Who are you? Deacon Dan Culloton. I’m married to Janet and have nine children and one son-in-law. We homeschool our children, and I’ve worked at the investment data and research firm Morningstar in Chicago since 1999 as a writer, analyst, editor, and manager. Before that I was a newspaper reporter for 10 years. One of the first times I heard of West Chicago, in fact, was when I wrote a story about thorium removal. And I still moved here. It was providential.
Where are you from? Born in Chicago, West Chicago resident since 1994.
What was your spiritual life like growing up? I’m a cradle Catholic. I attended Catholic grade school, high school and college. My great uncle, Monsignor Ed Kelly, a former director of Mercy Home for Boys and Girls in Chicago, baptized me. My great aunt Julianna Kelly was a Daughter of Charity who ran hospitals in Chicago, Milwaukee, Evansville and elsewhere. My mother was a teacher and administrator at Immaculate Conception parish school in Chicago and St. Zachary school in Des Plaines. I grew up serving mass, playing in Catholic Youth Organization sports, and going on retreats. In short, Catholicism pervaded every aspect of my upbringing. My formative years included a mix of post-Vatican II experimentation, such a a junior high religion class called “circle” in which we sat cross-legged on the floor and shared our feelings, and more orthodox instruction, including a high school theology teacher who had us read Humanae Vitae. That didn’t prevent me from getting a bit lazy and “getting carried away by all kinds of strange teaching” (Heb 13:9) as a young adult. By the grace of God I met a sharp-witted, virtuous, beautiful young woman who was not a cradle Catholic; she asked lots of questions and wouldn’t marry me until I answered them or found a reliable source to do so (thanks to Fr. Robert Moss, c.s.c., for helping to seal the deal).
When did you discern your call to the priesthood / diaconate? It was a gradual tug over the years. Deacons Bruce Carlson, Luis Saltigerald, and the late Harry Scheaffer were inspirations, but mostly my vocation to the diaconate grew out or what I call my Catholic reawakening after marrying and starting a family. Relearning or, in some cases, learning for the first time, the tenets of our faith renewed my appreciation for its depth, richness and integrity. It drew me deeper — first to my marriage, then my family, then my parish, then the diocese and universal church. But it didn’t happen all at once and sometimes seemed like it would never happen. I applied for diaconate formation three times before the diocese accepted me as part of the class of 2018. I’m thankful for several people gently prodding me and continuing to pray for me during my fitful discernment, including former pastors Fr. Bill Conway and Fr. John Balluff, but most especially my wife, Janet, and family.
When were you ordained? 2018
When did you come to St. Mary parish? May 1994
What is your favorite food? Anything edible.
How do we contact you? dannyc67@mac.com
What passage of Scripture do you return to for encouragement? Many. Matt 6: 25-34, Luke 6: 38, 1 Corinthians 1: 18-31, and the healing of the paralytic at Capernaum — Matthew 9:1-8, Mark 2:1-12, and Luke 5:17-26 — often coupled with the Seamus Heaney poem “Miracle.”
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Who is one of your most-loved saints? Why? There are too many to choose from. Maybe this will do. I frequently pray a personal litany comprising the confirmation saints of my family:
Teresa of Avila, Therese of Lisieux, Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, Teresa of Kolkata.
(In her heart, Janet’s confirmation saint is Mother Teresa, but she was not yet a confirmed saint when Janet was confirmed, so I include all the major Teresas for Janet.)
John the Baptist, John the Evangelist, John of the Cross, John Vianney, John Henry Newman, Pope John XXIII, John Paul II. (I chose John as my confirmation name less for any particular saint than for my dad who’s name was John, so for many years I prayed to “a starting five of Johns” and in 2014 I added John XXIII and John Paul II when they were canonized).
Andrew (son-in-law)
Juliana (Karina)
Ignatius (Geoffrey)
Januarius (Aidan)
Elizabeth Ann Seton (Mariel)
Ambrose (Louis)
Genevieve (Charlotte)
Maximilian Kolbe (Brian)
Francis (Finleigh)
Veronica, Giana Molla, Cecilia, Kateri Tekakwitha, Rose of Lima (Elaine has not yet been confirmed but these are or have been in the running)
Margaret (Goddaughter)
Catherine of Siena (Goddaughter)
And I have a bench of people I’m praying will make the cut in the future, including Dorothy Day, Fulton Sheen, Flannery O’Conner and G.K. Chesterton.
I end my litany with appeals to Joseph and Mary.