Thomas J. Quinlan
The Reverend Thomas J. Quinlan (April 23, 1929 – April 24, 2012) was a Roman Catholic priest of the Richmond diocese. Career. Father Quinlan (TQ) was ordained priest on May 1, 1958, and was named a curate at Blessed Sacrament Parish in Alexandria, Virginia. He subsequently served at: • Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in Alexandria (05/22/58 - 01/26/63) - Associate Pastor • Assumption Parish in Keyser, West Virginia (01/27/63 - 08/15/63) - Associate Pastor • Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Norfolk, Virginia (08/16/63 - 05/31/68) - Associate Pastor • Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Covington, Virginia (01/01/68 - 12/06/68) - Pastor • St. Vincent De Paul Catholic Church in Newport News  (12/07/68 - 07/26/71) - Pastor • Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Mount Vernon, Virginia Alexandria (07/27/71 - 09/03/74) - Pastor • Basilica of Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Norfolk (10/01/74 - 06/01/85) - Pastor • Sabbatical and Runaway from the Bishop (06/01/85 - 05/25/86) • St. Kateri Tekakwitha Catholic Church in Tabb (05/26/86 - 06/11/00) - Founding Pastor • Church of the Holy Family in Virginia Beach (06/12/00 - 06/13/05) - Pastor TQ was instrumental in providing a Haitian village with a freshwater well and a school by partnering their parish with Holy family. Father Quinlan was also the president of the priest senate in the Richmond diocese. Throughout his entire career as a  Catholic Priest, T.Q. has emphasized the importance of caring for the poor, the marginalized, and the disenfranchised. At his prior assignment, St. Kateri Tekakwitha, he founded a thrift shop in Poquoson, VA to specifically help the poor. Father Quinlan was known for his "wake up" approach to teaching the Gospel and the message of Jesus Christ. His homilies tended to spark lively discussion within the communities he served. His style and approach to getting people involved in the Church and in the community, occasionally generated interest in the media. Controversy. The Bishop of Richmond, Most Rev. Francis X. DiLorenzo, retired  Father Quinlan in June, 2005 from service at Holy Family in Virginia Beach. A Christmas Eve homily, which made references to Mary's humanly giving birth to Jesus, offended some members of the parish and was reported to Bishop DiLorenzo. However many members of the Parish stood up for and appealed to the Bishop to retain Father Quinlan. Father Quinlan's homiletic language was vulgar and disrespectful, and there were some instances of sacrilegious behavior at Mass. According to local newspapers, Father Quinlan drove a Volkswagen down the aisle during a Palm Sunday procession at Good Shepherd Catholic Church. At  another Palm Sunday Mass, "T.Q." drove a three-ton forklift down the center aisle at The Basilica of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Norfolk VA. Jet Magazine, August 18, 1977 The "yellow brick road" imagery was a metaphor for Jesus' pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Father Quinlan occasionally costumed himself as The Grinch or as Superman at the beginning of a Mass. Another endeavor included a psychedelic Mass with lighting effects. On 30 January 2006, "The Catholic Virginian" (the official newspaper of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Richmond), printed the following regarding Fr. Quinlan: "The Rev. Thomas Quinlan, a retired  priest of the Diocese of Richmond, can no longer celebrate the sacraments publicly. He can celebrate Mass privately. Bishop DiLorenzo said he took this action as a response to Father Quinlan's behavior that has 'engendered anxiety and emotional upset which interferes with an individual's religious experience.'" Supporters and admirers of TQ. Although, over the course of TQ’s ministry, there were plenty of critics and many letters written to the Bishop complaining about his sometimes unorthodox, blunt, direct, and challenging methods, TQ was loved and admired by many. He was a brilliant scholar and presented mature and challenging , homilies and lectures throughout his career. He was admired by most of his parishioners and appreciated and respected by most of his fellow clergy. Bishop Sullivan: Bishop Sullivan, who was the previous Bishop before Bishop DiLorenzo arrived in 2004, was a strong supported and admirer of TQ. “On the 40th anniversary of the Pastor’s (TQ’s) ordination, the Bishop Sullivan composed an Ode to TQ, refereeing to the pastor as ‘the blue Angel”’ In that Ode, the Bishop Sullivan remarked on the priest’s ‘tireless care of the poor, the sick, the old, and the lame.’ For 40 years , he said, the pastor “had preached and labored … to make Jesus, the Gospel, and our faith take on new life for us.’ He even compared him to St. Peter, who was praised, but also mocked. ‘But just like Simon Peter, [his] love for all God’s people is solid as a rock.’ The bishop called him a ‘faithful, ageless, and glorious priest.’” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSYK9Egh8zI&list=PL7FwaDr_SJGlABIioRIrxJhFy5kGkVGNr&index=3&ab_channel=CalvinThomas TQ Documentary and other video clips of TQ. “The Trouble with TQ” documentary – a film by Calvin Thomas, Jr. premiered on May 15th, 2014 at the Naro Expanded Cinema in Norfolk VA to a sell-out crowd . https://www.einpresswire.com/article/205839304/encore-norfolk-performance-in-the-works-for-the-trouble-with-tq Palm Sunday at St. Vincent's - Palms or Pussywillows? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQSbvHiS3jo&list=PL7FwaDr_SJGlABIioRIrxJhFy5kGkVGNr&index=1&ab_channel=CalvinThomas TQ Rants on Ratzinger. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSbWfwZqFhU&list=PL7FwaDr_SJGlABIioRIrxJhFy5kGkVGNr&index=2&ab_channel=CalvinThomas Nat Turner AOF clip. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54FkjKbwOJc&list=PL7FwaDr_SJGlABIioRIrxJhFy5kGkVGNr&index=5&ab_channel=CalvinThomas Last years. After retiring from the Church of the Holy Family in Virginia Beach, TQ lived out his life as a resident of Church of the Ascension in Virginia Beach, Virginia. He lived a life of poverty and continued to help the poor and marginalized and the sick. TQ requested that his ashes be put into a jumbo “Chock full o’ Nuts” coffee container after cremation. Obituary. https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/pilotonline/name/thomas-quinlan-obituary?id=7869813 https://www.pilotonline.com/news/obituaries/article_fb85f8f1-ffa4-5bc2-a5b8-3b75fdca0f84.html Driver’s License and “Certificate of Sanity”. In 2007, the  recently appointed Bishop of Richmond (DiLorenzo) required TQ to attend a week-long psychiatric evaluation from a conservative Catholic institution in Philadelphia. TQ was discharged with a clean bill of health and often enjoyed stating that he was, perhaps, the only Catholic Priest in the United States with a “certificate of sanity”. In 2010, although his eyesight was failing, he renewed his driver’s license and passed the eye examination. He had the good sense to stop driving but requested that in his casket, his certificate of sanity and his driver’s license be placed in his hands. That way , as he said, “when I reach the pearly gates, I can show them who I was and that I was sane”.