At St Francis Xavier's Church, Gardiner Street, we are home to the tomb of Blessed John Sullivan, which contains his mortal remains.
Here, everyone is welcome to pray and leave their petitions (situations they want prayer for) at his tomb, asking him to pray for them. Many leave notes of their petitions all around his tomb. If you cannot physically make it to his tomb, you can submit your petitions online.
John Sullivan was born on 8th May 1861 on Eccles Street in old Dublin. He was a convert to Catholicism and only four years after his conversion he joined the Jesuits.
For most of his life as a priest, he ministered in Clongowes Wood College, Co. Kildare. Over his years of ministry, both the boys of the college and the locals were struck by his life of deep prayer and personal sacrifice. He spent a lot of his time cycling to visit the poor, the sick and dying in the surrounding villages.
He taught from 1907 until his death at St Vincent’s Nursing Home, Dublin, on 19th February 1933.
During the 1920s, whilst he was still ministering locally, many people testified to the power of Fr Sullivans’ prayers, claiming that his prayers had healed them. He never claimed any credit himself.
Since his death, people have continued to be healed by the power of his prayers for them, notably Delia Farnham who made a miraculous recovery from a cancerous neck tumour after praying for Fr John Sullivan’s intercession.
In 1960, Fr John Sullivan was declared a Servant of God and in 2014 he was declared Venerable by Pope Francis.
In 2016, Pope Francis approved a decree that authenticated Delia Farnham’s miracle, approving Fr John Sullivan becoming Blessed John Sullivan.
He was declared Blessed John Sullivan at a beatification ceremony on 13th May 2017 right here in St Francis Xavier’s Church, Gardiner Street, Dublin.
This is not the end of Blessed John Sullivan’s story! He still intercedes for us in heaven and we encourage you to pray for his intercession in your life, particularly in the areas of your life where you need healing.
We also ask you to pray that he be declared a saint by the Church! How amazing would it be to have a saint who was born on Eccles Street in Dublin?
Here in our church, you can pray at his tomb and leave your intercessions there and you can join us for our monthly Blessed John Sullivan Mass, every third Saturday of the month at 1pm.
A special Blessed John Sullivan Mass is said on the third Saturday of the month at 1pm. This is a Mass for healing, in which we pray for the intercession of Blessed John Sullivan, whose tomb is here at St Francis Xavier’s, Gardiner Street.
Before the Catholic Church declares someone a saint, they are known as a ‘blessed.’ This means that Blessed John Sullivan may well be declared a saint by the Church one day!
For this to happen, the Church needs to hear about and verify the miracles that this saint is responsible for. This is because, if a person prays for Blessed John Sullivan’s intercession about physical healing and this occurs, the Church can be confident that he is in heaven interceding for the faithful here on Earth.
In 1954, a woman from Dublin called Delia Farnham prayed to Fr John Sullivan to heal her cancerous neck tumour and she made a miraculous recovery. This miracle led to him being declared a 'blessed'.
Do you have a story of Blessed John’s intercession? If so, please submit it here for consideration.
