Walter William Curtis (May 3, 1913 – October 18, 1997) was an American

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Bridgeport in Connecticut from 1961 to 1988. Curtis previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the

Archdiocese of Newark The Archdiocese of Newark is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in northeastern New Jersey, United States. Its ecclesiastic territory includes all of the Catholic parishes and schools in the New Jers ...

in New Jersey from 1957 to 1961.

Biography

Early life

Walter Curtis was born on May 3, 1913, in

Jersey City Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. He studied at

Fordham University Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. After graduating from

Seton Hall University Seton Hall University (SHU) is a private Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Seton Hall is the oldest diocesan un ...

in 1934, he attended Immaculate Conception Seminary, both in South Orange, New Jersey. Curtis then went to Rome to attend the

Pontifical North American College The Pontifical North American College (NAC) is a Catholic Church, Roman Catholic educational institution in Rome, Italy, that prepares seminarians to become priests in the United States and elsewhere. The NAC also provides a residence for Pri ...

Priesthood

Curtis was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Newark by Bishop

Ralph Leo Hayes Ralph Leo Hayes S.T.D. (September 21, 1884 – July 5, 1970) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the fourth bishop of the Diocese of Helena in Montana from 1933 to 1935, and as the fifth bishop of the Diocese of Da ...

on December 8, 1937. He completed his

graduate studies Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor's) degree. The organization and struc ...

in Rome at the

Pontifical Gregorian University The Pontifical Gregorian University ( it, Pontificia Università Gregoriana; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana,) is a higher education ecclesiastical school ( pontifical university) located in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as ...

in 1938. Curtis became a professor of

moral theology Ethics involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior.''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy''"Ethics"/ref> A central aspect of ethics is "the good life", the life worth living or life that is simply sati ...

at Immaculate Conception Seminary in 1938. He later earned a doctorate in sacred theology from the

Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by U.S. ...

Auxiliary Bishop of Newark

On June 27, 1957, Curtis was appointed as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Newark and

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 Bisica by

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 State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...

. He received his episcopal

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 September 24, 1957, from Archbishop

Thomas Boland Thomas Aloysius Boland (February 17, 1896 – March 16, 1979) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Newark in New Jersey from 1952 to 1974. He previously served as an auxiliary bish ...

, with Bishops James A. McNulty and George W. Ahr 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, ...

. In addition to his episcopal duties, Curtis was named pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in

Bloomfield, New Jersey Bloomfield is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the township's population was 53,105. It surrounds the Bloomfield Green Historic District. History The initial patent for the land that w ...

, in 1958.

Bishop of Bridgeport

Curtis was named the second bishop of Bridgeport by

Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death in June 19 ...

on September 23, 1961. He was installed at St. Augustine Cathedral in Bridgeport on November 21, 1961. As bishop, Curtis established the following schools in Connecticut: * Notre Dame Girls' High School in Fairfield *

Kolbe Cathedral High School Kolbe Cathedral High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in Bridgeport, Connecticut. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport. Background Kolbe Boys High School and Cathedral Girls High School opened in the 1960s. Kol ...

in Bridgeport * Notre Dame Boys' High School in Fairfield * St. Joseph High School in Trumbull *

Immaculate High School Immaculate High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in Danbury, Connecticut, United States. Overseen by the Diocese of Bridgeport, IHS serves residents of 23 towns in the greater Danbury area. Immaculate High School, established i ...

in Danbury *

Sacred Heart University Sacred Heart University (SHU) is a private, Catholic university in Fairfield, Connecticut. It was founded in 1963 by the Most Reverend Walter W. Curtis, Bishop of the Diocese of Bridgeport, Connecticut. Sacred Heart was the first Catholic un ...

at Fairfield in 1963 Curtis attended all four sessions of the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...

in Rome between 1962 and 1965, and spent most of his administration implementing the Council's reforms. During the 1970s, he oversaw the renovation of St. Augustine Cathedral and its re-dedication in 1979. He established two

nursing home A nursing home is a facility for the residential care of elderly or disabled people. Nursing homes may also be referred to as skilled nursing facility (SNF) or long-term care facilities. Often, these terms have slightly different meanings to in ...

s: Pope John Paul II Health Care Center in

Danbury, Connecticut Danbury is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, located approximately northeast of New York City. Danbury's population as of 2022 was 87,642. It is the seventh largest city in Connecticut. Danbury is nicknamed the "Hat City ...

, and St. Camillus Health Care Center in

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut, outside of Manhattan. It is Connecticut's second-most populous city, behind Bridgeport. With a population of 135,470, Stamford passed Hartford and New Haven in population as of the 2020 ...

. The Catholic population in the diocese increased from 286,000 to 300,000. He also founded the Fairfield Foundation, a

nondenominational A non-denominational person or organization is one that does not follow (or is not restricted to) any particular or specific religious denomination. Overview The term has been used in the context of various faiths including Jainism, Baháʼí Fait ...

group that helps people in need in

Fairfield County, Connecticut Fairfield County is a County (United States), county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is the List of counties in Connecticut, most populous county in the state and was also its fastest-growing from 2010 to 2020. A ...

Retirement and legacy

Curtis' resignation as Bishop of Bridgeport was accepted by

Pope Paul II Pope Paul II ( la, Paulus II; it, Paolo II; 23 February 1417 – 26 July 1471), born Pietro Barbo, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 30 August 1464 to his death in July 1471. When his maternal uncle Eugene IV ...

on June 28, 1988. Walter Curtis died from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

at St. Joseph Manor in

Trumbull, Connecticut Trumbull is a town located in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It borders on the cities of Bridgeport and Shelton and the towns of Stratford, Fairfield, Easton and Monroe. The population was 36,827 during the 2020 census. Trumbul ...

, on October 18, 1997, at age 84. In October 2019, former Connecticut Superior Court Judge Robert Holzberg released the results of his investigation, commissioned by Bridgeport Bishop

Frank Caggiano Frank Joseph Caggiano (born March 29, 1959) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who has been serving as the Bishop of Bridgeport in Connecticut since 2013. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Brooklyn in ...

, into the diocese's handling of accusations of sexual abuse by its priests. Holzberg found that all three of Bridgeport's bishops, including Curtis, had consistently failed to fulfill their moral and legal responsibilities. Holzberg wrote:

"Bishop Curtis was undisguisedly indifferent to clergy sexual abuse in the diocese, not understanding or acknowledging its scope, and abdicating virtually all responsibility to his subordinates for responding to it,'' the report stated. “Bishop Curtis did not remove abusive priests from service, and even allowed many to be reassigned to new parishes. By not removing them, he made possible continued abuse of additional victims."''

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgeport
{{DEFAULTSORT:Curtis, Walter William 1913 births 1997 deaths Clergy from Jersey City, New Jersey Roman Catholic bishops of Bridgeport Participants in the Second Vatican Council Fordham University alumni Seton Hall University alumni Catholic University of America alumni 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States People from Trumbull, Connecticut Catholics from New Jersey Deaths from pneumonia in Connecticut