Joseph Aloysius Durick

Joseph Aloysius Durick
Born	Joseph Aloysius Durick October 13, 1914 Dayton, Tennessee
Died	June 26, 1994 Bessemer, Alabama
Cause of death	Cancer
Nationality	American
Other names	Bishop Durick
Education	Doctor of Divinity
Alma mater	St. Mary's Seminary and University
Known for	one of the eight Alabama clergymen who wrote "A Call for Unity"

Joseph Aloysius Durick (October 13, 1914 – June 26, 1994) was a U.S. Roman Catholic bishop and civil rights advocate. He publicly opposed the Vietnam War and the death penalty, which led to criticism from conservative circles. Durick also directed efforts at ecumenical cooperation with Tennessee state's Protestant and Jewish communities, as well as introducing Project Equality. He had the image of an amiable country vicar, so much so that the newspapers called him "the happy priest."

Born in Dayton, Tennessee, he was the seventh of twelve children. He grew up in Bessemer, Alabama, during the height of anti-Catholic violence in that state.

After deciding not to pursue a music career, Durick began studies for the priesthood. He studied at St. Bernard College in Cullman, Alabama, as a seminarian for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mobile and graduated in 1933. Three years later he completed course work in Philosophy at St. Mary's Seminary and University in Baltimore, and later received a Theological degree at Pontifical Urbaniana University, also known as Collegio Urbano di Propaganda Fide sul Gianicolo, the Pontifical Seminary for Missionary Priests in Rome, where he was later ordained.

Ordained on March 23, 1940, Durick became the assistant director of Catholic missions in North Alabama; by 1943 he was the director.

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