A funeral Mass for Marianist Brother Gerard A. (Jerry) Sullivan was celebrated Aug. 12 at the Marianist Residence Chapel at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas. Brother Jerry died Aug. 3 in San Antonio at the age of 93 with 73 years of religious profession.
He thought of his life in the Society of Mary as “an incredible adventure,” once writing that “I get on my knees every night and thank Mary and God for the wonderful gift of my vocation.”
Gerard A. Sullivan was born on Oct. 3, 1930, in St. Louis. He was the eldest of three children born to Gerard C. and Loretta (Boyle) Sullivan. Baptized as an infant at All Saints Church, Jerry would later learn that, in that sacramental moment, the priest had dedicated him to the Blessed Virgin. Growing up, he attended several schools, including Chaminade College Preparatory for high school.
After graduating from Chaminade, he entered the novitiate in August 1949 at Galesville, Wisconsin, and professed first vows there a year later. He began scholasticate studies at Maryhurst in Kirkwood before transferring to St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in social studies in 1954. He professed perpetual vows at Galesville on July 14, 1956. Before he earned his degree, Brother Jerry began teaching seventh and eighth graders at Marianist-sponsored schools in Texas. He also served on the faculty at McBride High School in St. Louis for two years.
Brother Jerry spent most of the next 18 years teaching religion and English as a second language at schools in Lima, Callao and Trujillo in Peru. He earned a master’s in business administration from St. Mary’s University.
Upon returning to the United States in 1974, Brother Jerry taught at Assumption High School in East St. Louis, Illinois, for two years before shifting to retreat work at the Marianist Apostolic Center (now the Marianist Retreat and Conference Center) in Eureka.
In 1980, he was assigned as a pastoral associate in Veracruz, Mexico. He continued the ministry for three years but was doing work he didn’t feel well prepared to do. During that time, he also developed a drinking problem — a condition that would shape the course of his ministry.
Returning to the classroom in 1983, Brother Jerry taught at St. Thomas More High School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, before entering an alcohol rehabilitation program in 1985. After two more years in the classroom, he enrolled in 1987 in a Minnesota-based chaplaincy training program with a focus on drug and alcohol rehabilitation. From there, he moved to California and served as a prison chaplain, working for the Santa Clara County Department of Corrections. He earned a certificate in drug/alcohol counseling from San José State University. He also worked in youth ministry — first at St. John’s Boys Home in New York and then as part of the Youth Retreat Team at Marianist Retreat and Conference Center in St. Louis.
During his time in Missouri, Brother Jerry became active in Residents Encounter Christ, a ministry focused on retreats for incarcerated individuals. He noted that the 12-step spirituality of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) not only enhanced his own recovery but provided a whole new perspective on God and Mary that he was eager to share with others. In 2002, Brother Jerry joined the staff at the Marianist novitiate in Querétaro, Mexico, serving as a teacher and mentor. In 2003 he took on a prison ministry position in Charlotte, North Carolina, before retiring from active ministry in 2007.
Burial was in the Marianist Cemetery in San Antonio.
