The Vir Fidelis Ball

Saturday, April 27th, 2024

Honoring

Monsignor Peter G. Finn

(Posthumous)

Principal - 1977 - 1983

Jim Quinn | Class of 1970

Saturday, April 27th, 2024

The Vanderbilt at South Beach
300 Father Capodanno Blvd, Staten Island, NY

Cocktails | 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Dinner | 7:00 pm - 11:00 pm

RSVP | Wednesday, April 10th

Live Entertainment | Black Tie Preferred

Online sales are now closed. If you would like to attend the ball, please email Peter Kennedy.

About The Ball

The Vir Fidelis Ball was established in February of 2020 to honor and thank leaders who have helped build Monsignor Farrell High School into the revered institution it is today. Our third Vir Fidelis Ball will honor two men who have made monumental contributions to the Monsignor Farrell legacy.

The late Monsignor Peter Finn, a beloved former Monsignor Farrell Principal and Blessed Sacrament Parish Pastor, and Mr. Jim Quinn, Monsignor Farrell alumnus from the Class of 1970 and a long-serving member of the Monsignor Farrell High School Board of Trustees, will be honored for their decades of service to Monsignor Farrell High School and their lifetime of service to their community.

The evening will be filled with Monsignor Farrell Pride and great fun, food, and entertainment. The talents of Monsignor Farrell students will be on display with performances from the Farrell Players and the Monsignor Farrell Band, and student leaders will address the audience with impactful speeches about how meaningful it is to them to be a Vir Fidelis.

2024 Honorees

The late Monsignor Peter G. Finn served as Principal of Monsignor Farrell High School from 1977 - 1983. He was a member of the school's board of trustees at the time of his passing in 2022.

The epitome of a Vir Fidelis, Monsignor Finn was an ardent advocate for the marginalized and economically disadvantaged. He was a true example of how to actively give of ourselves to others.

He was ordained into the priesthood on May 29, 1965, and went on to earn advanced degrees from the former Richmond Community College and Columbia University.

Following his ordination, then-Father Finn was first assigned to St. Mary's, Rosebank (Staten Island) in 1965. In 1966 he was named Parochial Vicar of St. Catharine’s in Pelham, NY.

Fr. Finn joined the Monsignor Farrell High School faculty in 1968 and taught religion. He went on to become chairman of the department of religious education, as well as director of athletics, and a moderator for numerous extracurricular activities.

From 1974 - 1977, he also served as District Superintendent of Schools on Staten Island as well as Associate Superintendent of Schools in the Archdiocese of New York from 1976 - 1977.

Monsignor Finn celebrating Mass

In 1977 he was named Principal of Monsignor Farrell High School, taking over for Monsignor William J. Barnes. Fr. Finn continued in this role until 1983 when he was called to serve as the Director of the Archdiocesan Office of Communications.

In 1986 he was elevated to Monsignor and became Pastor of St. Joseph and St. Thomas, Staten Island in 1989, where he served until 2001.

Monsignor Finn was a supporter of many local charities on Staten Island and the Council of Churches. He was also a member of the Knights of Columbus, Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, and the Knights of Malta. He also served on numerous boards, including Project Hospitality, the Staten Island Catholic Youth Organization, Carmel Richmond Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center, the Seton Foundation, Archdiocese of the Ladies of Charity, and the Staten Island Center for Independent Living.

From 2001 - 2007 Monsignor Finn served as Co-Vicar of Staten Island with the late Monsignor James Dorney and was the Rector of St. Joseph’s Seminary in Dunwoodie, N.Y.

In 2007 he was named Pastor of Blessed Sacrament on Staten Island, then served as administrator from 2013-2019. He celebrated his Golden Jubilee Mass at Blessed Sacrament in 2019, marking his 50th anniversary in the priesthood.

Monsignor also served the archdiocese on Staten Island as co-regional vicar from 1998-2014, co-dean from 2014-2015, and dean from 2015-2019. He also served a five-year term as an Archdiocesan Consulter, which began in 2005.

Alumnus Jim Quinn, Class of 1970, is truly a model of a self-made executive, with strong roots in family. Jim was born in Brooklyn and grew up on Staten Island, but he speaks with pride about his Irish heritage with two sets of grandparents who hail from Kerry, Westmeath, and Offaly, who pursued the immigrant dream to better themselves. Jim’s father was the first in the family to enjoy a college education.

With the importance of education as a priority, Jim entered Monsignor Farrell High School in 1966, where he was a member of both the football and track programs. After graduating from Farrell, Jim continued his education and played football at Hofstra University. While at Hofstra, Jim met his future wife, Diane. Jim completed his degree in communications in 1974 and began work at Citicorp upon graduation. While at Citicorp he attended Pace University at night to earn his MBA. After completing a management training program at Citicorp, he gravitated towards sales management. Jim’s responsibilities and accomplishments in sales management did not go unnoticed, and through one of his bank contacts, he began conversations with Tiffany. He was actively recruited to join that organization in 1986 to bring his sales management and sales administrative skills to this growing retail complex.

Jim began his career at Tiffany as a Vice President in the Corporate Sales Division, working his way up to Executive Vice President in 1992, was named to the board of directors in 1995, became Vice Chairman in 1998, and was named President of Tiffany & Co. in 2003.

Jim was featured in Irish America Magazine in 2007

After being a principal driver of Tiffany’s global expansion over two decades, Jim retired from the company in 2012. During his time at Tiffany & Co., the company grew from a small, privately held retailer with sales of $200 million and seven stores, all in the U.S., to a global enterprise, doing business in more than 50 countries with sales in excess of $4 billion.

Since retiring from Tiffany, Jim has devoted more time and effort to philanthropy. He is currently the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Summer Learning Association (NSLA), the only national nonprofit exclusively focused on closing the opportunity and educational gaps in America by increasing access to high-quality summer learning opportunities.

Jim has also been an active participant in numerous business, civic and charitable organizations. He has held roles as director of Deckers Outdoor Corporation, Mutual of America Capital Management, BNY Hamilton Funds, and Prudential Financial. He also was a long-serving trustee and Vice-Chairman of the Museum of the City of New York, serves as the President of Flax Trust America and is a former Chairman of the North American Advisory Board for the University College Dublin (UCD) Smurfit School of Business, from where he was awarded an honorary doctorate in 2008. Jim is also a member of the Board of the Irish Arts Center in New York.

Jim's commitment to Monsignor Farrell High School has been unwavering for decades after he graduated. Jim has served as a respected member of the Monsignor Farrell Board of Trustees, has volunteered his time, talent and treasure in helping to formulate the transformative Strengthen the Legacy Capital campaign, and has shared his lifetime of experiences and achievement with his younger Farrell brothers while visiting campus.

Jim was inducted into the inaugural class of the Monsignor Farrell High School Alumni Hall of Fame in 2005 and is an emeritus member of the school’s Board of Trustees.

He resides in New Jersey and Florida with his wife Diane and enjoys spending time with his growing family, Brendan and Erin Quinn and their daughters, Emma and Kayla and Jenna and William Beard and their daughters, Lindsey and Mackenzie.

Past Honorees

2020

Bishop Edmund Whalen '76 | Former Principal

2021

Monsignor Thomas Bergin | Former Principal and Chairman of the Board of Trustees

Mr. Larry Musanti | Monsignor Farrell Principal