Father Joseph Curr (1793 – 29 June 1847) was a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

priest and author who was called a "

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

of charity" for his work in Leeds in the

typhus epidemic of 1847 The typhus epidemic of 1847 was an outbreak of epidemic typhus caused by a massive Irish emigration in 1847, during the Great Famine, aboard crowded and disease-ridden "coffin ships". Canada In Canada, more than 20,000 people died from 1847 to ...

. He was born in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

on 14 April 1793, baptized by his godfather, Fr Richard Rimmer, at the Catholic Chapel in Norfolk Row on 6 May, and died in

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

, on 29 June 1847. He was educated at

Crook Hall Crook Hall, sited near Lanchester, County Durham, some north west of the city of Durham, was one of two Roman Catholic seminaries which temporarily replaced the Douai seminary in Douai, France when that college was suppressed soon after the Frenc ...

, County Durham, and later went to the seminary at

Ushaw College Ushaw College (formally St Cuthbert's College, Ushaw), is a former Roman Catholic Church, Catholic seminary near the village of Ushaw Moor, County Durham, England, which is now a heritage and cultural tourist attraction. The college is known for ...

. After being ordained he was based in Manchester, serving the Catholic missions in Rook Street and Granby Row. During that time he debated with the Protestant Bible Association. He then went to La Trappe in France, later returned to Ushaw, and after that went to

Callaly Callaly is a village and civil parish in Northumberland, England. It is about to the west of Alnwick. The main A697 road (to Morpeth) is away. It is on the line of the Roman road linking the Roman forts of High Rochester to the west and Lear ...

in Northumberland. He also served parishes in

Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, east of Preston and north-n ...

Whitby Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a maritime, mineral and tourist heritage. Its East Clif ...

and

. Leeds was suffering from a shortage of Catholic priests, due to an epidemic, when Curr was chaplain to Bishop Briggs; Curr volunteered to serve there, where he died from typhus. His principal works are: * ''The Instructor's Assistant'' * ''Visits to the Blessed Sacrament and to the Blessed Virgin'' * ''Spiritual Retreat'' (adapted from

Bourdaloue Louis Bourdaloue (20 August 1632 – 13 May 1704) was a French Jesuit and preacher. Biography He was born in Bourges. At the age of sixteen he entered the Society of Jesus, and was appointed successively professor of rhetoric, philosophy ...

* ''Familiar Instructions in Catholic Faith and Morality''

References

Register of St Marie's RC Church (on Ancestry) ;Attribution * {{DEFAULTSORT:Curr, Joseph 1793 births 1847 deaths 19th-century English Roman Catholic priests Clergy from Sheffield Alumni of Durham University Deaths from typhus