Edel Quinn
One day in 1937 a Dutch Priest was driving an Irish girl to a Legion of Mary meeting some miles from his mission in Africa. They came to a river in such a flood that the bridge accross it could not even be seen. He was about to turn back when the girl cried out. "Oh Father, please go on. I'm sure Our Lady will protect us." He was aghast but couldn't resist such faith. Some men standing by formed a human chain to see if the bridge was still there. It was, so he drove on blindly. The water flooded the engine and plugs but the impetus carried the car accross and up and incline on the far side. He dried the plugs and tried the starter. the car got going and they were in time for the meeting.
The girl was Edel Quinn and the incident typical of her story. In 1936 she had been sent from Dublin to establish the Legion in the East and Central Africa. The difficulties were enormous but she met every challenge with unwavering faith and courage. When others faltered her invariable response was, "Why can't we trust Our Lady?" or "Our Lady will see after things".
For nearly eight years, her health steadily declining she worked over the vast territories committed to her. Hundreds of Legion praesidia and many higher councils were set up on an enduring basis. Asa result, thousands of Africans are engaged in the Church's work of evangelisation.
At the source of all Edel's activity was her deep union with God, sustain by constant prayer. The Eucharist was the centre of her life. "What dessolation life would be without the Eucharist" she wrote. her devotion to mary was marked by childlike trust and utter generosity. She said she could never refuse Our Lady anything she thought she wanted. Mary's rosary seemed to always be in her hand.
Edel died in Nairobi on May 12th, 1944. In 1957 the Archbishop of Nairobi initiated the process for her Beatification and many witnesses were examined, mostly in Africa and Ireland. Their evidence, published by the Holy See, points not only to outstanding holiness but holiness in its most attractive form. The words love, joy, peace appear in almost every testimony. The Vicar General of Mauritius was speaking for many when he said "I want to lay special emphasis on her constant joy; she was always smiling; she never complained; she was always at peoples disposal; never stinting her time".It is for the holy See to pass judgement on her heroic sanctity. In the meantime hundreds of Bishops have written to the Holy Father in support of thr Cause, most of them, it is understood, stressing its special relevance for the young people of our time. Edel, in the words of a Spanish Cardinal, was "an image of the eternal youth of the Church.
One miracle attributed to her intercession is stilll required for her Beatification.