Bishop Charles Warren Currier (March 22, 1857 in St. Thomas,

Virgin Islands The Virgin Islands ( es, Islas Vírgenes) are an archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. They are geologically and biogeographically the easternmost part of the Greater Antilles, the northern islands belonging to the Puerto Rico Trench and St. Croix ...

, USA - September 23, 1918 in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, USA) was the first bishop of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Matanzas The Diocese of Matanzas is a Latin Church ecclesiastic territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Cuba. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of San Cristobal de la Habana. The diocese was e ...

(1913–1914). His parents were Warren Green Currier (born in New York) and Deborah Heyliger of the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. He studied at the College of Our Lady of the Assumption,

Roermond Roermond (; li, Remunj or ) is a city, municipality, and diocese in the Limburg province of the Netherlands. Roermond is a historically important town on the lower Roer on the east bank of the river Meuse. It received town rights in 1231. Roer ...

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, the Netherlands, and at Saint Alphonsus Seminary in

Wittem Wittem (, ) is a small village in the Dutch province of Limburg. It is located in the municipality of Gulpen-Wittem. History The village was first mentioned in 1125 as Witham, and means "means silted land in a bend in a waterway". Wittem develo ...

, Limburg. He joined the missionary order the

Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer The Redemptorists officially named the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer ( la, links=no, Congregatio Sanctissimi Redemptoris), abbreviated CSsR,is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right for men (priests and brother ...

(Redemptorists) in 1875 and was ordained a priest on November 24, 1880 in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

by Bishop Henry Schaap (vicar apostolic of Surinam). In January 1881, he arrived in Surinam for his first missionary assignment where he remained until 1882. In November 1891 he was allowed to leave the Redemptorists and then worked in the

Archdiocese of Baltimore The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Baltimore ( la, link=no, Archidiœcesis Baltimorensis) is the premier (or first) see of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in the United States. The archdiocese comprises the City of Baltimore and nine of Mar ...

. On June 25, 1910 he was appointed Bishop of Zamboanga,

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, by

Pope Pius X Pope Pius X ( it, Pio X; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing modernist interpretations of C ...

, but he declined. Because he had published articles on Cuban history, he was appointed on April 26, 1913, as the first Bishop of Matanzas. In Rome, on July 6, 1913, he was consecrated by Cardinal

Diomede Angelo Raffaele Gennaro Falconio Diomede Angelo Raffaele Gennaro Falconio, O.F.M. (20 September 1842 – 8 February 1917) was an Italian Cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as Prefect of the Congregation for Religious from 1916 until his death, and was elevated to ...

, O.F.M., and assisted by

Domenico Serafini Domenico Serafini, O.S.B. Subl. (3 August 1852 – 5 March 1918) was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served in various pastoral, diplomatic, and curial posts, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1914. Biography D ...

, Titular Archbishop of

Seleucia Pieria Seleucia in Pieria (Greek Σελεύκεια ἐν Πιερίᾳ), also known in English as Seleucia by the Sea, and later named Suedia, was a Hellenistic town, the seaport of Antioch ad Orontes (Syria Prima), the Seleucid capital, modern Antaky ...

, and

Donato Sbarretti Donato Raffaele Sbarretti Tazza (NovemberSources differ as to whether he was born on 10 or 12 November. 1856 – 1 April 1939)(2 April 1939)Donato Sbaretti, Cardinal, 82, Dead ''The New York Times'' was an Italian Roman Catholic Cardinal w ...

, Titular Archbishop of Efeso, Bishop Emeritus of

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

. He arrived in

Matanzas Matanzas (Cuban ) is the capital of the Cuban province of Matanzas. Known for its poets, culture, and Afro-Cuban folklore, it is located on the northern shore of the island of Cuba, on the Bay of Matanzas (Spanish ''Bahia de Matanzas''), east ...

on November 3, 1913, and took position of the archdiocese the following day. He repaired and redecorated the Cathedral of San Carlos Borromeo that was in poor condition. Due to his poor health he resigned his position as Bishop of the Archdiocese of Matanzas on February 11, 1914, and was appointed

Titular Bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of Hetalonia on June 15, 1915. Bishop Currier knew

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

and

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and was fluent in

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, English,

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

, Spanish, French, German, and Italian. Bishop Currier died on September 23, 1918, on a train traveling from

Waldorf, Maryland Waldorf is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Charles County, Maryland, United States. Located south-southeast of Washington, D.C., Waldorf is part of the Southern Maryland region. It is an urban area, with a populat ...

, to

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

to assist in the funeral of Cardinal

John Murphy Farley John Murphy Farley (April 20, 1842 – September 17, 1918) was an Irish-American cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of New York from 1902 until his death in 1918, and became a cardinal in 1911. Early life and education ...

, Archbishop of the

Archdiocese of New York The Archdiocese of New York ( la, Archidiœcesis Neo-Eboracensis) is an ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church ( particularly the Roman Catholic or Latin Church) located in the State of New York. It encompasses the boroug ...

. His funeral took place in the Cathedral of Baltimore, where he is also buried.

Selected publications

''History of Religious Orders''
(1898)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Currier, Charles Warren 1857 births 1918 deaths 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Cuba People from Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands Roman Catholic bishops of Zamboanga Roman Catholic bishops of Matanzas