James Anthony Walsh (February 24, 1867 – April 14, 1936) was the co-founder of Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers.

Background

The son of James and Hanna Shea Walsh, James Anthony was born in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. His brother, Timothy Francis Walsh, was an architect and partner in

Maginnis & Walsh Maginnis & Walsh was a Boston-based architecture firm started by Charles Donagh Maginnis and Timothy Francis Walsh in 1905. It was known for its innovative design of churches in Boston in the first half of the 20th century. Partners Maginnis ...

. After completing his

elementary education Primary education is the first stage of formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary education. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or first schools and middle schools, de ...

in the public schools, he attended

Boston College High School Boston College High School (also known as BC High) is an all-male, Society of Jesus, Jesuit, Catholic Church, Catholic College-preparatory school, college-preparatory day school in the Columbia Point, Boston, Columbia Point neighborhood of Dorche ...

where, in extracurricular activities, his skills in

debating Debate is a process that involves formal discourse, discussion, and oral addresses on a particular topic or collection of topics, often with a moderator and an audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for opposing viewpoints. Historica ...

and

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree of accuracy. The word, a noun, applies to the journ ...

were first recognized and developed. He began his college program at Boston College, interrupted it to study

bookkeeping Bookkeeping is the recording of financial transactions, and is part of the process of accounting in business and other organizations. It involves preparing source documents for all transactions, operations, and other events of a business. T ...

, transferred to

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

as a "special student," and completed his studies at St. John's Seminary in

Brighton, Boston Brighton is a Municipal annexation in the United States, former town and current Neighborhoods in Boston, neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, located in the northwestern corner of the city. It is named after the English city of ...

. He was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

on May 20, 1892, at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston."Bishop James A. Walsh", Maryknoll Mission Archives
/ref> After ordination, Walsh was appointed

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () of souls of a parish. In this sense, ''curate'' means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy who are as ...

at St. Patrick's Church in Roxbury, where he directed sodalities and organizations for both the young men and women of the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

. In 1903, he was appointed Diocesan Director of the

Society for the Propagation of the Faith The Society for the Propagation of the Faith (Latin: ''Propagandum Fidei'') is an international association coordinating assistance for Catholic missionary priests, brothers, and nuns in mission areas. The society was founded in Lyon, France, in ...

and in 1907 founded ''The Field Afar'' magazine, a monthly publication about the foreign missions of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. Walsh's interest in the foreign missions led to his founding, together with Rev. Thomas Frederick Price, the Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America (CFMSA) (commonly referred to as the

Maryknoll Maryknoll is a Catholic non-profit mission movement consisting of four organizations. Together, they work as missioners around the world as Lay People, Priests, Brothers and Sisters. Mary's Knoll to Maryknoll In 1912, the Catholic Foreign Missi ...

Fathers and Brothers) in 1911. He acted as spiritual father and co-founder, with Mother Mary Joseph Rogers, of the Foreign Mission Sisters of St. Dominic (now called Maryknoll Sisters of St. Dominic). He served as

Superior General A superior general or general superior is the leader or head of an 'order' of religious persons (nuns, priests, friars, etc) or, in other words, of a 'religious institute' in the Catholic Church, and in some other Christian denominations. The super ...

of the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers until he died in 1936. During the founding process and in his service as Superior General, Walsh made trips across the United States, Rome, and other places throughout the world. In 1933, Walsh was named to the

episcopacy A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

as Titular Bishop of Seine."Father Walsh Made a Titular Bishop", ''The New York Times'', April 26, 1933
/ref> He was

consecrated Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

on June 29, 1933, in the College of ''Propaganda Fide'' by Cardinal Fumasoni-Biondi. He died at

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, on April 14, 1936. His teachings as a priest gave students strong encouragement to follow their dreams in life.

Bibliography

Writings

* ''Choral Sodality Handbook'' (1898,1955) * ''A Modern Martyr'' (1907) * ''Thoughts from Modern Martyrs'' (1908) * * ''In the Homes of Martyrs'' (1922)

Biography

* ''All the Day Long'', Daniel Sargent (1941) Longmans, Green & Company

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walsh, James Anthony 1867 births 1936 deaths 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States American Servants of God Boston College alumni Boston College High School alumni Catholics from Massachusetts Founders of Catholic religious communities Harvard College alumni Maryknoll bishops Writers from Cambridge, Massachusetts