Black Church

St. Mary observes Its Rector’s 25th Year In Priesthood

The Basilica of St. Mary in Norfolk celebrated Father Jim Curran’s 25 years of priesthood, honoring his pastoral compassion, community activism, and deep connection with the historic Black Catholic parish.

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Special to the New Journal and Guide

“I love being a priest!” That is more than a mantra that begins one of the sermons when Father Jim Curran, Rector of the Basilica of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception, during a service at The Basilica of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Norfolk, Virginia. The historic, national landmark is the only predominantly African-American Basilica in the United States.

Father Curran joined the parish in 2012.

“My home church was Saint Gerard Catholic church in Roanoke, Virginia,” said Virginia Schexnider, a retired school psychologist. “It was then an African-American Catholic church. Monsignor Walter Barrett and my uncle, Fr. James Goode, OFM, PhD, married my husband, Dr. Alvin Schexnider, and me 47 years ago. Due to Alvin’s academic career, our family has joined multiple Catholic churches over the years.

“We have been members of the Basilica of St. Mary for 22 years. Fr. Curran, aka Fr. Jim, is a breath of fresh air. What impresses me most about him are his people skills, and communication skills. He is a master homilist.

In addition, Fr. Jim is very personable, compassionate, and able to relate to individuals from all levels of society. His emotional intelligence and empathy towards others are exceptional. This is particularly true for a priest whose responsibilities include providing counseling to members of the church.”

One of eight children of James and Theresa Curran, Curran was born and raised in Central Islip, New York. After graduating from high school, he enlisted and served in the US Navy for four years. It was his service in the Navy that first brought him to Norfolk.

At the end of his military enlistment, he remained in the Hampton Roads area where he was employed as a flight dispatcher for a Lear Jet Operator at Newport News/Williamsburg Airport.

Father Curran remarked that he found himself wrestling with God over his vocation for several years. As if it were a verse out of James Weldon Johnson’s poem “The Prodigal Son,” ‘your arm’s too short to box with God,’ Curran eventually relented. He answered the call to the priesthood by enrolling in St. Mary’s Seminary and University in Baltimore, Md. in 1993. Fr. Curran was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Richmond on May 27, 2000. Since then, Father Jim has served as a priest chaplain at the College of William and Mary, James Madison University; an associate pastor at St. Bede in Williamsburg and Pastor of St. Joan of Arc in Yorktown.

“I am proud and honored to serve as Pastor of the Basilica of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception,” he said after a Sunday service. “The two most important events in my life were becoming a priest and serving this loving, beautiful parish, here at the Basilica. It is so humbling, and a blessing.”

One thing that impresses the predominantly African-American parish is how Father Curran aligns himself with various social causes in raising awareness of Catholic social teachings, particularly as it pertains to the Civil Rights Movement.

He led his parishioners on a pilgrimage to Washington to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King’s March. He also visited Selma during the 50th anniversary of the March that led to broader voting rights. And, he was invited by Barbara Hamm Lee to be a special guest on her Radio Talk Show “Another View,” joining other panelists for the segment called “Race, Religion, Relationship, and (Hope for Redemption),”

“Father Jim is great guy,” said parishioner B.J. Jenkins, a retired restaurateur. “He’s one best preacher that we ever had. From here to now on. He’s my man!”

“Father Jim’s natural affable nature warms the heart of all whom he encounters,” said Blake Morant, a columnist with The Atlantic. “The genuineness of his outreach touches the heart and engenders loyalty and love,” said Jackie Scott.

Longtime parishioner Robert Prelow, said, “Father Jim, embodies the term ‘pastoral’. Many church leaders perform their duties as a function of their position. Father Jim’s natural affinity for humanism transforms his pastoral duties into a personal calling that endears him to his parishioners.”