Bernard John Quinn
American Catholic priest (1888-1940)
Who they were
Bernard John Quinn was born in Newark, New Jersey, on 15 January 1888 and ordained a priest of the Diocese of Brooklyn on 1 June 1912. In the First World War he served as an army chaplain in France.
In 1922 he founded St Peter Claver Church in Bedford-Stuyvesant, the first church for Black Catholics in Brooklyn, and in 1928 an orphanage for Black children at Wading River on Long Island, which he rebuilt after it was twice burned. He died on 7 April 1940. The Diocese of Brooklyn opened his cause in 2008, and Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio later accepted the findings of the diocesan inquiry and sent them to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.
The miracles
The Church has not yet approved a miracle in this cause.
Why that counted as sanctity
A Brooklyn priest who championed Black Catholics and founded the first church and orphanage for them in the diocese.
The cause
Bernard John Quinn is named a Servant of God; the cause continues. Favours received, and offers of help, go to the postulation, the office that carries the cause forward: The cause of Bernard J. Quinn.
Connected on this site
- Peter Claver Saint“In 1922 he founded St Peter Claver Church in Bedford-Stuyvesant, the first church for Black Catholics in Brooklyn, and in 1928 an orphanage for Black children at Wading River on Long Island, which he rebuilt after it was twice burned.” — this site's research
- Diocese of Brooklyn, press release - 'Cause for Sainthood of Brooklyn Priest, A Champion for Racial Equality, Sent to the Vatican'
- Father Bernard John Quinn Guild, official cause site (fatherquinn.org) - 'Biography', naming him Servant of God
- Diocese of Brooklyn — cause for sainthood of Msgr Bernard J. Quinn — Cause opened in 2008 by the Diocese of Brooklyn; Servant of God, dossier sent to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in 2019.
- Wikidata Q28889993 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Bernard J. Quinn (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 22 September 2026. Corrections welcome.