Patrick Curtis (1740 – 26 July 1832) was an Irish

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. He served as the

Archbishop of Armagh The Archbishop of Armagh is an Episcopal polity, archiepiscopal title which takes its name from the Episcopal see, see city of Armagh in Northern Ireland. Since the Reformation in Ireland, Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic success ...

and

Primate of All Ireland The Primacy of Ireland belongs to the diocesan bishop of the Irish diocese with highest precedence. The Archbishop of Armagh is titled Primate of All Ireland and the Archbishop of Dublin Primate of Ireland, signifying that they are the senior ...

from 1819 to 1832., ''The Episcopal Succession in England, Scotland and Ireland, volume 1'', p. 231., ''Handbook of British Chronology'', p. 416.

Biography

Patrick Curtis was born in

Stamullen Stamullen () is a village in County Meath, Ireland on the border with County Dublin. It lies just off the M1 motorway 32 km north of Dublin city centre and beside the Delvin River. In the late 1990s and early 21st century, it expanded sig ...

County Meath County Meath ( ; or simply , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is bordered by County Dublin to the southeast, County ...

in 1746. He studied for the priesthood in Salamanca in Spain. Curtis was the Rector of the Irish College at Salamanca,

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, from 1780 until 1817, and professor at the

University of Salamanca The University of Salamanca () is a public university, public research university in Salamanca, Spain. Founded in 1218 by Alfonso IX of León, King Alfonso IX, it is the oldest university in the Hispanic world and the fourth oldest in the ...

, where he was known as Don Patricio Cortés. Whilst in Spain he was

spymaster A spymaster is a leader of a group of spies or an intelligence agency An intelligence agency is a government agency responsible for the collection, Intelligence analysis, analysis, and exploitation of information in support of law enforce ...

of a network that provided

military intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis List of intelligence gathering disciplines, approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist Commanding officer, commanders in decision making pr ...

to Wellesley's

Anglo-Portuguese Army The Anglo-Portuguese Army was the combined British and Portuguese army that participated in the Peninsular War, under the command of Arthur Wellesley. The Army is also referred to as the British-Portuguese Army and, in Portuguese, as the ''E ...

during the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French ...

. His friendship with Wellington assisted in his promotion to Armagh. It is also thought to have paved the way to Catholic Emancipation, to which the

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the State rel ...

Wellington was a late but genuine convert. He served as Professor of Philosophy and the first Professor of Astronomy at the University of Salamanca. After his return to Ireland, he lived on a British Government pension until he was appointed the archbishop of the Metropolitan see of Armagh by the

Propaganda Fide The Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (CEP; ) was a congregation of the Roman Curia of the Catholic Church in Rome, responsible for missionary work and related activities. It is also known by its former title, the Sacred Congregati ...

on 2 August and confirmed by

Pope Gregory XVI Pope Gregory XVI (; ; born Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari; 18 September 1765 – 1 June 1846) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1831 to his death in June 1846. He had adopted the name Mauro upon enteri ...

on 8 August 1819. His

episcopal ordination A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

took place on 28 October 1819. He died in Drogheda of cholera on 26 July 1832 while still holding his archbishop's office.

Popular culture

He is featured in the TV series ''Sharpe'' where he is portrayed by the actor John Kavanagh.

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Curtis, Patrick 1832 deaths 19th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Ireland Roman Catholic archbishops of Armagh People of the Peninsular War Infectious disease deaths in the Republic of Ireland Deaths from cholera Spymasters Academic staff of the University of Salamanca 1740 births People from Stamullen Christian clergy from County Meath