John Quigley, a Franciscan Friar and priest, is an accomplished public speaker and a talented artist. He is a member of the Province of St. John the Baptist (Cincinnati, Ohio) of the Order of Friars Minor and citizen of Canada. He began his pastoral and preaching ministry in 1974 as co-leader with Richard Rohr of the New Jerusalem Community in Cincinnati.In 1979-81, John studied the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius with the Jesuits at Milford, Ohio and in 1982 became the coordinator of social justice and peace concerns for the friars of his Franciscan province. There he published an international monthly magazine “Mustard Seed.”

Called to Rome in 1988 he was the international coordinator for the efforts of the Franciscan Friars (OFM) in the areas of justice, peace making and care for creation. From there in 1998 he went to Geneva, Switzerland as the Director of Franciscans International a Non-Governmental Organization at the United Nations, where for ten years John coordinated work for the promotion and protection of human rights.

He led a number of pilgrimages to Geneva, Rome and Assisi entitled “St. Francis and Human Rights” as well as a human rights pilgrimage to Ireland visiting spots in Dublin and in the North where Franciscans have made various efforts to heal the bitter wounds of “The Troubles.”

For 30 years he has preached an annual retreat at Maggie Valley, North Carolina for groups of people who are mostly Roman Catholic, religious women and lay couples.