Royal wedding 2018: What to know about the Most Rev. Michael Bruce Curry

Curry traveled from Chicago to give the address.

May 19, 2018, 8:14 AM
The Most Rev Bishop Michael Curry, primate of the Episcopal Church, gives an address during the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle in Windsor, May 19, 2018.
The Most Rev Bishop Michael Curry, primate of the Episcopal Church, gives an address during the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle in Windsor, May 19, 2018.
Owen Humphreys/Reuters

One of the most memorable moments of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Saturday wedding was the address delivered by the Most Rev. Michael Bruce Curry, who traveled to Windsor from Chicago to speak at the event.

Joining the Dean of Windsor, the Rt. Rev. David Conner, who conducted the service, Curry, the head of the Episcopal Church, spoke passionately about the power of love and at one point quoted Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

"We must discover the power of love, the redemptive power of love. And when we do that, we will make of this old world a new world," the bishop said. "Love is the only way. There's power in love. Don't underestimate it. Don't even over-sentimentalize it. There's power, power in love."

Curry was installed as the 27th presiding bishop and primate of the Episcopal Church in 2015, according to the church's official website. He was elected to a nine-year term.

According to his official bio, Curry, 65, is the descendant of slaves brought to North America from Africa, and was born in Chicago. After attending school in Buffalo, New York, he graduated from Hobart College in 1975, and earned a Master of Divinity degree from Yale University in 1978. That same year, he was ordained as a deacon at St. Paul's Cathedral in Buffalo, and went on to work as deacon-in-charge at St. Stephen's in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Later, he became the rector of St. James' in Baltimore, until he was elected as the 11th bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina in 2000.

Curry is passionate about social justice issues, marriage equality and immigration policy. He has authored three books: "Following the Way of Jesus: Church's Teachings in a Changing World," "Songs My Grandma Sang," and "Crazy Christians: A Call to Follow Jesus," and is a regular speaker in houses of worship and at conferences around the United States and internationally.

Married to Sharon Clement, Curry is the father to two adult daughters, Rachel and Elizabeth.

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