As a sophomore at Villanova University I was writing a paper on Catholic Peacemaking and inevitably spent some time looking into the history and the work of Pax Christi. This was the occasion of my first encounter with Bishop Walter F. Sullivan. Recently retired as both the Bishop of Richmond and the Bishop President of Pax Christi, USA, Bishop Sullivan agreed to speak with me over the phone. Being from Maine, and new to any real involvement in Catholic social justice ministry, I Googled him, looked into his history, read some of his statements, and found myself enamored with his prophetic leadership for the cause of peace, his commitment to justice and to serving the poor.
My conversation with him lasted no more than 15 minutes. He was brief and to the point and responded to my queries with clarity and warmth. When my questions were exhausted I remember searching for something to get him to stay on the phone and speak at greater length. “Bishop, those are all the questions I have. I just want to say that I really admire your commitment to peace and justice,” or something to that effect, was all I could muster.
“Oh yah?” he paused, “well go do something about it.”
Years later I find myself serving the Diocese of Richmond’s Office of Justice and Peace, an office that in no small way owes its existence to Bishop Sullivan, and perhaps remains the Diocesan office that is most closely associated with his episcopal ministry. Although Bishop Sullivan remained active throughout the Diocese during my first two and a half years, I never had an opportunity to spend much time with him until very recently.
Starting in the spring of 2012, Bishop Sullivan would come to help with Saturday evening liturgies at Sacred Heart, a small parish in the Manchester neighborhood of Richmond where I live. The Pastor, Fr. Shay, would ask me to come and serve mass for Bishop, and take him to dinner afterwards in exchange for letting me experiment with a garden in the parish yard.
The first time I met Bishop before mass, I introduced myself, “Bishop Sullivan, I’m Jay Brown and I’m the Director of the Office of Justice and Peace.”
“Who?” Bishop replied. “Are you the one taking me to dinner?”
“Yes,” I said.
“Good. Now help me with my things.”
After mass I took him to a restaurant in Church Hill that he "had never heard of." As we walked down a poorly lit street, a college-aged young man sat on a front porch, “Is that Bishop Sullivan?” he called out.
“Yes, hello,” Bishop replied to him, then turned to me and said, “My fans are everywhere.”
At dinner, our conversation ranged from politics, to Church, to my impending engagement. I was struck by Bishop Sullivan’s honesty, his openness, and his ability to get right to the point, to speak his mind simply, firmly, but with humility. He asked me what I thought, and he listened.
This was the first of many dinners – he would eagerly await updates about Haiti and our work in prison ministry, and he hugged me when I told him I finally popped the question, and that she said “Yes.” He would share in the joy of success and listen kindly to frustrations. Most of all, Bishop took an interest in me; in my life, in what brought me to ministry, what sustained me in it.
In the time I spent with Bishop Sullivan, he had a way of keeping me focused on what was important – bringing the Good News of Jesus Christ to the world, and especially to the poor. He helped me focus on mission in the midst of struggle, and never let me lose sight of why I committed myself to ministry in the first place.
Although he didn’t remember the phone call many years before, I will always cherish his concluding remarks. Bishop Sullivan invited me into ministry at the service of the Church and of the poor. I will always cherish my time, however limited, with Bishop Sullivan, and I pray his memory will give our Church strength, tenacity, and courage as we to continue his witness for justice and peace.
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