| 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 |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
James Edward Walsh (April 30, 1891 – July 29, 1981)[1] was an American Roman Catholic priest and a bishop in China. He was a member of the Maryknoll order, and a missionary in China.[2]
Father Walsh was born in Cumberland, Maryland on April 30, 1891 to Mary Concannon and William E. Walsh.[1] 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
Fr. Walsh and Fr Meyer arrived first, Fr. Price and Fr Ford some weeks later. Their first point of debarkation in South China was Hong Kong (which was a British colony at the time) on 30 Oct 1918. While they were in Hong Kong, they stayed briefly with the Paris Foreign Mission Fathers at Battery Path.[3] From Hong Kong, they went to Yeungkong (now known as Yangjiang) and started their missionary work in China from there.
At the age of thirty-six, on 22 May 1927 he was ordained a bishop for the Diocese of Kongmoon (now known as Jiangmen) in China. The consecration was held on Sancian Islan, a lonely spot off the coast of South China where St. Francis Xavier, the Apostle to the Indies, died in 1552.[2][3]
In 1936, Bishop Walsh left China to returned to the United States to head up Maryknoll. However, the Vatican specially requested his service again in China, so in 1948 he returned to take charge of the Catholic Central Bureau to coordinate mission activities in China.[2]
When the Chinese communists got into power in 1949 they targeted Catholic clergy for harassment. The Bureau was shut down by the government in 1951. When his superiors in Maryknoll inquired about his safety he responded by saying, "To put up with a little inconvenience at my age is nothing. Besides, I am sick and tired of being pushed around on account of my religion."[2]
He was eventually arrested by the communists in 1959 and sentenced to twenty years in prison. He spent twelve years of his prison sentence in isolation and was suddenly released. He was forced to walk over a bridge into Hong Kong and to freedom.[2]
Bishop James E. Walsh died at the age of ninety on July 29, 1981 in Maryknoll, New York.[1]