Edel Mary Quinn, (14 September 1907 – 12 May 1944) known as Edel Quinn was an Irish-born Roman Catholic lay-missionary and Envoy of the

Legion of Mary The Legion of Mary ( la, Legio Mariae, postnominal abbreviation L.O.M.) is an international association of members of the Catholic Church who serve it on a voluntary basis. It was founded in Dublin, as a Marian movement by the layman and civi ...

to East Africa.

Life

Born in

Kanturk Kanturk () is a town in the north west of County Cork, Ireland. It is situated at the confluence of the Allua (Allow) and Dallow (Dalua) rivers, which stream further on as tributaries to the River Blackwater. It is about from Cork, Blarney and ...

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns a ...

, Edel Mary Quinn was the eldest child of bank official Charles Quinn and Louisa Burke Browne of

County Clare County Clare ( ga, Contae an Chláir) is a county in Ireland, in the Southern Region and the province of Munster, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council is the local authority. The county had a population of 118,81 ...

. She was a great-granddaughter of William Quinn, a native of Tyrone who settled in

Tuam Tuam ( ; ga, Tuaim , meaning 'mound' or 'burial-place') is a town in Ireland and the second-largest settlement in County Galway. It is west of the midlands of Ireland, about north of Galway city. Humans have lived in the area since the Bronz ...

to build St. Mary's Cathedral. During her childhood, her father's career brought the family to various towns in Ireland, including Tralee, Co. Kerry, where a plaque was unveiled in May 2009 at Bank Of Ireland House in Denny Street commemorating her residence there between 1921 and 1924. Quinn attended the Presentation Convent in the town between 1921-1925. Quinn felt a call to religious life at a young age. She wished to join the

Poor Clares The Poor Clares, officially the Order of Saint Clare ( la, Ordo sanctae Clarae) – originally referred to as the Order of Poor Ladies, and later the Clarisses, the Minoresses, the Franciscan Clarist Order, and the Second Order of Saint Francis ...

but was prevented by advanced

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...

.Peel OP, Henry. "The last days of Edel Quinn", Catholic Ireland, 30 November 1999
/ref> After spending eighteen months in a

sanatorium A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal, make healthy'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, are antiquated names for specialised hospitals, for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often ...

, her condition unchanged, she decided to become active in the

, which she joined in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

at age 20. She gave herself completely to its work in the form of helping the poor in the slums of a place called Dublin. In 1936, at age 29 and dying of

, Quinn became a Legion of Mary Envoy, a very active missionary to East and Central Africa,"Venerable Edel Quinn", Legion of Mary
/ref> departing in December 1936 for

Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of the British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital city status. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...

. Quinn settled in Nairobi having been told by Bishop Heffernan that this was the most convenient base for her work. By the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, she was working as far off as Dar es Salaam and

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It ...

. In 1941, she was admitted to a sanatorium near Johannesburg. Fighting her illness, in seven and a half years she established hundreds of Legion branches and councils in today's

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The sou ...

Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeas ...

, and

. J.J. McCarthy, later

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

Zanzibar Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islan ...

and Archbishop of Nairobi, wrote of her: * ''"Miss Quinn is an extraordinary individual; courageous, zealous and optimistic. She wanders around in a dilapidated

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

, having for sole companion an African driver. When she returns home she will be qualified to speak about the Missions and Missionaries, having really more experience than any single Missionary I know."'' All this time her health was never good, and in 1943 she took a turn for the worse, dying in

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper h ...

, Kenya of tuberculosis on 12 May 1944. She is buried there in the Missionaries' Cemetery.

Cause of beatification and canonization

The cause for her

beatification Beatification (from Latin ''beatus'', "blessed" and ''facere'', "to make”) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their nam ...

was introduced in 1957. She was declared

venerable The Venerable (''venerabilis'' in Latin) is a style, a title, or an epithet which is used in some Western Christian churches, or it is a translation of similar terms for clerics in Eastern Orthodoxy and monastics in Buddhism. Christianity Cat ...

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

on 15 December 1994, since when the campaign for her

has continued.

Notes

References

* ''Edel Quinn, Envoy of the Legion of Mary to Africa'', Cardinal Suenens, (1952). * ''The Tuam Journal'', 2007. * "Edel Quinn Commemoration" in ''Kerry Magazine'', Issue 20 (2010), p. 46. * "Edel Quinn's Kilmihil Connections" on pp. 95–6 of ''Parish of Kilmihil: Historical, Cultural & Sporting Achievements'' (2nd ed. 1987). * ''History of the O'Gradys of Clare and Limerick'', Gerard Madden, East Clare Heritage (2007), pp. 163–6. Another biography of Edel Quinn has been written by the Irish priest and historian Fr. Desmond Forristal.

External links

Center for the Promotion of Legion of Mary SaintsOfficial Web Site for the Legion of MaryLegion of Mary in UgandaEdel Quinn Spanish Web SiteQuinn family in 1901 census
(Edel's full name appears to be Edelweiss on th
manuscript return
mistranscribed as Edluariss.) {{DEFAULTSORT:Quinn, Edel People from County Cork 1907 births 1944 deaths Venerated Catholics by Pope John Paul II Irish Roman Catholic missionaries Female Roman Catholic missionaries 20th-century venerated Christians 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis Tuberculosis deaths in Kenya Roman Catholic missionaries in Tanzania Roman Catholic missionaries in Kenya Roman Catholic missionaries in Uganda Roman Catholic missionaries in Mauritius Roman Catholic missionaries in Malawi Irish expatriates in Kenya