BRIDGET COLL was an early member of QUIRK-E. She was born in Donegal, Ireland, one 12 children. At age 16, Bridget became a nun and by 1960 went to New York to work with Franciscan Missionaries where she met and fell in love with fellow nun Chris Morrissey. Listening to the stories of hardship from women, Bridget began to doubt the teachings of the church that forbid the use of birth control. She read about social justice and liberation theology and decided she wanted to work in South America in response to poverty and ill-treatment of ordinary people there. In 1981, she convinced Chris to get permission from their superior and go with her to Chile where they lived in a shack in a shanty town joining whatever struggles people were experiencing. They encouraged women to stand up for themselves in that patriarchal society and they joined the anti-torture movement in opposition to the Pinochet dictatorship, risking danger at frequent demonstrations.
Disillusioned by admonishments from the church to stay out of politics, Bridget and Chris made the difficult decision to leave the order and move to Canada in 1989. However, Chris, who was a Canadian citizen, could not sponsor Bridget as a immigrant because they were lesbians. They cofounded LEGIT (the Lesbian and Gay Immigration Task Force) and filed a constitutional challenge against the discrimination they were facing, and they won. Bridget got permanent residency in 1992. In 2000, the couple founded Rainbow Refugee to help protect other LGBTQ+ immigrants in Canada.
When Chris started a memoir writing group for older queers in 2006 through her job at the Centre (later called QMUNITY), Bridget joined. The group became known as QUIRK-E. Bridget contributed some of her stories to our anthologies and videos. Sadly, Bridget developed dementia and died in 2016.
In an interview in 2021, Chris Morrissey said of her partner, “Even when she was not quite sure who I was, I could tell by the way she looked at me that she loved me. She had always loved and stood by me, no matter what. She pushed me from behind and pulled me along.” Chris passed away in 2025.
In 2009, Bridget was interviewed for QMUNITY’s Stories of Older Queers and the recording is archived at SImon Fraser University. Bridget’s story was featured in a 2021 exhibit in Dublin titled, Out in the World: Ireland’s LGBTQ+ Diaspora–the details from which are avaiable from New Ways Ministry.
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