 On February 19, 1923, Curley was appointed the third Bishop of Syracuse by Pope Pius XI.He received his episcopal consecration on the following May 1 from Archbishop Hayes, with Bishops Edmund Gibbons and William Turner serving as co-consecrators, at St. Patrick's Cathedral.During his nine-year-long tenure, he established a Society for the Propagation of the Faith, 28 parishes, 18 schools, Loretto Rest, and Lourdes Hospital.