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His Excellency, The Most Reverend Francis Anthony Quinn
Bishop of Sacramento
Quinn in November 2004
Archdiocese San Francisco
Diocese Sacramento
Appointed December 18, 1979
Enthroned February 18, 1980
Reign ended November 30, 1993
Predecessor Alden John Bell
Successor William Weigand
Orders
Ordination June 15, 1946
Consecration June 29, 1978
by John R. Quinn, Joseph Thomas McGucken, and William Joseph McDonald
Personal details
Born (1921-09-11)September 11, 1921
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Died March 21, 2019(2019-03-21) (aged 97)
Sacramento, California, U.S.
Previous post Auxiliary Bishop of San Francisco
Styles of
Francis Anthony Quinn
Mitre (plain).svg
Reference style
Spoken style Your Excellency
Religious style Bishop

Francis Anthony Quinn (September 11, 1921 – March 21, 2019) was an American Roman Catholic prelate who served as the Bishop of the Diocese of Sacramento from 1980 to 1993.

Background

Born in Los Angeles, California, he graduated from St. Joseph’s Seminary and was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of San Francisco on June 15, 1946. He earned an MA in education from the Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C., in 1947 and an Ed.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1962.

Quinn was a teacher at Serra High School, San Mateo, and a counselor at Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory, San Francisco, before becoming an assistant superintendent of schools for the Archdiocese of San Francisco in 1955. He was editor for the San Francisco Monitor in 1962 and was appointed pastor of St. Gabriel’s Church in 1970.

Bishop

Under Pope Paul VI, Quinn was consecrated an auxiliary bishop of San Francisco on June 29, 1978, and installed as the seventh bishop of the Diocese of Sacramento on December 18, 1979.

From 1980-1992, seven new parishes, several missions, two elementary schools, and one high school were established. He oversaw a 10-year pastoral plan for the diocese as well as a spiritual renewal program, reorganized the deanery structure, initiated a diocesan pastoral council, and celebrated the hundredth anniversary of the diocese.

Quinn inspired and encouraged women to lead in parish governance, educational, liturgical, financial and social ministries. He also activated lay individuals to continue their formation and assume leadership roles in various groups and movements. He supported the launch of an AIDS hospice and he protested the death penalty on the steps of the Capitol and at prison gates. He also spoke up regarding nuclear disarmament, immigration policies, and many foreign issues.

Bishop Quinn High School in Palo Cedro, California, is named in his honor, but closed in 2008 from low enrollment.

Bishop Francis Quinn
Bishop Francis Quinn greets guests after the opening of the cause for beatification ceremony for Bishop Alphonse Gallegos, 2004.

Retirement and death

Quinn retired in 1993, and spent several years with the Yaquis in Arizona. In 2007, he returned to the Diocese of Sacramento. He took up residence at Mercy McMahon Terrace, a residence for seniors run by the Sisters of Mercy in midtown Sacramento, and continued to serve as an activist for social justice and human rights issues, especially for the poor.

Quinn died on March 21, 2019, at the age of 97. At the time of his death, he was the oldest living bishop in the United States.

See also

  • Catholic Church hierarchy
  • Catholic Church in the United States
  • Historical list of the Catholic bishops of the United States
  • List of Catholic bishops of the United States
  • Lists of patriarchs, archbishops, and bishops

Episcopal succession

Catholic Church titles
Preceded by
Alden John Bell
Bishop of Sacramento
1979–1993
Succeeded by
William Weigand
Preceded by
-
Auxiliary Bishop of San Francisco
1978–1979
Succeeded by
-
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