She wrote several successful books and was a regular columnist for Commonweal, a liberal Catholic magazine, from 1974 to 1999.
She founded and was first president of "Church Women United", a lay Catholic group.
She met her future husband while working as a teacher in Mandan, North Dakota.
Their first home was in Watkins, Minnesota, at an agriculture commune formed by Catholic couples.
The Abigail Quigley McCarthy Center for Women was established at her alma mater, St. Catherine University, in her honor.