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Reverend John L. Sullivan, Jr. "Fr. Jack", 76, of St. Mary's Parish, Franklin, passed away on October 13, 2024, after a brief illness.
Born in Boston, Fr. Jack was the devoted son of the late John L. and Mary W. (Healy) Sullivan of Roslindale. Fr. Jack is survived by his siblings and their spouses Timothy and Nancy of Norfolk, William and Arlyne of Nashua, Andrew of Norwood, Mark and the late Dianne of Weymouth, Mary and Richard Graff of Marshfield, the late Clare of Roslindale, Brian of Westwood and Peter and Michele of Franklin.
Fr. Jack is also survived by his loving nieces and nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews, and the Healy and Sullivan cousins.
Fr. Jack was a graduate of Boston College High School, Dorchester, and Boston College, Chestnut Hill. Upon graduation from Boston College, he entered St. John's Seminary in Brighton and was ordained to the priesthood at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, Boston on May 18, 1974. After ordination, he was assigned to St. Patrick's Parish in Natick. In 1976, he was selected to pursue graduate studies in Biblical Theology with a specialization in the Old Testament at the Pontifical North American College in Rome. Upon completion of his graduate studies in Rome, he joined the faculty of St. John's Seminary in Brighton where he served from 1980 until 2005. With reference to his years on the Seminary faculty, Fr. Jack was remembered as a keen observer of all things going on around him – he was a man of great wisdom, kindness and faith.
Upon leaving St. John's Seminary, Fr. Jack served as Parochial Vicar at St Columbkille's, Brighton for two years before moving onto to a role as Pastor of St. Gerard Majella in Canton in 2006. Fr. Jack served as Pastor of St. Gerard Majella until 2012.
In 2012, Fr. Jack joined the staff of St. Mary's Parish in Franklin as Parochial Vicar. Fr. Jack served in this capacity until Spring 2024 when he transitioned into a senior priest/retirement status while maintaining residence at St. Mary's. Fr. Jack's colleagues have shared that his deep faith in a loving Jesus impelled him in his priestly ministry to offer unconditional kindness, graced comfort and life-giving hope to every parishioner. He touched the lives of people from the very young to the elderly. Parishioners deeply loved him for the love he shared with and extended to them.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Mary's Church, One Church Square, Franklin, on Thursday, October 24, 2024 at 12:00 Noon. Interment is respectfully to be held in private (family, family friends and honorary guests from the clergy) in the parish cemetery. Family and friends are invited to attend the visitation hour that will precede the funeral mass from 10:30 to 11:30 AM in St. Mary's Church.
All are welcome to join an Evening Prayer Vigil for Fr. Jack at 7 PM on Wednesday, October 23 in the church.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in memory of Fr. Jack to support either one of his two favorite causes:
By mail to: Amy's Army C/O Boston Marathon Jimmy Fund Walk, PO Box 3595, Boston, MA 02241 – or via this link:
https://danafarber.jimmyfund.org/site/TR?team_id=27893&fr_id=2150&pg=te…
Or
St. Mary's Youth Ministry via the following link:
https://www.osvhub.com/stmarysfranklin/giving/funds
