LAWRENCE – For most kids, a snow day meant sleds, cocoa, and maybe a movie marathon. For a then-6-year-old Chris Sullivan, it meant something different: flying circles around the Central Catholic gym floor on a Big Wheel, laughter echoing off the walls, his little brother Kevin in hot pursuit. Just another “normal” day in the life of a Sullivan.
At the heart of this story was his father, Michael Sullivan—a Central Catholic legend who poured 41 years into the school as teacher, coach, and athletic director, before his passing in 2009. Chris, fittingly, finds himself now in his 41st year at the school that shaped him, walking the same halls as his dad, a proud member of the Class of 1981.
Following in his father’s footsteps, Chris went to Merrimack College, but Central always pulled him back. If Central Catholic had a living, breathing spirit, it might just be Chris Sullivan—bat boy, water boy, student, athlete, admissions director, coach, Director of Religious Life, academic dean, assistant principal, and, for the past 10 years, the school’s seventh—and first lay—president.
All three of his and wife Joyce’s sons—Liam, Aidan, and Devin—wore their own Central caps and gowns. The school is stitched into the Sullivan DNA.
“I wasn’t qualified to be the president of anything,” Chris jokes. “But if there was one place that made sense, it was Central Catholic. I’ve always loved this place, and I always will.”
On November 1, Chris will hand off the baton—gratefully, not goodbye—to Jodi Linnehan Kriner, another Central Catholic lifer with a resume almost as varied as his own. She’s logged three decades as teacher, coach, department chair, assistant principal, and technology director, and—like the Sullivan boys—her children not only graduated from Central, but were baptized on campus, in the Carney Family Chapel.
For those who know Central, this is how it goes. Few ever really leave. Just look at Chuck Adamopoulos, legendary football coach, or former athletic director and long-time coach Ernie DiFiore—both retired, both back on the sidelines, unable to stay away.
Chris isn’t disappearing either. He’s returning to the post that’s always tugged hardest at his heart: Director of Marist Mission, a role he first held 35 years ago (and yes, he was the first layperson for that role too).
Every job has mattered to Chris, but the Marist mission has always felt like destiny, minoring in religious studies at Merrimack (‘85).
“I feel so strongly about that mission—making Jesus known and loved to everyone at the school,” he says, his voice catching the same passion he’s had since the 1990s. “We want to educate the whole person before they go off to college. We want every student to leave here wanting to care for those least favored and in need. I believe this position is what I was born to do.”
Ask Adamopoulos for a measure of Chris’s impact, and you’ll get a grin and a list: “He grew up in Lawrence and he’s helped Central stay connected to so many important organizations—like the Boys Club, Lazarus House, you name it. He’s worn just about every hat, but more than anything, he’s always cared about helping the city. He’s a special guy.”
Chris and Joyce now live in Chester, N.H., but Lawrence will always be “home.”
“I grew up on Mount Vernon Street. In my world, South Lawrence West was God’s country,” Chris says. “If anybody moved to another part of the city, they were considered a traitor.”
And every morning, as he walks into Central—or every evening, as he heads home—Chris is reminded why this place matters so deeply.
“There’s a monument to my dad in the back parking lot near the turf field,” he says. “I walk by him every day. He was a great guy, and I wouldn’t have this relationship with this great place without him.”
Central Catholic feels the same thing about Michael’s eldest son, Chris.
“Like his dad, who was a great guy and leader here, Chris, at the core, is all about Central Catholic,” said Adamopoulos. “And he made is own mark, which in his family is saying something.”
You can email Bill Burt at bburt@eagletribune.com.