Fr. William Walsh helped Jefferson City’s first parish grow
On July 7, 1854, Father William Walsh became the third priest to lead St. Peter Parish in Jefferson City, which at the time consisted of approximately 40 families.
His tenure with the parish was highlighted by many accomplishments, including his support of many small Catholic missions, helping establish a new church in Moniteau County, and growing the Jefferson City congregation to the extent that it needed an assistant priest.
A native of the Parish of Abington in Co. Limerick, Ireland, Fr. Walsh was born Oct. 5, 1827.
At an early age, he revealed an aptitude and interest in the religious instruction he received and his parents decided his career should be that of a member of the Catholic clergy.
An article in the St. Louis Globe-Democrat on Dec. 16, 1898, explained that he went on to attend “the parish school, (and) he pursued his studies under the tutorship of eminent priests at Cahir Conlish.”
The newspaper added: “He became a missionary in 1851, and soon after sailed for America, arriving in Chicago the same year.”
During his brief residency in Chicago, he not only taught religious courses, but continued his own education.
In the fall of 1852, he took additional courses at the former Carondelet Seminary in St. Louis.
Fr. Walsh was then ordained at the Old Cathedral of St. Louis on June 10, 1854, by Archbishop Peter Richard Kenrick.
It was at that point that Archbishop Kenrick assigned Fr. Walsh to the pastorate at St. Peter in Jefferson City.
Years earlier, in 1845, several families in the Jefferson City area had united to build the first Catholic church in the community, a simple wooden frame structure. It was under the visionary leadership of Fr. Walsh, however, that a major building update occurred.
“During (Fr. Walsh’s) administration, the second church was built, the old church being used as a schoolhouse,” wrote J.W. Johnston in The Illustrated Sketch Book and Directory of Jefferson City and Cole County.
Church records note that a large part of the debt for the new brick church, dedicated on June 28, 1857, was paid off not just by parishioners but through donations offered by railroad construction workers and friends of Fr. Walsh in St. Louis.
All the while, the ever-active priest was also serving Catholics in other small communities, including Hermann and some as far west as Sedalia, while also helping establish a small mission congregation in Stringtown near Lohman.
Additionally, a church history notes that Fr. Walsh had familiarity with areas of southern Missouri and accompanied Father John Hogan on his missionary work to the area in early 1858.
During that trip, Fr. Walsh contracted pneumonia but recovered, soon making his return to Jefferson City and continuing his tireless work there.
“Sunday last will long be remembered by the good citizens of California (Missouri) ...” noted the Weekly Jefferson Inquirer on July 21, 1860. “The occasion ... was the solemn dedication to the service of Almighty God of a Roman Catholic Church, the want of which has long been felt by the numerous German and Irish population ... around California.”
The newspaper shared that the first Catholic church in the Moniteau County community was due to the “untiring zeal and indefatigable energy of Rev. W. Walsh, the much respected pastor of St. Peters...”
It was reported that more than 1,100 people attended the dedication.
The year of 1860 not only marked the dedication of a new church in California, but also witnessed growth at St. Peter Parish to the extent that additional help was needed. With a significant number of Fr. Walsh’s parishioners being recent German immigrants, this came in the form of the appointment of Father Henry Vander Sander, an assistant priest who spoke German.
Fr. Walsh departed the Jefferson City diocese on Jan. 5, 1863, upon his appointment as pastor of St. Bridget of Erin Parish in St. Louis by his longtime friend, Archbishop Kenrick.
“Since his advent to St. Louis, he paid a debt of $23,000 on the church and gave the parish a magnificent school, which cost altogether about $40,000, of which amount only $4,000 remains at present unpaid,” the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported on June 7, 1879. The article was printed on the occasion of Fr. Walsh’s silver jubilee as a priest.
Several years later, Fr. Walsh was bestowed a significant honor.
“Rev. Father William Walsh, rector of St. Bridget’s Church, was signally honored by the people of his parish yesterday morning in recognition of the recent conferring of the title of ‘Monsignor’ upon him,” the St. Louis Globe-Democrat printed on Sept. 7, 1896.
Monsignor is an honorary title bestowed upon priests by the pope in recognition for their exceptional service to the Catholic Church.
Msgr. Walsh, who had once been brimming with vision and zeal, fell ill for several months, succumbing to heart failure at the age of 71 on Dec. 15, 1898.
He was laid to rest in Calvary Cemetery and Mausoleum in St. Louis.
Upon his death, he was remembered by many for his endearing characteristics and the groundwork he laid in many communities that is still being built upon to this day.
In his lengthy obituary appearing in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Christmas Day of 1898, his long-time associate, Father J.J. Harty, praised him by saying, “Father Walsh was a man who combined the simplicity of a child with the vigor of a man. He was a remarkable character in every respect.”
Fr. Harty added, “His work ... is a striking monument to his greatness.”
Jeremy P. Ämick is author of the historical compilation, Moments on the Moreau.
A version of this article was originally published in the Sept. 7, 2024, edition of the Jefferson City News-Tribune. This version is published here with permission.
