Father John Cullinan was just 33 years old in the summer of 1956, when as a young pastor at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Benson, an associate, Fr. Norm Whalen, was assigned to help him. Whalen would be living and working at Sacred Heart church in Tombstone, which was then part of the Benson parish. The catch came soon after in a short note from Bishop Daniel Gercke. The two priests would be expected to build a chapel for Catholics living in Sierra Vista, a community growing outside the recently reactivated Fort Huachuca. For Fr. John, it would be an “OMyGosh!” moment.
The two priests put their heads together, decided to each try to get short vacations, and in September to get to work on their new project.
The two began by walking the streets of the community, knocking on doors, determining who was Catholic and getting a sense of the situation. They found approximately 20 families, mostly young families with small children. Encouraged by the interest shown by the priests, the Catholics organized a planning group, arranged for Sunday masses at Carmichael School, and began plans for building a church. Fathers John and Norm alternated coming to town to say Sunday masses, and actively supported the building project. Mrs. Margaret Carmichael, known for her assistance to other churches as well as ours, generously donated 10 acres of land. Various fundraising activities were organized, and ground was broken in late 1957. The completed church was dedicated in April 1958. After that, Frs. Cullinan and Whalen helped establish the Knights of Columbus here, start religious education, and build the rectory. In 1959, Fr. John was moved to his next assignment, and Fr. Charles Towner became St. Andrew’s first full-time pastor.Fr. Cullinan’s success in starting our parish led to two more assignments later in his career to start other parishes, but we’ll return to that. First we’ll look to Eskra in County Tyrone in Northern Ireland, where John Cullinan was born in 1922.
John was the third of six children of Manassas and Catherine McSorley Cullinan. His father farmed. Several of his brothers went into farming, but John was encouraged to go to seminary school during his high school years. Two uncles had been priests, as was one of John’s brothers, Dan, who served the Diocese of Sacramento, CA. John attended St. MacCarten seminary in Monaghan. After 5 years, and deciding to continue clerical studies, John went on to the major seminary, St. Patrick’s College, in Carlow.
John was ordained June 2, 1946 in Carlow by Thomas Keogh, bishop of Kildare and Leighlin. The Diocese of Tucson was recruiting at Carlow at the time, and John Cullinan volunteered, making him one of a contingent of Carlow graduates coming to our diocese. The tough part was actually getting here. So soon after World War II, ocean liners were not yet geared up for civilian passenger service. Newly ordained Fr. Cullinan was booked on a flight from Shannon Airport in September. Before the flight he was bumped by a returning American serviceman with priority. Fr. John was rebooked for October 11. Same problem. He was rebooked for November 13. Same deal. The fourth try was the charm, and Fr. John arrived in the States on November 21.
His first post with the Diocese of Tucson was Immaculate Conception Parish in remote Ajo. Being young and adventurous, though, Fr. John says he found the people friendly and fit right in, even to the extent of learning Spanish there. After 2 years, he was moved to the then still small town of Chandler, St. Mary’s Parish. A year later, Bishop Gercke, wanting a Spanish speaking priest at Immaculate Conception Parish in Douglas, transferred Fr. Cullinan there. Two years later, Fr. John was assigned to his first pastorate, St. Anne’s Parish in Gilbert. In 1954, Fr. John was moved again, this time to be pastor at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Benson, and his involvement with our founding.
From Benson, Fr. John was called to organize a new parish in Mesa, Christ the King. This was a period of explosive growth in metropolitan Phoenix. New parishes were springing up. At Christ the King, Fr. John also oversaw the start of a parochial school. In 1969, the year the Diocese of Phoenix was carved out of the Tucson diocese, he was assigned to begin yet another new parish, St. Joseph’s, in northeast Phoenix. He would be pastor there until he retired in 1994.
In 1979, another parish, St. Joan of Arc, was formed out of the northern part of St. Joseph’s. Following his retirement, Fr. John volunteered for years to help out at St. Joan of Arc’s in such things as saying weekday Masses and ministering to the sick.
In 2006, Fr. John was one of our special guests at our new church dedication. Regrettably, he passed away on January 21, 2010 at the age of 87.