James Edward Walsh

James Edward Walsh, MM (April 30, 1891 – July 29, 1981) was an American Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Kongmoon from 1927 to 1936. He was a member of the Maryknoll order and a missionary in China.

Early life 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. 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. 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, the Apostle to the Indies, died in 1552. 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.

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.