‘Father Charlie’ of Chepachet, Burrillville dies at age 82

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A priest who has served at several northern Rhode Island churches including St. Patrick’s Parish in Harrisville and St. Eugene Parish in Chepachet died last week at the age of 82.

Reverend Charles P. Quinn died Wednesday, March 22 at Landmark Medical Center in Woonsocket.

Born in Providence, the son of the late Joseph H. and Grace (Dawson) Quinn, he attended St. Michael School and LaSalle Academy, both in Providence.

In preparation for the priesthood, Quinn studied at Our Lady of Providence Seminary in Warwick, and in the American College in Louvain, Belgium. He was ordained a priest on June 4, 1966 in the Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul in Providence by Bishop Bernard M. Kelly.

After a summer assignment at St. Joseph Parish in Central Falls, Quinn served as assistant pastor at St. Teresa Parish, Providence from 1966 to 1973, and St. Philip Parish in Greenville from 1973 to 1982. In July 1982, he was appointed chaplain at Mt. St. Charles Academy in Woonsocket with residence at St. Patrick Parish in Harrisville, and later at St. Charles Borromeo Parish in Woonsocket.

In January 1987, Quinn was appointed pastor of St. Raymond Parish in Providence, then in January 1995, pastor of Holy Ghost Parish in Tiverton. In 1997, he was appointed pastor of St. Eugene Parish in Chepachet, where he remained until July 2007, when due to ill health, he retired as Pastor Emeritus and moved to Pascoag.

In addition to his other duties, he served on the Priests’ Personnel Board of the Diocese, and in 1995 made sabbatical studies in Fairbanks, Alaska at the Jesuit Retreat House. Quinn volunteered for 24 years as a soccer coach at Mt. St. Charles Academy, Woonsocket.

Mt. St. Charles officials acknowledged the loss this week on social media.

“We are saddened to share the news that Father Charles Quinn, Mount’s former Chaplain, campus minister, teacher and middle school soccer coach, and a friend to so many in the school and alumni community, passed away this week,” noted the school. “Father Charlie had always shown himself to be a simple, humble servant of God whose sole desire was to bring people closer to the God whom he loved and served so generously and faithfully.”

During retirement, he resided with the Brothers of the Sacred Heart, Burrillville, and lived at St. Antoine Residence, North Smithfield, at the time of his death.

Quinn’s full obituary can be found here.

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