Fr. Thomas G. Mullen

Rev. Thomas G. Mullen, retired Catholic priest, died on May 9, 2024 in Washington DC.  He was born in Louisville, KY on Nov 10, 1929, the 2nd son of Dr. and Mrs. A.B. Mullen, physician and registered nurse. Fr. Mullen joined the religious community of Friars Minor Conventual in 1948. Following the custom of that community, he was given a new name and thereafter known as Friar Roland Mullen. Friar Roland completed his undergraduate studies, majoring in philosophy, and received his BA from the University of Dayton (OH) in 1952. The next four years were spent in preparatory studies for ordination, majoring in theology, at Assumption Seminary in Chaska, MN. Friar Roland was ordained a Catholic priest in St. Paul, MN on June 2, 1956.

Fr. Mullen received a master’s degree in philosophy from the University of Notre Dame (IN) on Feb 1, 1962. In addition, he was a graduate of the Catholic University of America in Washington DC where he received an advanced degree (S.T.L.) in theology on Dec 13, 1966. Fr. Mullen also completed all academic requirements for a doctorate in theology from CUA, except the completion of his doctoral dissertation.

Before completing his graduate and postgraduate studies in philosophy and theology, Fr. Mullen taught philosophy from Sept 1956 to June 1959 at a Franciscan seminary in Carey, OH. In addition, he was also the pastoral administrator of a nearby rural parish. From June 1959 to August 1961, Fr. Mullen was assigned as chaplain of St. Lawrence Hospital in Lansing, MI. His duties included teaching medical ethics to student nurses and preaching at special services at nearby parishes. From August 1961 to August 1963, Fr. Mullen taught theology at a Franciscan novitiate in Auburn, IN where he was also the property manager and pastoral administrator of a parish in Clear Lake, IN. From 1963 to 1966, he was assistant professor of philosophy at Bellarmine University in Louisville, KY.

While writing his doctoral dissertation at CUA, in 1970, Fr. Mullen was appointed as a civil rights specialist in the US Dept of Health, Education and Welfare in Washington DC. When the US Dept of Education was established in 1980, he transferred to that agency’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) in Washington DC.

In a variety of assignments with OCR, Fr. Mullen enforced federal civil rights laws prohibiting discrimination based on race and ethnicity in higher education institutes and in school districts that received federal financial assistance. He was assigned the coordination of OCR’s efforts to create a national policy for the education of children of migrant workers. Also, as the national coordinator for the enforcement of civil rights under the Magnet School Assistance Program, Fr. Mullen helped many school districts attain civil rights compliance for funding under this program.

While continuing this work, Fr. Mullen transferred from the Franciscan Religious Community to the Diocese of Lake Charles, LA in 1990.  He retired as a civil rights specialist on Dec 31, 1996 and continued pastoral ministry in the DC area.  He retired from all active ministry in 2007 and moved to the community of Leisure World in Silver Spring, MD.

Fr. Mullen has no immediate survivors.  Visitation will begin at 10:30am on Thursday, May 16, 2024 at Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church in Silver Spring, MD; where the Memorial Mass will begin at 11am. Interment of his cremated remains will be at a later date in Calvary Cemetery, Louisville, KY.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Catholic Relief Services, https://www.crs.org