An Ansonia priest is planning to bike more than 300 miles to raise money for the Assumption School.
The Rev. James Sullivan will embark June 1 from Assumption Church on North Cliff Street and plans to arrive in Montreal four days later.
Pre-school and kindergarten students from the Assumption School next to the church are expected to ride their tricycles to see the priest off after the 8 a.m. Wednesday mass.
Sullivan is raising money to restore the school’s third floor gymnasium and auditorium. The space has been off-limits since 1968.
Sullivan thinks fixing the space will do more than give the students a place to play.
“I really believe that opening the doors to this gymnasium and auditorium is, in a broader sense, a way to open the doors to the church,” he said.
Renovating the third floor could cost upwards of $125,000.
The work includes replacing windows, restoring the hardwood floors and fixing the molding around the stage area.
Sullivan arrived at Assumption last year and immediately saw the third floor as an opportunity for the kids and the community. So the church reached out to parishioners.
“This year so far we are at $42,000 and we’ve had 200 donors already,”said Sullivan.
The K‑8 grade school opened in 1910 and has 191 students.
Sullivan, 55, is an avid cyclist — and this is not his first time riding his bike more than 300 miles. Last year he and 10 other priests rode their bikes to Maryland to raise money for Torrington Catholic schools. He was able raise $116,000 during that trip.
To prepare himself for his upcoming trek, he’s been training with daily 20-mile bike rides.
As Sullivan travels through Massachusetts and New York, priests from other churches will ride along with him. Torin Bourke, a seminarian (priest in training) from Assumption Church, will be in a support van near him.
“When I was first presented with the position of driving the support van I thought I was going to follow (Sullivan) with my blinkers on the whole time,” said Bourke. “But we’ve planned out checkpoints along the route for me to drive to.”
Bourke will be updating Sullivan’s status along the way through their website ourfathersride.com and on their Our Father’s Ride Facebook page.
