Francis Quinn

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Bishop Francis Quinn greets guests after the beatification ceremony for Bishop Alphonso Gallegos.

Styles of Francis Quinn


Reference style	The Most Reverend
Spoken style	Your Excellency
Religious style	Monsignor
Posthumous style	not applicable

Francis A. Quinn (b. September 11, 1921, Los Angeles, California) is the Roman Catholic bishop emeritus of the Diocese of Sacramento. He was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of San Francisco on June 15, 1946 and ordained an auxiliary bishop of San Francisco on June 29, 1978.

Pope John Paul II named Quinn as the seventh bishop of the Diocese of Sacramento and he was installed on December 18, 1979.

Quinn's service to the Diocese of Sacramento was characterized by compassion, understanding, and the ability to choose good men and women to whom he delegated authority. 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.

Bishop Quinn High School in Palo Cedro, California is named in his honor.

Quinn retired in 1993. Since his retirement he has worked with the Yaquis in Arizona. In 2007, Bishop Quinn returned to the Diocese of Sacramento after several years of service to Native Americans in Tucson, AZ. Now residing at Mercy McMahon Terrace, a residence for seniors run by the Sisters of Mercy in midtown, Sacramento, Bishop Quinn continues to serve as an activist for change, particularly in the area of social justice and human rights, especially for the poor and the impoverished. Still beloved by his former parishoners in San Francisco, Sacramento and in all the parts of the world in which he has travelled, Bishop Quinn exemplifies the true meaning of "Caritas" or, his desire to devote his life to charity.

On the issue of retirement, Bishop Quinn wrote the following prayer of reflection:

"Lord, make me thoughtful, but not moody; helpful, but not bossy. With my vast store of wisdom, it seems a pity not use it all, but Thou knowest, Lord, that I want to keep a few friends at this time of life.

"Keep me reasonably joyful; I do not want to be a saint -- some of them are so hard to live with -- but a gloomy person is one of the crowning works of the devil. Give me the ability to see good things in unexpected places and talents in unexpected people, and give me the grace to tell them so.

"Heavenly Father, we remind ourselves that You Yourself are elderly, not over the hill, but mature.

Many of the great champions of the Old and New testaments were people of maturity: Methuselah, Moses, Noah, Zachary, Anne, Elizabeth, Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea.

George Burns won his first Oscar at 80.

Golda Meir was 71 when she became prime minister of Israel.

George Bernard Shaw was 94 when one of his plays was first produced. At 96, he broke a leg when he fell out of a tree.

Benjamin Franklin had the honor of framing the US. Constitution when he was 81.

Michelangelo was 71 when he painted the Sistine Chapel.

Albert Schweitzer was still performing operations in his African hospital at 81.

Henry Ford and Abraham Lincoln did not realize any success until they were 40 years old.

Winston Churchill became Great Britain's prime minister at age 65. When 70, he addressed crowds on V-E Day.

Casey Stengel didn't retire from the rigorous schedule of managing the New York Mets until he was 75.

Lord, the mature years give us a sense of humor.

When his grandson asked my brother if he watched 'Saturday Night Live,' he answered, 'So far.'

And, Lord, I have a question for you: How come the same foods that widen our waists narrow our arteries? Lord, you know to be Over the Hill means that we have reached the summit.