Louis Sebastian Walsh (January 22, 1858 – May 12, 1924) was an American

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. He served as bishop of the

Diocese of Portland The Diocese of Portland is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the New England region of the United States comprising the entire state of Maine. It is led by a bishop, and its cathedral, or mother church, is the Cat ...

in Maine from 1906 until his death in 1924.

Biography

Early life

Louis Walsh was born on January 22, 1858, in

Salem, Massachusetts Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, located on the North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem would become one of the most significant seaports tr ...

, to Patrick and Honora (née Foley) Walsh. He attended Holy Cross College in Worcester, Massachusetts, for one year before entering the Grand Seminary of Montreal in Montreal, Quebec. After attending the

Seminary of Saint-Sulpice Jean-Jacques Olier, S.S. (20 September 1608 – 2 April 1657) was a French Catholic priest and the founder of the Sulpicians. He also helped to establish the Société Notre-Dame de Montréal, which organized the settlement of a new town ...

in Paris, France, Walsh furthered his studies in

canon law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...

and

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

in Rome.

Priesthood

Walsh was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Boston by Cardinal

Raffaele Monaco La Valletta Raffaele Monaco La Valletta S.T.D. J.U.D. (23 February 1827 – 14 July 1896) was a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Secretary of the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office. Education Raffaele Monaco La Vallet ...

in Rome on December 23, 1882. Following his return to Massachusetts, Walsh served as

assistant pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

at St. Joseph's Parish in Boston's West End. In 1884, he became

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

church history __NOTOC__ Church history or ecclesiastical history as an academic discipline studies the history of Christianity and the way the Christian Church has developed since its inception. Henry Melvill Gwatkin defined church history as "the spiritual ...

, canon law, and

liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

at St. John's Seminary in Boston. He was named the first supervisor of

Catholic school Catholic schools are pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered under the aegis or in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest religious, non-governmental school syste ...

s for the archdiocese in 1887. He was also one of the founders of the New England Catholic Historical Society and the

Catholic Educational Association The National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) is a private, professional educational membership association of over 150,000 educators in Catholic schools, universities, and religious education programs. It is the largest such organization ...

Bishop of Portland

On August 3, 1906, Walsh was appointed the fourth bishop of the Diocese of Portland by

Pope Pius X Pope Pius X ( it, Pio X; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing modernist interpretations of C ...

. He received his episcopal

consecration Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

on October 18, 1906, from Archbishop

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (15 November 2022)Classic Connection review ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who wa ...

, with Bishops Matthew Harkins and Thomas Beaven serving as

co-consecrators A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churches, ...

, at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Portland, Maine. During his tenure as bishop, Walsh established several new

parishes A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

and schools, and renovated the cathedral. His tenure was also marked by a wave of

immigrants Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

from

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

, and

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

. He met vocal opposition from groups of

French Canadian French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fren ...

parishioners over the ownership of parish property, leading Walsh to place six of their leaders under

interdict In Catholic canon law, an interdict () is an ecclesiastical censure, or ban that prohibits persons, certain active Church individuals or groups from participating in certain rites, or that the rites and services of the church are banished from ...

. He supported the

National Catholic Welfare Conference The National Catholic Welfare Council (NCWC) was the annual meeting of the American Catholic hierarchy and its standing secretariat; it was established in 1919 as the successor to the emergency organization, the National Catholic War Council. It co ...

and founded the ''Maine Catholic Historical Magazine''. Walsh's last years saw the rise of the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...

as a political force in Maine, and particularly in Portland. The Diocese's successful and expanding parochial school system became a Klan rallying point. Walsh personally led the fight against the Barwise Bill, a Klan-supported measure in the

Maine Legislature The Maine Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maine. It is a bicameral body composed of the lower house Maine House of Representatives and the upper house Maine Senate. The Legislature convenes at the State House in Aug ...

that would have prevented the Catholic Church from receiving state funds for any purpose. The measure, and two similar bills by State Senator (later Governor and U.S. Senator)

Owen Brewster Ralph Owen Brewster (February 22, 1888 – December 25, 1961) was an Politics of the United States, American politician from Maine. Brewster, a Republican Party (United States), Republican, served as the List of governors of Maine, 54th Governor ...

and Senator Benedict Maher, were defeated, the last in a statewide referendum.'"Bishop Walsh Warns of Danger from Enkindling Religious Hatred Fires", ''Lewiston Daily Sun'', Feb. 8, 1923, p. 1 Walsh's successor as Bishop of Portland kept a much lower profile on Klan-related issues, however, allowing anti-Klan politicians to defend the church and Maine's Catholic population. After returning from a canonical visit to Rome and France in February 1924, Walsh was left exhausted. Louis Walsh died in Portland on May 12, 1924, at age 66.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walsh, Louis Sebastain 1858 births 1924 deaths Seminary of Saint-Sulpice (France) alumni College of the Holy Cross alumni People from Salem, Massachusetts Roman Catholic bishops of Portland 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Catholics from Massachusetts