Fr. Joseph G. Quinn, OFM, 71, passed away on Jan. 6, 2025, in Boston, where he was director of grief ministries at St. Anthony Shrine. He was a professed Franciscan for 42 years and an ordained priest for 38 years. 

Fr. Joe’s funeral will be Friday, Jan. 10, at St. Anthony Shrine in Boston. Viewing is at 9:45 a.m. and a Mass of Christian Burial at 11 a.m. Interment will be at St. Joseph Cemetery in West Roxbury, Massachusetts.   

Fr. Joe was born on June 20, 1953, in Lanoka Harbor, New Jersey, to John and Virginia (née White) Quinn. He attended grammar school in Kearny, New Jersey, and went to Kearny High School. He received his Associate of Arts degree from Ocean City Community College in Toms River, New Jersey, in 1973, and his Associate of Applied Science degree from American Academy McAllister Institute of Funeral Services in 1976.  

He was received into the Order of Friars Minor on June 12, 1981, in Brookline, Massachusetts, and made his simple profession there on May 29, 1982. He earned his bachelor’s in philosophy from St. Francis College in Brooklyn, New York, and professed solemn vows at the Church of St. Francis of Assisi in New York City on June 21, 1986. He earned his Master of Divinity degree from Washington Theological Union in Washington, D.C. and was ordained at the Church of St. Francis of Assisi on Sept. 20, 1986. 

Fr. Joe’s first assignment was to Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish in West Milford, New Jersey, where he served for three years. He then served as the director of the vocation team in Brookline, Massachusetts, from 1989 to 1993.  

He became an associate at St. Anthony Shrine in Boston in 1993 before taking a leave of absence until 2011, when he returned to St. Anthony Shrine. Over the next 13 years, he served as director of the LGBTQ, Come Home and Grief Ministries, enjoyed liturgical design, and was also a popular preacher, compassionate confessor and spiritual companion to many. 

Fr. Joe was preceded in death by his parents. He is survived by a brother, Ronald Quinn of Bradenton, Florida; the St. Anthony Shrine community; friends and his brother friars of the Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

A smiling man wearing a friar habit.

Fr. Joseph G. Quinn, OFM