Joe Cory/Key photo Bishop Raymond J. Boland offers prayers at the interrnment of his predecessor, Bishop John J. Sullivan, before his burial at Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Kansas City.

Bishop Raymond J. Boland of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph presided at the 1 p.m. Eucharist Feb. 16 for his predecessor, who died Feb. 11 after a long struggle with Parkinson's disease. Father Richard Carney, retired diocesan priest and chancellor of the diocese from 1987 through 1994, was the homilist.

The funeral Mass at the cathedral was the fourth liturgical celebration in two days for Bishop Sullivan, beginning with the formal reception of the body the preceding afternoon, a vigil service that evening and a morning prayer service the day of the funeral and burial.

Bishop Boland told the packed cathedral assembly that "practically everybody in this church was a friend of Bishop Sullivan's. Let us pray we may incorporate in our lives some of the great qualities we have been hearing about."

Before the start of the Eucharist, a two-piece lid was brought in and screwed down onto the plain pine coffin that Bishop Sullivan was buried in at his request.

In his homily, Father Carney said Bishop Sullivan's contribution to the church was summed up in the words of a female pastoral associate working in a parish who said, "If it weren't for him, I wouldn't have this job. I am absolutely certain this is true."

"What he gave, especially to women, in this diocese and beyond, in ministry is remarkable," Father Carney said, "and what they have given to the church is even more remarkable."

Bishop Sullivan, who led the diocese from 1977 to 1993, was buried in the vestments he wore at his installation as Bishop of Kansas City-St. Joseph on Aug. 17, 1977. His pectoral cross was one that was given him by Pope John Paul II on the occasion of his final ad limina report - a summary of diocesan accomplishments bishops submit to Rome every five years. He lay on a bier that was used in the burial of Archbishop Edwin V. O'Hara on Sept. 18,1956.

Bishop Boland used the chalice that was given to Bishop Sullivan by his family upon his ordination as a priest. Bishop Boland wore a special pectoral cross given to him by the late Cardinal Patrick A. O'Boyle containing first-class relics of two saints of the western church and one of the eastern Catholic Church.

Father Carney recalled waiting in 1977 for a bishop to be appointed to the diocese, saying, "We rarely get the bishop we want," but "we almost always get the bishop we need."

He described Bishop Sullivan as "a man who was affable, had a great sense of humor, faith and trust in God, patience and self-control and empathy. Well, he wasn't what we expected, but he was good for us. I hope we were as good for him."

Father Carney said Bishop Sullivan's interest in ministry "was a logical and appropriate extension of what he thought about people - that they were good, generous, God-loved, Spirit-filled and energetic. They could bring all that to others."

Bishop Sullivan's reading habits changed before he allowed anyone to know that he had Parkinson's disease, Father Carney said.

"His favorite books now were Cardinal (Joseph) Bernardin's books on how he dealt with terminal cancer. Bishop Sullivan did exactly what Cardinal Bernardin wrote: 'We attempt to maintain control, but it is in the act of abandonment that we find peace.' "

He described Bishop Sullivan's last years at the Jeanne Jugan Center, operated by the Little Sisters of the Poor, as "a progression of losses," but, "because of the dear, gentle and loving care of the sisters and staff, he never lost one iota of his dignity."

"The Buddhists see life as a progression like that," he said, "a constant surrendering to God until we reach a deeply spiritual relationship with God in which we have the experience of His presence with us. Once that happens, our prayers are always those of praise, and we will never again ask for anything in prayer."

Father Carney said he could envision God looking down on John Sullivan and always seeing the reflection of himself in him.

"And who knows about a God who is a Father - what he thinks. Maybe He just said, 'It's time, John. You come home.'"

In remarks at the conclusion of the liturgy, Bishop Boland said that one of Bishop Sullivan's early ambitions was to start a community of religious women whose mission it would be to hold the hands of those who are suffering.

"He learned first hand that such a religious group already exists," Bishop Boland said. He thanked the Little Sisters of the Poor for "the tender care they have given to John over the past three and a half years."

After the Mass, Bishop Sullivan was taken to Mt. Olivet Cemetery for a burial service held in the mausoleum because of the cold weather. Appropriately for the burial of a man who used jokes and story-telling to put people at ease and make his points, one of the last things heard in the course of the proceedings was one of his jokes, told by Bishop Boland.

Bishop Boland had part of his colon removed in 1996 to eliminate cancerous growths. After his recovery, he went to visit Bishop Sullivan in his home, announcing, "This is the first time I've been in your house since they removed a good part of my colon."

"Yes," replied Bishop Sullivan, "you're now a semi-colon."

Bishop Sullivan was buried in the company of previous bishops and priests of Kansas City and Kansas City-St. Joseph.