Posted June 11, 2009






By Lou Baldwin
Special to The CS&T

Cardinal Justin Rigali has appointed Msgr. Daniel J. Sullivan archdiocesan Vicar for Clergy, effective July 6. He will succeed Bishop-elect Timothy C. Senior whom Pope Benedict XVI has named an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

Msgr. Sullivan, 58, has been Regional Vicar for Philadelphia-South and pastor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in South Philadelphia for the past five years.

“I am confident that Msgr. Sullivan’s experience as a pastor and regional vicar will assist him in his new service to the priests of the Archdiocese,” the Cardinal said in a statement.

“I’m humbled by the trust his Eminence puts in me and I’m aware of the tremendous responsibility I have to the priests of the Archdiocese,” Msgr. Sullivan said. “Our goal is to have holy and happy priests and in any way I can help them be that, especially given the assignment in this year that Pope Benedict XVI has designated the Year of the Priest. Priesthood is a gift not only to the priest but to the Church.”

During his career to date, Msgr. Sullivan has been actively involved in parochial ministry as vicar for Philadelphia-South. The latter experience will assist him in his new duties because as vicar “you gain an appreciation and a unique perspective of what priests do,” he said.

Born in Philadelphia, the son of the late Edward and the late Anna Sullivan, he attended St. Timothy School and Father Judge High School before entering St. Charles Borromeo Seminary. Ordained May 21, 1977 by Cardinal John J. Krol at the Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul, he served as parochial vicar at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, Philadelphia; Our Lady of Grace Parish, Penndel; Presentation B.V.M. Parish, Cheltenham; Immaculate Conception Parish, Levittown; and as administrator of St. Martin de Porres Parish, Philadelphia. He was appointed pastor of Holy Innocents Parish, Philadelphia, in 1997 and pastor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish and Vicar for Philadelphia-South in 2004.

Lou Baldwin is a member of St. Leo Parish and a freelance writer.