James Walsh (bishop)
| James Edward Walsh | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1891 April 30 Cumberland, Maryland |
| Died | 1981 July 29 Maryknoll, Ossining |
| Resting place | Maryknoll, Ossining, New York |
| Nationality | United States |
| Occupation | Missionary, bishop, priest, educator, relief worker |
| Years active | 1915—1981 |
| Title | Bishop |
| Successor | Bishop Raymond Aloysius Lane |
James Edward Walsh (April 30, 1891 – July 29, 1981) was an American Roman Catholic priest and a bishop in China. He was a member of the Maryknoll order, and a missionary in China.
Father Walsh was born in Cumberland, Maryland on April 30, 1891 to Mary Concannon and William E. Walsh. He was the second child of nine. He worked as a timekeeper in a steel mill until he became aware of Maryknoll, a new American order. In 1915, he became the second priest ordained in this order.
He and three other men were sent on the orders first foreign mission to China in the year 1918. The other three were Father Thomas Frederick Price, one of the founders of Maryknoll and Superior of the group; Father Francis Xavier Ford; and Father Bernard F. Meyer.
Fr. Walsh and Fr. Meyer arrived first, Fr. Price and Fr. Ford some weeks later. Their first point of debarkation in South China was the British colony of Hong Kong on 30 October 1918. While they were in Hong Kong, they stayed briefly with the Paris Foreign Mission Fathers at Battery Path. From Hong Kong, they went to Yeungkong (now known as Yangjiang) and started their missionary work in China there.
At the age of thirty-six, on 22 May 1927 he was consecrated a bishop for the Diocese of Kongmoon (now known as Jiangmen) in China. The ceremony was held on Sancian Island (now called Shangchuan Island), a lonely spot off the coast of South China where St. Francis Xavier, the Apostle to the Indies, died in 1552.
In 1936, Bishop Walsh left China to return to the United States as head of Maryknoll. However, following the Holy See's special request for his service in China, he returned to take charge of the Catholic Central Bureau in Shanghai in 1948 to coordinate mission activities in China.
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