Sacramento Bishop Emeritus Francis Quinn Dies At 97

Sacramento Bishop Emeritus Francis Quinn, who was the oldest Catholic bishop in the United States, died Thursday at the age of 97.

Quinn served as the seventh bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sacramento from 1979 to 1993.

“Bishop Quinn was also dearly possessed by the many who admired and loved him, Catholics and non-Catholics alike,” said Rev. Jaime Soto, Roman Catholic bishop of Sacramento, in a statement.

Ordained in 1946, Quinn served 73 years as a priest, 41 of which as bishop. He served in the San Francisco Archdiocese in several capacities before his episcopal ordination as an auxiliary bishop of San Francisco in 1978. In 1979, he was selected to come to Sacramento.  

Quinn published a “fictionalized memoir” called "Behind Closed Doors: Conflicts in Today’s Church" in 2015. He joined Insight With Beth Ruyak to discuss the book, issues of sexuality within the priesthood and his description of God in September of that year. You can listen back to the interview here.