Michael Joseph Curley

Michael Joseph Curley (October 12, 1879 – May 16, 1947) was an Irish-born American Catholic prelate who served as the first archbishop of Washington in the District of Columbia from 1939 to 1947. He also served as Archbishop of Baltimore in Maryland (1921–1947) and previously as 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 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 Athlone, County Westmeath, Ireland to Michael and Maria (née Ward) Curley. He attended a 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. 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 he finished his education.

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 Urban College of the Propaganda, receiving a Licentiate of Sacred Theology in 1903. 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, Bishop William Kenny appointed Curley as chancellor of the diocese and as his personal secretary. He spent eight months out of every year on journeys throughout the diocese. During his tenure in Baltimore, Curley spent $30 million building 66 schools in 18 years, placing the importance of constructing schools over churches. 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: 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. He made these remarks in 1925: 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. 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 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. Calling upon American bishops to conduct a study of the influences of communism in the United States. 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.