Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio and Rockville Centre Bishop William Murphy will celebrate a Mass commemorating the 75th anniversary of the death of the Servant of God Msgr. Bernard John Quinn.
The liturgy will be conducted at St. Brigid’s Church, Westbury, L.I., on Saturday, April 11 at 10 a.m.
Following the Mass, a visit will be made to Msgr. Quinn’s gravesite in Holy Rood Cemetery, Westbury.
Msgr. Quinn, the former pastor of St. Peter Claver parish in Bedford-Stuyvesant and founder of Little Flower Children’s Services, died in 1940 after a lifetime of ministry to the African-American community in the Diocese of Brooklyn.
The cause for sainthood for Msgr. Quinn was introduced at the Vatican in 2010. The process is under the direction of Msgr. Paul Jervis, postulator for the cause. Father Alonzo Cox, pastor of St. Martin de Porres parish, Bedford-Stuyvesant, which includes St. Peter Claver Church, is vice postulator.
In 1931, Msgr. Quinn established the Claver Institute, which served the Bedford-Stuyvesant community as a school, a recreational center, as well as housing programs for converts. The Institute’s auditorium became known as the “Little Apollo,” producing many famous celebrities, including Lena Horne.
For more about Msgr. Quinn, log on to www.fatherquinn.org.