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Rev. William Sullivan, O.S.A. is
Men of Tolentine Man of the Year 2004

Rev. William Sullivan, O.S.A. was honored October 14, 2004 by the Men of Tolentine as their 2004 Man of the Year.

Jack Vlazny, Men of Tolentine President, and Very Rev. David L. Brecht, O.S.A., Prior Provincial of the Augustinians of the Midwest, presented the award.

In introducing Father Sullivan, Jack George, the 2001 Man of the Year, cited the honoree's long association with the Men of Tolentine as the organization’s moderator, his service to the Church as educator, formation director and parish minister, and his roles of leadership in the Order of St. Augustine.

Raymond William Sullivan was born August 11, 1941 in Evergreen Park, Illinois to Raymond W. and Rosemary D. Sullivan.

William is a 1955 graduate of St. Dorothy Elementary School, Chicago, and a 1959 graduate of Mendel Catholic High School, Chicago. After graduating from Mendel, he studied for one year at St. Joseph College, Rensselaer, Indiana.

He was received into the Augustinian Novitiate September 3, 1960. He professed simple (temporary) vows in the Order of St. Augustine September 4, 1961 and solemn (permanent) vows September 4, 1964. Following profession of vows, he continued his education at Tolentine College, Olympia Fields, Illinois, earning a B.A. in Philosophy in 1964. He pursued theological studies at Tolentine College from 1964 tom 1968. He was ordained a Priest September 23, 1967. He did graduate studies at DePaul University, Chicago.

Father Sullivan’s first assignment was in 1968 to St. Clare of Montefalco Parish, Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan, where he served as Associate Pastor. In 1970 he became a Teacher and Vice-Principal of Austin Catholic High School, Detroit, Michigan.

In 1971 he was appointed Sub-Master of Professed at St. John Stone Friary, Chicago. During this time he also taught at his alma mater, Mendel Catholic High School, Chicago. He was transferred in 1975 to Augustinian Midwest Priory, Villanova, Pennsylvania, and was named Director of the Pre-Novitiate program there.

He was named Director of Novices in 1976, moving to the Augustinian Novitiate at Immaculate Conception Church, St. Louis Missouri. In 1977 he was appointed Pastor of St. Clare of Montefalco Parish, Chicago.

He returned to Augustinian Midwest Priory, Villanova, in 1982, again serving as Director of the Pre-Novitiate program. In 1989 Father Sullivan became Province Personnel Director. At this time he also became part of the Formation Team at St. John Stone Friary, Chicago.

Father Sullivan, while continuing in his role as Province Personnel Director, was in 1993 named Prior of St. Rita Monastery, Chicago. Later that same year, he was named Vicar Provincial. A year later, in 1994, he went back to St. John Stone Friary, Chicago, continuing to serve as Personnel Director and Vicar Provincial.

In 1998 he was appointed Parochial Vicar at St. Jude Parish, New Lenox, Illinois, and Prior of the Augustinian community there. He continues to serve in both these roles.

In addition to his other duties, Father Sullivan has been elected multiple times to the Province Council, serving from 1979 to 1983, 1987 to 1991, and 1995 to the present.

The Men of Tolentine, now called Friends of Tolentine, is a group of lay men and women organized in 1958 by the late Very Rev. John L. Seary, O.S.A., then Provincial of the Augustinians of the Midwest, to foster and support vocations to the Augustinian Order. Since its founding the organization has contributed more than $700,000 to Augustinian formation programs. The largest part of this amount has come from the annual Man/Woman of the Year event, held each October.

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