James Edward Walsh, MM (April 30, 1891 – July 29, 1981) was an

American Catholic The Catholic Church in the United States is part of the worldwide Catholic Church in communion with the pope, who as of 2025 is Chicago, Illinois-born Leo XIV. With 23 percent of the United States' population , the Catholic Church is the cou ...

prelate who served as Bishop of Kongmoon from 1927 to 1936. He was a member of the Maryknoll order and a missionary in China.Our Sunday Visitor, "They go after priests", Robert P. Lockwood, December 10, 2006, page 17

Early life

Father Walsh was born in

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Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

on April 30, 1891, to Mary Concannon and William E. Walsh. He was the second child of nine. After graduating at age 19 from Mount St. Mary's College, he worked as a timekeeper in a steel mill for two years until he became aware of Maryknoll, a new American order. In 1915, he became the second priest ordained in this order.

China

He and three other men were sent on the order's 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. Walsh's early years in China were chaotic, and included being captured by bandits and caught in bloody local conflicts. At the age of thirty-six, on 22 May 1927 he was consecrated Maryknoll's first bishop and served 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 Francis Xavier, Jesuits, SJ (born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta; ; ; ; ; ; 7 April 15063 December 1552), venerated as Saint Francis Xavier, was a Kingdom of Navarre, Navarrese cleric and missionary. He co-founded the Society of Jesus ...

, the Apostle to the Indies, died in 1552. In 1936, Bishop Walsh left China to return to the

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as head of Maryknoll. During his ten-year term he oversaw Maryknoll's first missions to

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and

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. In November to December 1940, he and Father James M. Drought, his assistant went to Japan to take part in the diplomatic negotiation between US and Japan. However, following the

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'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. When the

Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...

(CCP) seized power in 1949 they began harassing Catholic clergymen. The Catholic Central Bureau was shut down by the government in 1951. When Walsh's 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." Although he anticipated arrest, Walsh chose to stay and tend to his congregation. He was eventually apprehended by CCP authorities in 1958 and sentenced to twenty years in prison. He spent twelve years of his prison sentence in isolation and was suddenly released in 1970. He was deported via a footbridge to freedom in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

on 10 July 1970. He is believed to be the last of 7,000 foreign missionaries to be expelled from China after the

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in 1949. Walsh stated he held "no bitterness toward those who tried and condemned me", and spoke approvingly of favorable relations between United States and China. His release was an important gesture leading to the thawing of relations with President Nixon's visit to China in 1972.

Death

Bishop James E. Walsh returned to the United States and died at the age of ninety on July 29, 1981, in Maryknoll, New York, from a heart ailment. in Hong Kong, founded 1963, was named to commemorate his missionary achievements.

Bibliography

Written works

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Biographical accounts

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walsh, James 1891 births 1981 deaths 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Religious leaders from Cumberland, Maryland Maryknoll bishops Catholics from Maryland American Roman Catholic missionaries Roman Catholic missionaries in China American missionaries in China