# Curate > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Curate > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Curate.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curate > Source revision: 1352345540 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Religious occupation Not to be confused with [Curator](/source/Curator). [John Vianney](/source/John_Vianney), the *Curé d'Ars* A **curate** ([/ˈkjʊərɪt/](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/English)) is a person who is invested with the [*care* or *cure* (*cura*) of souls](/source/Cure_of_souls) of a [parish](/source/Parish). In this sense, *curate* means a [parish priest](/source/Parish); but in many English-speaking countries the term *curate* is commonly used to describe clergy who are assistants to the parish priest. The duties or office of a curate are called a **curacy**. ## Etymology and other terms The term is derived from the [Latin](/source/Latin) perfect passive participle *cūrātus* 'arranged (taken care of); healed, cured' of the verb *curō* 'arrange, see to, attend to; cure; etc.' (compare *[curator](/source/Curator)*). In other languages, derivations from *cūrātus* may be used differently. In [French](/source/French_language), the *curé* is the chief priest (assisted by a *vicaire*) of a parish,[1] as is the [Italian](/source/Italian_language) *curato*, the [Spanish](/source/Spanish_language) *cura*, and the [Filipino](/source/Filipino_language) term *kura paróko* (which almost always refers to the parish priest), which is derived from Spanish. ## Catholic Church Part of a series on the Hierarchy of the Catholic Church Saint Peter Ecclesiastical titles (order of precedence) Pope Pope emeritus Cardinal Cardinal Vicar Crown Prince Protector Moderator of the curia Chaplain of His Holiness Papal legate Papal majordomo Apostolic nuncio Apostolic delegate Apostolic Syndic Apostolic visitor Vicar apostolic Apostolic exarch Apostolic prefect Assistant to the papal throne Eparch Metropolitan Patriarch Catholicos Bishop Archbishop Bishop emeritus Diocesan bishop Major archbishop Primate Suffragan bishop Titular bishop Coadjutor bishop Auxiliary bishop Prelate Provost Pontiff Territorial prelate Territorial abbot Liturgical titles Acolyte Consecrator Lector Subdeacon Administrative and pastoral titles Auditor Brother Chancellor Chaplain Military chaplain Military ordinary Coarb Confessor Consultor Curate Deacon Archdeacon Defender of the bond Definitor Devil's advocate Diocesan administrator Ecclesiastical judge Exorcist Laity Lay abbot Abthain Commendatory Lay cardinal Minister Major orders Minor orders Missionary Monsignor Officialis Ostiarius Pastor Assistant pastor Palatinus Personal prelate Preacher Prefect Presbyter Elder Priest Principal Protonotary apostolic Reverend Saint Servant of God Blessed Venerable Seminarian Vicar Judicial vicar Vicar general Vicar forane Sub-dean Consecrated and professed titles Abbess Abbot Consecrated virgin Corrector Custos Friar Dean Grand master Hermit Master of novices Monk Novice Nun Postulant Prior Provincial superior Rector Religious Superior general Additional titles Almoner Altar server Archimandrite Archpriest Archdeacon Canon Captain General of the Church Chorbishop Coarb Commissary Apostolic Conclavist Custos Datarius Gonfalonier of the Church Honorary prelate Minor canon Notarius Ostiarius Peritus Postulator Prebendary Precentor Prince-bishop Prince-abbot Prince-primate Prince-provost Promotor Fidei Protopriest Protodeacon Protosyncellus Regionarius Sacristan Sidewalk counselor Usher Associations and organization titles Third orders Oblates Confraternities Pious Unions Grand master Knights Hospitaller Order of the Holy Sepulchre Teutonic Knights Inquisitor Grand Inquisitor Preceptor Catholic Church portal v t e In the [Catholic Church](/source/Catholic_Church), the [English](/source/English_language) word *curate* is used for a priest assigned to a parish in a position subordinate to that of the [parish priest](/source/Parish_priest). The parish priest (or often, in the United States, the *pastor* or *minister*)[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] is the priest who has [canonical](/source/Canon_law) responsibility for the [parish](/source/Parish_(Catholic_Church)). He may be assisted by one or more other priests, referred to as curates, **assistant priests**,[2] parochial vicars,[3] or (in America) **associate** or **assistant pastors**. ## Anglican Communion [Edgar Sheppard](/source/Edgar_Sheppard), Curate at Marlow and Hornsey In the [Church of England](/source/Church_of_England) today, *curate* refers to priests (or, in the first year, [transitional deacons](/source/Transitional_deacon)) who are in their first post after ordination (usually for four years), and are completing their training (not unlike an [apprenticeship](/source/Apprenticeship)). The technical term *curate*, as found in the [1662 *Book of Common Prayer*](/source/Book_of_Common_Prayer_(1662)), meant the [incumbent](/source/Incumbent_(ecclesiastical)) of a benefice, that is the person licensed by the diocesan bishop to the "cure of souls", who, depending on how the benefice income was raised and distributed, was a [rector](/source/Rector_(ecclesiastical)#Anglican_churches), a [vicar](/source/Vicar_(Anglicanism)), or a [perpetual curate](/source/Perpetual_curate).[4] A vicar arises when a rectory was sold to lay rectors, which would often be a monastic house (such as abbey) or university college; a perpetual curacy where another priest or senior cleric has long-term control of the parish finances, granting an agreed stipend and general powers to the curate, albeit of theoretically of the same [job security](/source/Job_security), below. Although the expression *curate-in-charge* was mainly used of an informal arrangement whereby an [incumbent](/source/Incumbent_(ecclesiastical)) gave most responsibility for one of the parish churches to an assistant, in law it denoted a cleric licensed by the bishop to exercise some or all of the cure of souls when the incumbent had failed to make adequate provision for them or was subject to disciplinary measures.[5]: 25 Once in possession of their benefices, rectors and vicars enjoyed a somewhat locally varied array of rights, absolutely, a home in which to live without charge, and generally a generous income from the parish especially in the era of tithes, yet could be removed after due legal process and for a restricted number of reasons.[5]: 7 Perpetual curates were placed on a similar footing in 1838 and were commonly styled "vicars", and this practice was legally recognised in 1868.[6] Clergy (both transitional deacons and [priests](/source/Priest)) who assist the "curate" were, and are, properly called assistant curates, but are often referred to as "the curate". A house provided for an assistant curate is sometimes colloquially called a "**curatage**". Assistant curates are also licensed by the bishop, but only at the request of the "curate", who had the right of dismissal subject to certain conditions.[5]: 24 Although it is customary for a priest to serve as a curate in one or more parishes before becoming an incumbent, it is by no means unknown for priests who have previously been beneficed or consecrated bishop to return to a curacy (as assistant curate), sometimes as a matter of choice. For example, [Geoffrey Francis Fisher](/source/Geoffrey_Francis_Fisher) served as Curate of [Trent](/source/Trent%2C_Dorset) near [Sherborne](/source/Sherborne) after retiring as [Archbishop of Canterbury](/source/Archbishop_of_Canterbury) in 1961.[7] With the 1968 Pastoral Measure and subsequent legislation, the Church of England has undergone a major process of reform which still continues today, and much of above no longer holds good. Ministers in the Church of England whose main income comes from sources other than their work as clergy may be termed "self-supporting ministers" or "curate (SSM)".[8] Terms like *rector* and *curate* were carried overseas with the spread of Anglicanism, but their exact meaning depends on local conditions and regulations. In the [Church of Ireland](/source/Church_of_Ireland) some curates are styled "bishop's curates" as they are accountable directly to the diocesan bishop, while sometimes mentored by local parish clergy, and are perceived to have more autonomy than other assistant curates. [*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] In Anglican parishes with a [charismatic](/source/Charismatic_movement) or [evangelical](/source/Evangelicalism) ([low church](/source/Low_church)) tradition, the roles of curates are usually seen as being an assistant leader to the overall leader, often in a larger team of pastoral leaders. Many of the larger charismatic and evangelical parishes have larger ministry teams with a number of pastoral leaders, some ordained and others who are not.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] In the [Episcopal Church of the United States](/source/Episcopal_Church_of_the_United_States), the curacy may be a temporary place to continue training after ordination, similar to an [internship](/source/Internship),[9] or it may be a permanent, subordinant position, more akin to a *perpetual curate*. ### Training In the Church of England, the ongoing training of assistant curates is typically overseen by officers of the bishops called Initial Ministerial Education (IME) or Continuing Ministerial Development (CMD) Advisers. ## History Originally a [bishop](/source/Bishop) would entrust a priest with the "[cure of souls](/source/Cure_of_souls)" (pastoral ministry) of a parish. When, in medieval Europe, this included the legal [freehold](/source/Fee_simple) of church land in the parish, the [parish priest](/source/Parish_priest) was a "[perpetual curate](/source/Perpetual_curate)" (*curatus perpetuus*), an assistant would be a (plain) curate (*curatus temporalis*). The words *perpetuus* and *temporalis* distinguish their appointments but not the length of service, the apparent reference to time is accidental. A curate is appointed by the parish priest and paid from parish funds. A perpetual curate is a priest in charge of a parish who was (usually) appointed and paid by the bishop. As the church became more embedded into the fabric of [feudal](/source/Feudal) Europe, various other titles often supplanted "curate" for the parish priest. "[Rector](/source/Rector_(ecclesiastical))" was the title given to a priest in possession of the [tithe](/source/Tithe) income. This right to the income was known as a "living". The title of rector comes from *regere*, 'to rule'. Those parishes where a monastery had appropriated the rights to the tithe income, a portion of this income was set aside for a priest to occupy the parish, essentially acting on behalf of the monastery, in other words vicariously – hence "vicar". In some cases, a portion of a tithe for a vicar could exceed the income of some rectors, depending on the value of the livings being compared. ## Minor canons [Minor canons](/source/Minor_canon) are those clergy who are members of a cathedral's establishment and take part in the daily services but are not part of the formal [chapter](/source/Chapter_(religion)). These are generally clergy who are nearer to the beginning than the end of their ministries, who have already served their curacy ([title](/source/Title_(Christianity)) post) in a parish church. They are often selected for their singing and liturgical ability. ## See also - [Christianity portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Christianity) - [Catholicism portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Catholicism) - [Curate's egg](/source/Curate's_egg) - [Roman Curia](/source/Roman_Curia) ## Notes and references 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Curate"](http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04570a.htm). *[Catholic Encyclopedia](/source/Catholic_Encyclopedia)*. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["canon 545"](http://www.intratext.com/IXT/ENG0017/_P1T.HTM#2IX). *Intratext*. Code of Canon Law. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["canon 545"](https://web.archive.org/web/20130127090653/https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__P1U.HTM). *Vatican*. Code of Canon Law. Archived from [the original](https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__P1U.HTM) on January 27, 2013. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-C&L_4-0)** Cross & Livingstone. *Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church* (1974), articles "Curate", "Incumbent" & "Perpetual Curate" 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-neep_&_edinger_5-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-neep_&_edinger_5-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-neep_&_edinger_5-2) Neep, Edward John Cecil; Edinger, George Adolphus (1928). *A Handbook of Church Law for the Clergy*. A.R. Mowbray & Company. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Cross & Livingstone. *Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church* (1974), art. "Perpetual Curate". 1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Carpenter, Edward (2012). *Archbishop Fisher, His Life and Times*. London, England: Canterbury Press. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** ["Diocese of Bristol: Self Supporting Ministry"](https://web.archive.org/web/20110717011546/http://www.bristol.anglican.org/ministry/training/downloads/SSM%20Guidelines%20010209.pdf) (PDF). Archived from [the original](https://www.bristol.anglican.org/ministry/training/downloads/SSM%20Guidelines%20010209.pdf) (PDF) on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 10 September 2018. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** *See*, Paul Moore, Jr., *Presences: A Bishop's Life in the City* (1999). ## Further reading - Hart, A. Tindal (1970) *The Curate's Lot: the story of the unbeneficed English clergy*. London, England: J. Baker - Lewis, Robert Michael (2016) Curacy Express: A Training Resource for New Clergy. Eugene, Oregon: Wipf and Stock --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Curate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curate) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curate?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.