Retired bishop heading to California after long ministry in Arizona

Published: 2007-09-27

TUCSON, Ariz. (CNS) -- Retired Bishop Francis A. Quinn of Sacramento, Calif., who has spent the last 13 years in the Diocese of Tucson ministering to the Yaqui and Tohono O'odham nations, is returning to his native California. Bishop Quinn, 86, was bid farewell by staff of the Diocese of Tucson Sept. 24 during a Mass of thanksgiving at the Bishop Moreno Pastoral Center in Tucson. The bishop "endeared himself" to the people of the diocese as "a true man of faith," Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas said during the Mass. Bishop Kicanas wished Bishop Quinn "many more glorious years." The Tucson bishop announced Bishop Quinn's decision to return to California in his Sept. 24 "Monday Memo" under the headline "Saying Farewell to a Dear Friend." Bishop Quinn, who during his years in Tucson lived in a motor home parked behind Bishop Kicanas' residence, praised "the enthusiasm, the zeal" of his host, describing those qualities as "so much needed today." Bishop Quinn said he planned to donate the motor home to Blessed Kateri Parish to be used for a fundraiser.

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