Michael Joseph Curley (October 12, 1879 – May 16, 1947) was an
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
-born prelate of the
Roman Catholic Church who served as the first archbishop of the
Archdiocese of Washington
The Archdiocese of Washington is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in the United States. Its territorial remit encompasses the District of Columbia and the counties of Calvert, Charles, Montgomery, ...
(1939–1947). He served as the tenth archbishop of 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 Ma ...
in Maryland (1921–1947), and as bishop of the
Diocese of St. Augustine in Florida (1914 - 1921.
Biography
Early life and education
One of eleven children,
Michael Curley was born in
Athlone
Athlone (; ) is a town on the border of County Roscommon and County Westmeath, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located on the River Shannon near the southern shore of Lough Ree. It is the second most populous town in the Midland Region, Ire ...
,
County Westmeath
"Noble above nobility"
, image_map = Island of Ireland location map Westmeath.svg
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Ireland
, subdivision_type1 = Province
, subdivision_name1 =
, subdivi ...
, Ireland to Michael and Maria (née Ward) Curley.
["Most Rev. Michael Joseph Curley", Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore](_blank)
He attended primary school in Athlone that was run by the
Marist Brothers.
At age 16, Curley entered
Mungret College in Limerick, Ireland. While at Mungret, Curley wanted to eventually become a missionary to the
Fiji Islands
Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...
. However, after speaking with Bishop
John Moore during a school visit, Curley decided instead to go to the Diocese of St. Augustine in the United States after his finished his education.
After graduating from Mungret, Curley entered the
Royal University of Ireland
The Royal University of Ireland was founded in accordance with the ''University Education (Ireland) Act 1879'' as an examining and degree-awarding university based on the model of the University of London. A Royal Charter was issued on 27 Apri ...
, earning a
Bachelor of Arts degree in 1900. He then travelled to Rome to study at the
Urban College of the Propaganda, receiving a
Licentiate of Sacred Theology in 1903.
Priesthood
On March 19, 1904, Curley was
ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of St. Augustine by Cardinal
Pietro Respighi
Pietro Respighi S.T.D. JUD (22 September 1843 – 22 March 1913) was an Italian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and Archpriest of the Basilica of St. John Lateran.
He was born in Bologna , the son of a mathematics professor at t ...
in the
Basilica of St. John Lateran
The Archbasilica Cathedral of the Most Holy Savior and of Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist in the Lateran ( it, Arcibasilica del Santissimo Salvatore e dei Santi Giovanni Battista ed Evangelista in Laterano), also known as the Papa ...
in Rome.
He arrived in
Florida in 1904, and was named
pastor of St. Peter's Parish in
DeLand, Florida. He lived in a rented room above a store and ate in a local diner
In 1914, Curley was appointed
chancellor
Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...
of the diocese and secretary to Bishop
William John Kenny.
Bishop of St. Augustine
On April 3, 1914, Curley was appointed the fourth
Bishop of St. Augustine 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 ...
.
[ He received his ]episcopal
Episcopal may refer to:
*Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church
*Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese
*Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name
** Episcopal Church (United State ...
consecration
Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...
on June 30, 1914, from Bishop Benjamin Keiley, with Bishops Patrick Donahue and Owen Corrigan serving as co-consecrators
A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop.
The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churches, ...
.[ At age 34, Curley was the youngest bishop in the country.][ He would spend eight months out of every year on journeys throughout the diocese, and][
In 1913, the ]Florida Legislature
The Florida Legislature is the legislature of the U.S. State of Florida. It is organized as a bicameral body composed of an upper chamber, the Senate, and a lower chamber, the House of Representatives. Article III, Section 1 of the Florida Con ...
had passed legislation prohibiting white women from teaching African-American children, a measure aimed at non-segregated Catholic schools. Considering the law unconstitutional, then Bishop William John Kenny had told his teaching nuns to ignore it. In 1916, Florida Governor Park Trammell ordered the arrest of three Sisters of St. Joseph
The Sisters of St. Joseph, also known as the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph, abbreviated CSJ or SSJ, is a Roman Catholic religious congregation of women founded in Le Puy-en-Velay, France, in 1650. This congregation, named for ...
for violating the law. Curley vigorously attacked their arrests as part of a campaign against Catholic schools, gaining strong support from other Catholic prelates in the United States.
Curley attracted national attention in 1917 by successfully battling a bill in the Florida Legislature
The Florida Legislature is the legislature of the U.S. State of Florida. It is organized as a bicameral body composed of an upper chamber, the Senate, and a lower chamber, the House of Representatives. Article III, Section 1 of the Florida Con ...
that would have mandated inspections of convents
A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican C ...
. Curley refused to comply with it. He led a successful legal campaign to have the law declared unconstitutional. He also sought to educate Floridians about Catholicism and demonstrate the bigotry of the Ku Klux Klan.
During World War I, Curley was a strong supporter of the war effort. In 1917, he established the Diocesan Catholic War Council, a group that gave spiritual guidance to Florida's Catholic soldiers heading off to war. He spoke at Liberty Bond
A liberty bond (or liberty loan) was a war bond that was sold in the United States to support the Allied cause in World War I. Subscribing to the bonds became a symbol of patriotic duty in the United States and introduced the idea of financ ...
rallies. At the end of the war, Curley celebrated a large memorial mass for soldiers who died in the war at Battery Park
The Battery, formerly known as Battery Park, is a public park located at the southern tip of Manhattan Island in New York City facing New York Harbor. It is bounded by Battery Place on the north, State Street on the east, New York Harbor to ...
in New York City. by the By the end of his tenure in the Diocese of St. Augustine., the Catholic population had grown from 39,000 to 41,000, with 40 new churches built.
Archbishop of Baltimore
On August 10, 1921, Curley was appointed the tenth Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Baltimore by Pope Benedict XV.[ His installation took place on November 30, 1921.][ His arrival in his new city was described as "one of the greatest welcomes ever tendered a new citizen of Baltimore."] During his tenure in Baltimore, Curley established 66 schools in 18 years, placing the importance of constructing schools over churches.[ In 1926, he declared, "I defy any system of grammar school education in the United States to prove itself superior to the system that is being maintained in the Archdiocese of Baltimore."][ He also established diocesan offices for ]Catholic Charities
The Catholic Church operates numerous charitable organizations.
Catholic spiritual teaching includes spreading the Gospel, while Catholic social teaching emphasises support for the sick, the poor and the afflicted through the corporal and spir ...
(1923) and for the Society for the Propagation of the Faith
The Society for the Propagation of the Faith (Latin: ''Propagandum Fidei'') is an international association coordinating assistance for Catholic missionary priests, brothers, and nuns in mission areas. The society was founded in Lyon, France, in ...
(1925).[ During the 1920s, Curley was a frequent critic of Irish President Eamon De Valera, comparing him to the Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa. In March 1926, Curley criticized the expropriation of Catholic Church property by the Mexican Government and the expulsion of foreign priests and nuns]:In order to preach the doctrine of Jesus Christ in Mexico, one must be a Mexican by birth. If the Savior of the world came back to Mexico, he would be exiled forthwith...because he is not a born Mexican.
In 1931, Pope Pius XI appointed Curley as an assistant to the papal throne, becoming later a member of the College of Patriarchs and Bishops. The next year, Curley celebrated the mass at the end of the Eucharistic Conference in Dublin.
Curley was a strong opponent of the foreign policy of President Franklin Roosevelt, of a government in Spain that he called anti-clerical and the American film industry
The cinema of the United States, consisting mainly of major film studios (also known as Hollywood) along with some independent film, has had a large effect on the global film industry since the early 20th century. The dominant style of Amer ...
. He vigorously fought efforts in Baltimore to open movie theaters on Sunday. He also criticized the establishment of Newman Centres at secular universities, which he felt undermined Catholic schools. In 1936, Curley called upon his fellow Catholic bishops to conduct a study of the influences of communism in the United States. He once engaged in a public feud with ''The Baltimore Sun
''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries.
Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by Tr ...
'' when one of its reporters compared Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then ...
to Ignatius of Loyola. Although his predecessor Archbishop James Gibbons
James Cardinal Gibbons (July 23, 1834 – March 24, 1921) was a senior-ranking American prelate of the Catholic Church who served as Apostolic Vicar of North Carolina from 1868 to 1872, Bishop of Richmond from 1872 to 1877, and as ninth ...
was appointed cardinal
Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to:
Animals
* Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds
**'' Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae
**'' Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, t ...
, Curley never received the same distinction.
Archbishop of Baltimore and Washington
On July 22, 1939, Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. ...
separated Washington, DC, from the Archdiocese of Baltimore to form the new Archdiocese of Washington
The Archdiocese of Washington is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in the United States. Its territorial remit encompasses the District of Columbia and the counties of Calvert, Charles, Montgomery, ...
. While retaining his position as Archbishop of Baltimore, Curley was named the first Archbishop of Washington
The Archdiocese of Washington is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in the United States. Its territorial remit encompasses the District of Columbia and the counties of Calvert, Charles, Montgomery, ...
and governed the two archdioceses as a single unit.[
]
Death and legacy
By 1943, after an operation for a detached retina
Retinal detachment is a disorder of the eye in which the retina peels away from its underlying layer of support tissue. Initial detachment may be localized, but without rapid treatment the entire retina may detach, leading to vision loss and blin ...
, Curley had given up his public appearances.Curley suffered from sinusitis
Sinusitis, also known as rhinosinusitis, is inflammation of the mucous membranes that line the sinuses resulting in symptoms that may include thick nasal mucus, a plugged nose, and facial pain. Other signs and symptoms may include fever, hea ...
, shingles, and high blood pressure. A series of strokes caused him to have partial paralysis and blindness.
Michael Curley died at Bon Secours Hospital in Baltimore from a stroke on May 16, 1947 at age 67. He was buried in the Basilica of the Assumption in Baltimore. After Curley's death, the pope appointed separate archbishops for Baltimore ( Francis Patrick Keough) and Washington ( Patrick O'Boyle).
See also
* Catholic Church hierarchy
The hierarchy of the Catholic Church consists of its bishops, priests, and deacons. In the ecclesiological sense of the term, "hierarchy" strictly means the "holy ordering" of the Church, the Body of Christ, so to respect the diversity of gifts ...
* Catholic Church in the United States
With 23 percent of the United States' population , the Catholic Church is the country's second largest religious grouping, after Protestantism, and the country's largest single church or Christian denomination where Protestantism is divided i ...
* Historical list of the Catholic bishops of the United States
This is a historical list of all bishops of the Catholic Church whose sees were within the present-day boundaries of the United States, with links to the bishops who consecrated them. It includes only members of the United States Conference of Cat ...
* List of Catholic bishops of the United States
The following is a list of bishops of the Catholic Church in the United States, including its five inhabited territories.
The U.S. Catholic Church comprises:
* 176 Latin Church dioceses led by bishops
* 18 Eastern Catholic eparchies led by e ...
* Lists of patriarchs, archbishops, and bishops
This is a directory of patriarchs, archbishops, and bishops across various Christian denominations. To find an individual who was a bishop, see the most relevant article linked below or :Bishops.
Lists
Catholic
* Bishop in the Catholic Chur ...
References
External links
Archbishop Curley High School Website
Most Rev. Michael J. Curley
Archdiocese of Baltimore. Retrieved on 2016-11-19.
Archbishops of the Modern Era (1851 - 2012)
Archdiocese of Baltimore. Retrieved on 2016-11-19.
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore
{{DEFAULTSORT:Curley, Michael Joseph
1879 births
1947 deaths
20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in the United States
Alumni of the Royal University of Ireland
Roman Catholic bishops of Saint Augustine
Roman Catholic archbishops of Baltimore
Burials at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Irish expatriates in the United States
Religious leaders from Baltimore
People from County Westmeath
People from DeLand, Florida
Irish expatriate Roman Catholic archbishops