View source for Michael Joseph Curley

{{Short description|Irish-born Catholic bishop (1879–1947)}}
{{other people|Michael Curley}}

{{Infobox Christian leader
| honorific-prefix = [[His Excellency]], [[The Most Reverend]]
| name = Michael Joseph Curley
| honorific-suffix = 
| archbishop_of = [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore|Archbishop of Baltimore-Washington]]
| image = 
| caption = 
| province = 
| diocese = 
| see = [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore|Baltimore-Washington]]
| appointed = August 10, 1921
| enthroned = November 30, 1921
| ended = May 16, 1947
| predecessor = [[James Gibbons]]
| successor = [[Francis Patrick Keough]] (Baltimore)<br />[[Patrick O'Boyle (American bishop)|Patrick O'Boyle]] (Washington)
| ordination = March 19, 1904
| ordained_by = [[Pietro Respighi]]
| consecration = June 10, 1931
| consecrated_by = [[Benjamin Joseph Keiley]]
| previous_post = [[Roman Catholic Diocese of St. Augustine|Bishop of St. Augustine]] (1914–1921)
| other_post = 
| birth_name = 
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1879|10|12}}
| birth_place = [[Athlone]], [[County Westmeath]], [[Ireland]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|1947|5|16|1879|10|12}}
| death_place = [[Baltimore, Maryland]], US
| buried = 
| religion = [[Roman Catholic Church]]
| motto = ''[[Quis ut Deus?]]''<br />(Who is like unto God)
| education = [[Mungret College]]<br>[[Royal University of Ireland]]<br>[[Pontifical Urbaniana University|Urban College of the Propaganda]]
| coat_of_arms = 
}}
{{Infobox bishopstyles  
| name = Michael Curley
| dipstyle =  
* [[Excellency|His Excellency]]
* [[The Most Reverend]]    
| offstyle = [[Your Excellency]] 
| relstyle = [[Archbishop]] 
| image = SealCurley.gif
| image_size = 200px
}}

'''Michael Joseph Curley''' (October 12, 1879 – May 16, 1947) was an [[Ireland|Irish]]-born [[Catholic Church in the United States|American Catholic]] prelate who served as the first [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington|archbishop of Washington]] in the District of Columbia from 1939 to 1947. He previously served as [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore|Archbishop of Baltimore]] in Maryland (1921–1947) and as [[Roman Catholic Diocese of St. Augustine|bishop of St. Augustine]] in Florida (1914–1921).

Curley was known for his militancy in protecting the rights of Catholics and of his dioceses against perceived and real attacks from outside forces. As bishop of St. Augustine, he fought anti-Catholic efforts by the [[Florida|State of Florida]] and the [[Jesuits]] to claim what he felt was his rightful authority.

As archbishop of Baltimore and later Washington, he denounced the oppression of Catholic clergy in Mexico and Spain and of Jews in Germany. Curley is also known for his strong program of school construction in the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

==Biography==

=== Early life and education ===
One of eleven children, Michael Curley was born on October 12, 1879, in [[Goldenisland]]<ref name="Marquis">
{{Cite book |url=http://archive.org/details/whoswho141926 |title=Who's who in America |publisher=[[A.N. Marquis Company]] |year=1926 |edition=14th |location=Chicago |page=544}}</ref> [[Athlone]],<ref>{{Cite news |date=1928-10-09 |title=Archbishop Michael Joseph Curley |url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?AN=54760666 |work=[[TIME Magazine]] |at=p. 48 People |via=[[EBSCOHOST]] |volume=12 |issue=11 |issn=0040-781X}}</ref> [[County Westmeath]], Ireland to Michael and Maria (née Ward) Curley.<ref name="athlone">{{cite news |title=About Athlone: Famous People |url=http://www.athlone.ie/AboutAthlone/FamousPeople.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090707053040/http://www.athlone.ie/AboutAthlone/FamousPeople.aspx |archive-date=July 7, 2009 |work=Athlone.ie}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Most Rev. Michael Joseph Curley |url=https://www.archbalt.org/the-archdiocese/most-rev-michael-joseph-curley/ |access-date=2023-12-16 |website=Archdiocese of Baltimore |language=en-US}}</ref> He attended a primary school in Athlone that was run by the [[Marist Brothers]].<ref name="odonnell">{{cite book |last=O'Donnell |first=John Hugh |url=https://archive.org/details/catholichierarch00odon |title=The Catholic Hierarchy of the United States, 1790–1922 |year=1922}}</ref> At age 16, Curley entered [[Mungret College]] in Limerick, Ireland. While at Mungret, Curley wanted to eventually become a missionary to the [[Fiji Islands]]. However, after speaking with Bishop [[John Moore (bishop of St Augustine)|John Moore]] during a school visit, Curley decided instead to go to the Diocese of St. Augustine in the United States after he finished his education.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |last=Varga |first=Nicholas |date=1991 |title=A Clash of Wills: The Curley-Bunn Dispute, 1940-1941 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44211138 |journal=Records of the American Catholic Historical Society of Philadelphia |volume=102 |issue=3 |pages=33–54 |issn=0002-7790}}</ref>

After graduating from Mungret, Curley entered the [[Royal University of Ireland]], earning a [[Bachelor of Arts]] in 1900. He then travelled to Rome to study at the [[Pontifical Urbaniana University|Urban College of the Propaganda]], receiving a [[Licentiate of Sacred Theology]] in 1903.<ref name=":0" /> His ordination was postponed until 1904 due to stress.<ref name=":4" />

=== Priesthood ===
On March 19, 1904, Curley was [[Holy Orders|ordained]] to the priesthood for the Diocese of Saint Augustine by Cardinal [[Pietro Respighi]] in the [[Basilica of St. John Lateran]] in Rome.<ref name="hierarchy">{{cite news |title=Archbishop Michael Joseph Curley |url=http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bcurleym.html |work=Catholic-Hierarchy.org}}</ref> 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]].<ref name=":0" /><ref name="augustine">{{cite news |title=Bishop Michael Joseph Curley (1913–1921) |url=http://www.dosafl.com/index.php?page=about/former_bishops |work=[[Roman Catholic Diocese of St. Augustine]]}}</ref> In 1914, Bishop [[William John Kenny|William Kenny]] appointed Curley as [[Chancellor (ecclesiastical)|chancellor]] of the diocese and as his personal secretary.<ref name="athlone" />

=== Bishop of Saint Augustine ===
[[File:Archbishop Michael Joseph Curley.jpg|thumb|Bishop Curley (pre-1914)|411x411px]]
On April 3, 1914, [[Pope Pius X]] appointed Curley as the fourth bishop of St. Augustine.<ref name="hierarchy" /> He received his [[Bishop (Catholic Church)|episcopal]] [[consecration]] at the [[Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine|Cathedral of Saint Augustine]] on June 30, 1914, from Bishop [[Benjamin Joseph Keiley|Benjamin Keiley]], with Bishops [[Patrick James Donahue|Patrick Donahue]] and [[Owen Patrick Bernard Corrigan|Owen Corrigan]] serving as [[Consecrator|co-consecrators]].<ref name=hierarchy/> At age 34, Curley was the youngest bishop in the country<ref name=odonnell/> — indeed 20 years later he was still the second youngest.<ref name="vs Sun">{{cite news |date=1934-07-23 |title=Archbishop v. Sun |url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?AN=54803619 |work=[[TIME Magazine]] |pages=46-48 |via=[[EBSCOHOST]] |issn=0040-781X}}</ref> He spent eight months out of every year on journeys throughout the diocese.<ref name=athlone/>

In 1913, the [[Florida Legislature]] passed legislation prohibiting white women from teaching African-American children in schools. At that time, the diocese had white nuns teaching in four schools for African-Americans in St. Augustine, [[Fernandina Beach, Florida|Fernandina]], Jacksonville, and [[Ybor City]]. Considering the law unconstitutional, the bishop at the time, [[William John Kenny|William Kenny]], told the sisters to ignore it.<ref name=":3" /> In a 1915 letter to the parishes in the diocese, Curley wrote:<blockquote>We Catholics of the United States are victims of organized vilification and the government itself [through the mails] takes a hand by the distribution of lewd and lascivious anti-Catholic filth. It is high time for the sixteen million Catholics of the United States to assert their rights and claim that protection which their citizenship and demonstrated loyalty should guarantee them.”<ref name=":3" /></blockquote>On April 24, 1916, Florida Governor [[Park Trammell]] ordered the arrest of three [[Sisters of St. Joseph]] for violating the law. When one of the sisters refused to post bond, she was put under house arrest at her [[convent]]. Curley vigorously attacked the sisters' arrests, portraying them as a state-sponsored campaign against Catholic schools in Florida. He gained strong support from other Catholic prelates in the United States.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last=Page |first=David P |date=1966 |title=Bishop Michael J. Curley and Anti-Catholic Nativism in Florida |url=https://stars.library.ucf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3016&context=fhq |journal=STARS Florida Historical Quarterly |volume=45}}</ref><ref name="augustine" /> Curley attracted national attention in 1917 by battling a bill in the [[Florida Legislature]] mandating state inspections of convents.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="athlone" /> Curley refused to comply with it.<ref name="augustine" /> He led a successful legal campaign to have the law declared unconstitutional.<ref name="athlone" /> He also sought to educate Floridians about Catholicism and demonstrate the bigotry of the [[Ku Klux Klan]].<ref name="augustine" />

During [[World War I]], Curley was a strong supporter of the American war effort. In 1917, he established the diocesan Catholic War Council, a group that gave spiritual guidance to Florida's Catholic soldiers.<ref name="augustine" /> He spoke at [[Liberty Bond]] rallies. At the end of the war, Curley celebrated a large memorial [[Mass (liturgy)|mass]] for soldiers who died in the war at [[Battery Park]] in [[New York City]].<ref name="augustine" /> By the end of his tenure as bishop of St. Augustine, the Catholic population in the diocese had grown from 39,000 to 41,000, with 40 new churches built.<ref name="athlone" />

In 1919, Curley appealed to Bishop [[Giovanni Bonzano]], apostolic delegate to the United States, to end an agreement between the diocese and the [[Society of Jesus]]. In 1889, Bishop [[John Moore (bishop of St Augustine)|John Moore]] had asked the Jesuits to build Catholic missions and churches in Southwest Florida from [[Tampa Bay]] to [[Key West]]. Curley wanted them to surrender control of the area, along with Jesuit property, to the diocese. In 1921, the Vatican approved an agreement that gave the diocese jurisdiction over the region, but allowed the Jesuits to keep their property.<ref name=":4" />

===Archbishop of Baltimore===
[[File:Eucharistic Congress - Dublin - June 1932 -Benediction on the Bridge.jpg|thumb|287x287px|Closing ceremony, 1932 Eucharistic Congress, Dublin, Ireland]]
On August 10, 1921, [[Pope Benedict XV]] named Curley as the tenth archbishop of Baltimore.<ref name="hierarchy" /> His installation took place on November 30, 1921.<ref name="hierarchy" /> His arrival in his new city was described as "one of the greatest welcomes ever tendered a new citizen of Baltimore."<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 1, 1921 |title=Archbishop Curley Given Big Ovation |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost_historical/access/190966952.html?dids=190966952:190966952&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=NOV+30%2C+1921&author=Special+to+The+Washington+Post.&pub=The+Washington+Post&desc=ARCHBISHOP+CURLEY+GIVEN+BIG+OVATION&pqatl=google |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110524094723/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost_historical/access/190966952.html?dids=190966952:190966952&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=NOV+30,+1921&author=Special+to+The+Washington+Post.&pub=The+Washington+Post&desc=ARCHBISHOP+CURLEY+GIVEN+BIG+OVATION&pqatl=google |archive-date=May 24, 2011 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> During his tenure in Baltimore, Curley spent $30 million building 66 schools in 18 years, placing the importance of constructing schools over churches.<ref name="athlone" /><ref name=":4" /> In 1926, he declared, <blockquote>
"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."<ref name=":0" /> </blockquote>
Curley also established archdiocesan offices for [[Catholic Charities]] (1923) and for the [[Society for the Propagation of the Faith]] (1925).<ref name=":0" /> In 1922, in an article in the [[The Gaelic American|''Gaelic American'']] during the [[Irish Civil War]], Curley criticized the Irish politician [[Éamon de Valera]] for causing violence in Ireland, comparing him to the Mexican revolutionary [[Pancho Villa]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Carroll |first=F. M. |date=1982 |title=De Valera and the Americans: The Early Years, 1916-1923 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25512548 |journal=The Canadian Journal of Irish Studies |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=36–54 |doi=10.2307/25512548 |issn=0703-1459 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> In March 1926, Curley criticized the expropriation of Catholic Church property by the Mexican Government and the expulsion of foreign priests and nuns from Mexico:<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |date=1926-03-05 |title=CURLEY SAYS MEXICO WOULD EXPEL SAVIOUR; Archbishop of Baltimore Says Red Robbers Are in Power and Have Ended Religious Freedom. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1926/03/05/archives/curley-says-mexico-would-expel-saviour-archbishop-of-baltimore-says.html |access-date=2022-05-22 |work=[[The New York Times]] |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><blockquote>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.<ref name=":1" /></blockquote>In the mid-1920s, many clergy became concerned about the spiritual well-being of the large number of Catholic students attending non-Catholic colleges. This prompted the establishment of the [[Newman Club]] movement, Catholic centers at these institutions. However, Curley denounced the movement, believing that Catholic youth belonged in Catholic universities only.<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal |last=Gray |first=M. Alexander |date=1963 |title=Development of the Newman Club Movement, 1893-1961 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44210455 |journal=[[Records of the American Catholic Historical Society of Philadelphia]] |volume=74 |issue=2 |pages=70–128 |issn=0002-7790}}</ref> He made these remarks in 1925: <blockquote>The men backing the so-called Catholic Foundation Plan are waging a secret hypocritical warfare against the best interests of the Church in America. They are honest. They remind us of the Modernists who were bent on destroying the Church from within. The latter attacked the Church's teachings. The Foundationists attack the Church's right to educate. In fact, they pose as friends of the Church when they tell her to throw her millions of children into an atmosphere of destructive secularism in order that they may be educated.<ref name=":5" /></blockquote>In 1931, [[Pope Pius XI]] appointed Curley as an [[assistant to the papal throne]]; he was later named a member of the College of Patriarchs and Bishops.  Curley celebrated the mass at the end of the [[1932 Eucharistic Congress]] in Dublin.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news |date=1947-05-17 |title=MICHAEL CURLEY, ARCHBISHOP, DEAD; Head of the Washington and Baltimore SeesuWas Aide to Pontifical Throne |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1947/05/17/archives/michael-curley-archbishop-dead-head-of-the-washington-and-baltimore.html |access-date=2022-05-22 |work=[[The New York Times]] |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Combative by nature, Curley exemplified the militancy of many American bishops and archbishops during the 1920s and 1930s:
* Condemning the foreign policy of US President [[Franklin Roosevelt]]<ref name=":2" />
* Protesting the anti-Semitic policies of [[Nazi Germany]] in 1933<ref>{{Cite news |date=1933-03-25 |title=Archbishop Curley Protests. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1933/03/25/archives/archbishop-curley-protests.html |access-date=2023-12-16 |work=[[The New York Times]] |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
* Criticizing the [[American film industry]] in 1934 for producing what he called filthy films. He vigorously fought efforts in Baltimore to open movie theaters on Sunday.<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite news |title=ARCHBISHOP CURLEY BACK.; Baltimore Prelate to Resume Active Part in Movie Campaign. |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.comhttp//timesmachine.content-tagging.us-east-1-01.prd.dvsp.nyt.net/timesmachine/1934/09/26/94566278.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false |access-date=2023-12-16 |work=[[The New York Times]] |language=en}}</ref>
* Calling upon American bishops to conduct a study of the influences of [[communism]] in the United States.<ref name=":0" /> 
* Terming policies of the [[Second Spanish Republic]] in 1939 as anti-clerical, blaming it for the deaths of hundreds of Spanish priests and nuns.<ref name=":2" /> 
In 1934, an article in ''[[The Baltimore Sun]]'' compared the ruthlessness of German Chancellor [[Adolf Hitler]] to the Catholic theologian [[Ignatius of Loyola]]. After receiving complaints from several Jesuit priests,<ref name = "vs Sun"/> the ''Sun'' printed an apology. Unhappy over what he perceived as slights by the ''Sun'', Curley demanded a fuller apology and threatened a subscriber boycott. While Curley was visiting Ireland, the ''Sun'' worked out a quiet settlement with the archdiocese.<ref name=":4" />

=== Archbishop of Baltimore and Washington ===
[[File:LoyolaMD Admissions.JPG|thumb|Loyola University Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland (2008)|261x261px]]
On July 22, 1939, [[Pope Pius XII]] separated [[Washington, D.C.]], from the Archdiocese of Baltimore to form the new Archdiocese of Washington.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="washington">{{cite news |title=About Us: The Archdiocese of Washington |url=http://www.adw.org/about/ |publisher=[[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington]]}}</ref> While allowing Curley to retain his position as archbishop of Baltimore, the pope appointed him as the first archbishop of Washington. He governed the two archdioceses as a single unit.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="washington" />

In March 1941, Curley sued [[Loyola University Maryland|Loyola College]] in Baltimore and its president, Reverend [[Edward B. Bunn|Edward Bunn]], over a [[Bequest and devise|bequest]] in a will. In 1937, Frances Stuart, a Catholic philanthropist, had written a will naming the archdiocese as a beneficiary. When Bunn arrived in Baltimore in 1938, he became a spiritual counselor to Stuart. In January 1940, in declining health, she revised her will, using a lawyer suggested by Bunn. In the new will, Stuart added Loyola College as a beneficiary and dropped the archdiocese. She died a few days later.<ref name=":4" /> In early 1940, Bunn tried to negotiate a lawsuit settlement with Curley, but he refused it. In February 1941, Curley demanded Bunn's firing as part of a settlement. In May 1941, a jury ruled that Stuart's second will was valid.<ref name=":4" />

In December 1941, Curley made an inappropriate remark to a reporter about the Japanese [[attack on Pearl Harbor]] on December 7. His opponents in the Catholic hierarchy persuaded the [[Apostolic Nunciature to the United States|apostolic delegate to the United States]], Bishop [[Amleto Giovanni Cicognani]], to reprimand him. From then on, Curley avoided any political comments.<ref name=":0" /> Although his predecessor in Baltimore, Archbishop [[James Gibbons]], was appointed [[cardinal (Catholicism)|cardinal]], Curley never received the same distinction.

=== Death and legacy ===
By 1943, after an operation for a [[detached retina]], Curley had given up his public appearances. Curley suffered from [[sinusitis]], [[shingles]], and high blood pressure. A series of [[stroke]]s caused him to have partial paralysis and blindness.<ref name=":2" />

Curley died at [[Bon Secours Hospital (Baltimore)|Bon Secours Hospital]] in Baltimore from a stroke on May 16, 1947, at age 67.<ref name=":2" /> He is interred in the [[Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary]] in Baltimore.<ref name="athlone" /> After Curley's death, Pius XII appointed separate archbishops for Baltimore (Bishop [[Francis Patrick Keough|Francis Keough]]) and Washington (Bishop [[Patrick O'Boyle (American bishop)|Patrick O'Boyle]]).<ref name="hierarchy" />

[[Archbishop Curley High School]] in Baltimore, founded in 1960, was named after Curley.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Our History |url=https://www.archbishopcurley.org/about/our-history/ |access-date=2023-12-16 |website=Archbishop Curley High School |language=en-US}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Catholicism}}
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[Catholic Church hierarchy]]
* [[Catholic Church in the United States]]
* [[Historical list of the Catholic bishops of the United States]]
* [[List of Catholic bishops of the United States]]
* [[Lists of patriarchs, archbishops, and bishops]]
{{div col end}}
<!-- Please keep entries in alphabetical order. -->

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{commons category-inline}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050307033430/http://www.archbishopcurley.org/index.asp Archbishop Curley High School Website]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150221013229/http://www.archbalt.org/about-us/the-archdiocese/our-history/people/curley.cfm Most Rev. Michael J. Curley]. Archdiocese of Baltimore. Retrieved on 2016-11-19.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20161120150408/http://www.archbalt.org/about-us/the-archdiocese/our-history/bishops-modern-era.cfm Archbishops of the Modern Era (1851–2012)]. Archdiocese of Baltimore. Retrieved on 2016-11-19.
* [http://www.archbalt.org/ Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore]

{{s-start}}
{{s-rel|ca}}
{{s-bef|before=[[William John Kenny]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Roman Catholic Diocese of St. Augustine|Bishop of St. Augustine]]|years=1914–1921}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Patrick Joseph Barry]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[James Gibbons]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore|Archbishop of Baltimore]]|years=1921–1947}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Francis Patrick Keough]]}}
{{s-new|archdiocese}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington|Archbishop of Washington]]|years=1939–1947}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Patrick O'Boyle (American bishop)|Patrick O'Boyle]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{RC Archdiocese of Baltimore}}
{{Roman Catholic Diocese of St. Augustine}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Curley, Michael Joseph}}
[[Category:1879 births]]
[[Category:1947 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in the United States]]
[[Category:Alumni of the Royal University of Ireland]]
[[Category:Roman Catholic bishops of St. Augustine]]
[[Category:Roman Catholic archbishops of Baltimore]]
[[Category:Burials at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary]]
[[Category:Irish expatriates in the United States]]
[[Category:Religious leaders from Baltimore]]
[[Category:People from Athlone]]
[[Category:People from DeLand, Florida]]
[[Category:Irish expatriate Roman Catholic archbishops]]
[[Category:Christian clergy from County Westmeath]]
[[Category:People educated at Mungret College]]