This fall, after serving our Loyola community for just shy of 20 years, Fr. John Quinn S.J. will be concluding his time with us on request of the Society of Jesus. During his time here, Fr. Quinn has inspired us with his passion for photography, immense pastoral care, his work with Hope (our cherished therapy dog in training) and in so many other ways that have greatly impacted our community.
Despite being known for his service on campus, Quinn’s work truly began many years prior during the Vietnam War. As a young man, Quinn enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, turning over his life and safety for the security of our nation. Following his time in Vietnam, Quinn decided to pursue a different path and found his calling with the Jesuits. As a newly Ordained Jesuit Priest, Quinn decided to dive into the mass media communications field, where he earned his Masters in Professional Photography from Brooks Institute in Santa Barbara. With a Masters in Photography under his belt, Quinn was involved in various roles such as staff photographer, managing editor and in the publications office at a Jesuit high school in Sacramento.
Despite Quinn’s full and rewarding career in mass media communications, in 2003, when the United States launched an invasion of Iraq, Quinn’s military past and devotion to service was re-ignited inside him. Quinn recalls his reaction to the Invasion, stating, “It was like, this feels like it might be Vietnam again. And so now, instead of being an enlisted Marine, I said, I’m a priest, I’m a Jesuit. I can go in as a chaplain. And so I joined the army as a chaplain. And went to Iraq, served with the 4th Infantry Division, and that was a terrible war, a terrible country, but it was absolutely the best mission that a Jesuit priest could have.”
Inspired by the effect the military chaplains had on his father (during his three combat tours in Vietnam as an army general), Quinn worked tirelessly to bring U.S. soldiers Confession, Communion, Mass, counseling and anything else he could to assist our troops. As one of only two Catholic chaplains in Iraq, Quinn flew over 27,000 miles in a Black Hawk helicopter throughout the country, bringing God to over 5,000 Catholic soldiers, and also holding Masses and sacraments at his base which held 10,000 troops alone. Highlighting the importance of the army chaplains’ roles, Quinn recalled the saying, “There are no atheists in the foxhole.”
Concluding three years of service in Iraq, Quinn completed his tour and not long after landed here at Loyola, which at the time lacked zero digital photography or video courses. With his profound media experience, Quinn taught Digital Photography and Video for nearly 14 years. Throughout his time as a photography teacher, Quinn had the opportunity to train sport photographers, conduct large amounts of event photography and teach students how to use photography to see God in all things, especially in beauty and nature, but also in tough and difficult places.
