Walsh, John
WALSH, JOHN
Archbishop; b. Mooncoin, Kilkenny, Ireland, May 23, 1830; d. Toronto, Ontario, Canada, July 31, 1898. He was the son of James and Ellen (MacDonald) Walsh, and he studied for the priesthood at St. John's College, Waterford, Ireland. In 1852 he immigrated to Canada to study for the Diocese of Toronto at the Grand Seminary of Montreal. He was ordained Nov. 1, 1854, at Toronto, where he worked for many years as a missionary and parish priest. He was appointed vicar-general on Apr. 20, 1862. In May of the following year he attended the Third Provincial Council of Quebec as personal theologian to the bishop of Toronto. He was consecrated bishop of Sandwich, Ontario, Nov. 10, 1867, and in January of 1868 he removed the episcopal residence to London. He did not attend Vatican Council I (1869–70) because of ill health; nevertheless, he wrote several pastorals on the subjects under discussion. In the fall of 1884 Walsh, by special invitation, assisted at the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore. In December 1889 he was installed as archbishop of Toronto and directed the expansion of the Church there. He was noted as a writer and preacher and encouraged the organization of the Irish Race Convention (1896).
Bibliography: Jubilee Volume: The Archdiocese of Toronto (Toronto 1892).
[j. t. flynn]