The Rev. Bernard Quinn, 78, who lived at Sacred Heart Of Jesus Catholic Church, where he assisted with parish duties, died in the Saturday wreck.

Monsignor Thomas Smith, 75, pastor of St. Joseph Catholic Church, 440 St. Joseph St., and Cardinal William Keeler, 75, of Baltimore, were injured in the accident. Smith was driving and the other two men were passengers in the car at the time of the accident, according the Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg.

Smith suffered broken ribs, and Keeler, who was sitting in the front passenger seat, broke his ankle.

Quinn was sitting in the back passenger seat and absorbed the brunt of the impact, according to the diocese.

The three clergymen were about 60 miles from Rome in Terni, Italy, when their car was struck by another vehicle at an intersection, according to the diocese.

Quinn, Smith and Keeler had been vacationing together in Italy since Oct. 1.

They planned to spend two weeks in Italy before returning this weekend, said the Rev. Michael Grab, pastor of Sacred Heart Church, 558 W. Walnut St.

“I last spoke with (Quinn) by telephone from New York before his plane left Newark, N.J., airport for Italy,” Grab said. “This vacation was supposed to be a happy time for Father Quinn.”

Bishop Kevin Rhoades of the Diocese of Harrisburg informed Grab of Quinn’s death Sunday afternoon.

Quinn typically celebrated the Sunday night Mass at Sacred Heart. Parishioners were told of Quinn’s death before the Mass, Grab said.

Quinn will be buried at St. Joseph Cemetery in Lancaster city.

His funeral will be held at either Sacred Heart or St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church in Hanover, where Quinn served as pastor until retiring in 2001.

It could be a week before his body is returned to Pennsylvania. The U.S. consulate general in Rome is coordinating the transport of the body, and a funeral date has not been scheduled, according to funeral director Andrew T. Scheid.

Grab said Quinn spoke of death with Keeler prior to the accident

“I understand from Bishop Rhoades that Father Quinn had said a day before the accident that he was happy, at peace and would be ready to meet the Lord when called,” Grab said.

Quinn had lived at Sacred Heart since 2001. He was born in Kansas City, Mo., in 1928, and was ordained a priest for Glenmary Home Missioners in 1953. While with Glenmary, he served in Ohio, West Virginia, Washington, D.C., Georgia and Italy, according to the diocese.

He was research coordinator for the Glenmary Research Center in Nashville, Tenn., and taught courses at Catholic University of America.

Quinn was incardinated in the Diocese of Harrisburg in 1990 while at Holy Infant Church in York Haven.

Quinn, Smith and Keeler had been friends for decades and often vacationed together, according to Sean Caine, communications director for the Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore.

“They’ve known each other for many, many years, and basically when they took vacations, they took them together, so this would be an annual or a semiannual thing,” Caine said.

Quinn had a reputation as an expert researcher and scholar. He was writing a book on Catholicism in Chinese culture when he died.

“If I were to characterize Father Quinn, it would be through two adjectives — spiritual and scholarly,” Grab said. “He often conducted research on the Internet.”

The Rev. Allan F. Wolfe, pastor of San Juan Bautista Catholic Church in Lancaster city, was attending a weeklong conference with Grab in Hunt Valley, Md., when Rhoades told them about the accident.

“Monsignor Smith was my spiritual father for 19 years and is still a dear friend,” Wolfe said. “Father Quinn was always a very gentlemanly, kind priest who continued studying the faith into retirement.

“He will be deeply missed.”