Dennis Joseph Sullivan

Dennis Joseph Sullivan (born March 17, 1945) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who was bishop of the Diocese of Camden in New Jersey from 2013 to 2025. He was vicar general and auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of New York from 2004 to 2013.

Biography

Early life Dennis Sullivan was born on March 17, 1945, in the Bronx, New York, to John and Hanorah (née Hayes) Sullivan. He has two brothers, Jack and Charlie, and one sister, Catherine.

Dennis Sullivan attended Mount St. Michael Academy in the Bronx before entering Iona College in New Rochelle, New York. Having decided to become a priest, he left Iona in his second year. Sullivan then entered St. Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers, New York; he earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1967. Sullivan went to Ponce, Puerto Rico, in 1969 to attend the Summer Spanish Language Institute at the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico. He was awarded a Master of Divinity degree in 1970 from St. Joseph's.

Priesthood Sullivan was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of New York at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan by Cardinal Terence Cooke on May 29, 1971. The archdiocese then sent him to the Dominican Republic to further his study of Spanish. He received his episcopal consecration on September 21, 2004, from Cardinal Edward Egan, with Bishops Robert Brucato and Patrick Sheridan serving as co-consecrators. Within the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Sullivan is a member of the Subcommittee on Asian and Pacific Island Affairs and sat on the Catholic Campaign for Human Development Committee from 2005 to 2008. In January 2014, Sullivan was criticized after the archdiocese purchased a mansion for approximately $500,000 in Woodbury, New Jersey, from Rowan University to serve as the bishop's residence. The diocese responded that the bishop needed the extra room for meetings and conferences.

In October 2020, Sullivan announced that the diocese was filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. He cited the financial effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and sexual abuse lawsuit settlements as the causes. He submitted his age-mandated retirement request the same year when he turned 75.

In 2023, Sullivan was part of the team appointed by Pope Francis to investigate Bishop Joseph Strickland of the Diocese of Tyler in Texas after Strickland criticized the pope. Francis removed Strickland as bishop of Tyler on November 11, 2023.

Retirement Bishop Joseph A. Williams was named Sullivan's coadjutor in March 2024 and Pope Francis accepted Sullivan's resignation as bishop of Camden on March 17, 2025, his 80th birthday.