Bishop Sullivan submitted his resignation, as required by canon law, when he turned 75 last June.
He was ordained a priest of the Richmond Diocese in 1953. Appointed auxiliary bishop of Richmond in 1970, he was named the 11th bishop in May 1974.
Bishop Sullivan is former president of Pax Christi-USA, the national Catholic peace movement.
The Richmond Diocese comprises the southern part of Virginia and has a Catholic population of 213,528 in a total population of 4.7 million.
