The Most Rev. Edward P. Cullen, Third Bishop of the Diocese of Allentown, passed away May 9, 2023, in Lehigh Valley Hospital Center-Cedar Crest, Allentown, Pa.
He was 90 years old.
Bishop Alfred Schlert, current Bishop of the Diocese of Allentown, said, “Bishop Cullen lived his life as a faithful servant of Jesus Christ and His Church. He was visionary in spiritual, pastoral, and temporal matters. Along with the clergy, religious, and laity of the Diocese, I mourn his loss and commend his soul to God’s mercy, trusting in Our Lord’s promise of reward to good and faithful servants.”
Biography of Most Reverend Edward P. Cullen, D.D.
During his 11 years as the Third Bishop of Allentown, Bishop Cullen provided strong leadership to strengthen ministries, improve administration, and benefit parishes and schools of the Diocese of Allentown.
As Bishop, he also significantly increased protections for children and young people, forged bonds of cooperation with law enforcement, and enhanced care for victims of abuse.
Bishop Cullen was born March 15, 1933, in Philadelphia, and grew up in Yeadon, Pa. He was the second of five children in a traditional Irish-Catholic family. He was a son of the late Edward P. and Julia (Leahy) Cullen.
The future Third Bishop of Allentown attended West Catholic High School, where he excelled in athletics, especially football and track. After high school, he was an engineering student at Drexel Institute of Technology.
Bishop Cullen entered St. Charles Borromeo Seminary near Philadelphia to prepare for the priesthood. He was ordained a priest on May 19, 1962, by Cardinal John Krol, then Archbishop of Philadelphia, at the Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul in Philadelphia.
He graduated from St. Charles with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1958 and a Master of Divinity degree in 1974. He earned a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1970; a Master of Arts degree from LaSalle University in 1971; and completed the Human Services Management Executive Program at Harvard Graduate School of Business in 1986.
It was when he was serving as an assistant pastor in Philadelphia that the course of his vocation changed. In 1968, he was appointed an assistant director of Catholic Social Services, the springboard to two decades of service in social work. Bishop Cullen continued to serve as the agency’s assistant director until 1983 and was director from 1983 through 1988.