctional Center, a large state prison located near Jarratt, Virginia.  My wife Elaine and I discovered this approximately 6 years ago.  At that time, we were called to prison ministry and became volunteers at Greensville. It wasn’t very long before the inmates began telling us how much they looked forward to Good Fridays and their annual visit with Bishop Sullivan.  Each year, their eagerness for his visit increased steadily throughout the Lenten season.  When Good Friday arrived, Elaine and I would accompany Bishop Sullivan and Deacon Tom Elliott to the service.  We witnessed the excitement and joy the inmates brought with them to the service.  Just the thought that a bishop would take time to be there, lead a service for them, and pray with them was almost overwhelming for many of these men.

  

Additionally, several of the inmates had received the Sacraments of baptism, confirmation, or marriage from Bishop Sullivan earlier in their lives.  They often corresponded by letter with Bishop Sullivan and thoroughly enjoyed visiting with him following the service.  During these visits, Bishop Sullivan always confirmed that the Church did indeed care about them and that they were not forgotten men.

I’m sure there is now a special sadness and a deep sense of loss among the Greensville inmates and all the other incarcerated people whose lives were impacted by Bishop Sullivan.  He was a great man who truly cared about them; they know it deep within their hearts.

Harry and Elaine Houwen, Saint Joseph Catholic Church, Petersburg, Virginia.