Born in Boston on Sept. 18, 1946, Father Joseph L. Curran was raised in Waltham, one of the two sons of the late Joseph and Margaretta (Watters) Curran. He has one sibling, his brother Richard, who is a senior priest of the archdiocese.

St. Charles Borromeo, Waltham, was his home parish and he attended both the parish elementary and secondary school, then staffed by the Sisters of St. Joseph. He has an undergraduate degree from Boston University and a graduate degree in library science from Simmons University.

Prior to entering St. John Seminary, he had worked at the public library in his home town and in neighboring Watertown. He loves books and he knows books.

He completed a year of philosophy studies and then his theological studies at St. John Seminary. Humberto Cardinal Medeiros ordained him and his classmates to the priesthood at Holy Cross Cathedral on May 15, 1976. They refer to themselves as the bicentennial class.

His first of six assignments in archdiocesan parishes was to St. Mary Star of the Sea, Beverly. The parish was a great one for a newly ordained to begin. There were several other priests in the parish, there was a parish school, a convent of Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, as well as a hospital for which the parish was responsible and nursing homes and elderly housing faculties.

Blessed with an artistic eye, which he generously placed at the parish's service, he and an assembled team of parishioners helped to make sure that the church was always appropriately decorated for the various liturgical seasons and celebrations.

Most of all, he was extraordinarily kind and available to people. He made time for them, he listened to them, and was genuinely empathetic. This extended especially to the elderly and the sick of whom he was particularly solicitous.

He developed many and lasting friendships at the parish and many endure to this day.

These and other qualities would be characteristics that he would bring to all the other parishes where he would serve in the archdiocese.

Five years following his Beverly assignment, he was associate at Our Lady of Fatima Parish, Sudbury. He would serve the parish for the next decade with those same ideals and zeal. Sudbury was smaller than Beverly, with no school, convent, etc., but Father Curran still had people aplenty. And he was as happy on the "smaller stage" of Sudbury as he had been on the larger at Beverly.

In 1991, he was named parochial vicar at Newton's Our Lady Help of Christians Parish. It was a similar situation to Beverly. But it was also busier. He also returned to having a pastor who was an avid and accomplished golfer. But who likewise encouraged Father Curran's gifts and interests, which again served the parish very well.

In 1994, he was named parochial vicar at Sacred Heart Parish in Watertown, somewhat completing the triangle of Waltham-Newton-Watertown. During six years as parochial vicar, he made his usual impression on the parishioners. When the pastor of the parish died, Cardinal Bernard Law, in a rare move, immediately appointed him as pastor of the parish.

He waited a bit before doing too much but as he was well known he was able to quickly reshape the lower church providing a daily Mass chapel and a parish gathering area. This freed up the rectory space for smaller group meetings.

He made sure that the parish "plant" was well cared for, that the grounds were tended, and that the church, sacristy, and sanctuary were always properly supplied.

When a decision was reached to shutter the parish during an early phase of parish reductions, he and his parishioners appealed the decision and achieved a reversal, and the parish remains open to this day. In some ways, it helped spur more interest and participation in the parish's life and activities.

When a new round of parish changes began, Sacred Heart was linked as a collaborative with its mother parish, St. Patrick, Watertown, and new parochial leadership was appointed.

After 22 happy and fruitful years of service there, Father Curran was in 2016 named administrator of another Sacred Heart Parish, this one in East Cambridge.

On his arrival, he found that there was much, well actually a lot, to be done of the physical plant and regarding the fiscal situation of the parish. He set to his new responsibilities while personally approaching 70 years of age with the same commitment that he had demonstrated in previous assignments.

As with many assignments, there can be ups and downs, steps ahead and steps back, successes and slips. Some can originate with the priest or more often outside forces can account for the downs, back steps, and slips.

Father Curran navigated these serenely and calmly even though he could see that things might be better done another way.

Father Curran has a special affection for Blessed Pope John Paul I. He was actually leading a pilgrimage to Rome in September 1978 and was present in the Eternal City when the pope died within weeks of his election. He saw in that pope a good pastor who was kind, somewhat of a model for Father Curran's subsequent priestly ministry.

He was named a senior priest on Dec. 31, 2022.

During his retirement, he will be living in his family home in Waltham.