In top photo, Msgr. Michael J. Walsh celebrates Mass in St. Catharine Church, Holmdel, where in retirement he had served as a weekend assistant. Monitor file photo
By Mary Stadnyk | Associate Editor
Msgr. Michael J. Walsh, a priest of the Diocese of Trenton for 53 years, died Sept. 7 in a local hospital. He was 77.
Funeral arrangements were set for Sept. 13 with Visitation from 2 to 5 p.m. in St. James Church, 115 E. Delaware Ave., Pennington. On Sept. 14, visitation will continue from 9 to 10:30 a.m. with a Mass of Christian Burial following at 11 a.m. in St. James Church. Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., will serve as principal celebrant and homilist. The Mass will be livestreamed on the diocesan YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/trentondiocese. Burial will be in Ireland.
In an email informing priests of the Diocese, Bishop O’Connell said that “it is with deepest sadness that I announce the death of our beloved brother Msgr. Michael Walsh.” Bishop O’Connell noted that Msgr. Walsh’s sister and friend, Ann, were with Msgr. Walsh when he died. The Bishop also acknowledged two priests – Msgr. Thomas Mullelly, diocesan episcopal vicar of clergy and consecrated life and director of seminarians, and Father Stanley Lukaszewski, a retired priest of the Diocese, who visited Msgr. Walsh regularly.
“May he rest in the Lord’s peace,” the Bishop said. “He was a great priest.”
Michael Joseph Walsh was born in Limerick, Ireland, in 1949, and raised in Ballinahinch, Bodyke, County Clare, Ireland. As a young man, his vocation to the priesthood developed gradually and was fostered through people he encountered. Through Frank Duff, the founder of the Legion of Mary, he came to know several priests and became inspired by their exemplary devotion to their vocation.
Msgr. Walsh studied for the priesthood in St. Patrick College, Thurles, and was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Trenton June 9, 1973.
Two months later, then-Father Walsh made a transatlantic move from Ireland to New Jersey and began his priestly service in the Diocese of Trenton. His decision was based largely on knowing that, while vocations were plentiful in Ireland, more were needed in the U.S. The connection from Ireland to New Jersey was mostly made through his aunt, who lived in Elizabeth, as well as through a priest friend from a nearby town in Ireland who had connections to Trenton.
After serving six years in his first assignment as parochial vicar of St. Raphael Parish (now part of St. Raphael-Holy Angels Parish), Hamilton, his ministry broadened in 1979 when he became associate director of the diocesan Office of the Permanent Diaconate. He found it exciting to be part of an evolving ministry that was established in the Diocese just five years earlier in response to the Second Vatican Council’s call for restoring the permanent diaconate.
Along with serving for 16 years in the diaconate office, including as its director, Msgr. Walsh was chaplain of Morris Hall Home for the Aged, Lawrenceville. There, he ministered to people who had lived through difficult life experiences, such as serving in war.
Msgr. Walsh received papal honors Sept. 14, 1993 and was invested a prelate of honor with the title Reverend Monsignor Jan. 23, 1994. He went on to serve as pastor of Holy Angels Parish (now part of St. Raphael-Holy Angels), Hamilton, and St. Mary of the Lake Parish (now part of Our Lady of Guadalupe), Lakewood. In 2002, he became pastor of St. Mary Parish, Middletown, where he shepherded the construction of a new $12 million complex that included a 1,200-seat capacity church, along with parish offices and rectory, all with the goal to spiritually provide for the area’s growing Catholic population.
After overseeing the building of a brick-and-mortar church, his next assignment involved creating a spiritual structure in which he worked to harmonize the three parishes where he was pastor – St. James, Pennington; St. George, Titusville, and St. Alphonsus, Hopewell. While the parishes remained distinct communities, they were linked together under one leadership in what came to be known as the “Catholic Community of Hopewell Valley.”
While pastoring those three parishes, Msgr. Walsh was also episcopal vicar of Mercer County – serving as a representative of Bishop O’Connell at various events, including celebrating the Sacrament of Confirmation for young people in parishes around the county.
Other diocesan duties included director of RENEW and served for four years as a member of an Engaged Encounter team. He was also diocesan coordinator of pilgrimages and spiritual moderator of the Ocean County Federation of Holy Name Societies. He also held membership on the building commission, the vocations department and the college of consultors.
Following his retirement in 2021, Msgr. Walsh continued his ministry as a weekend assistant in St. Mary Parish, Colts Neck, and St. Catharine Parish, Holmdel.
When Msgr. Walsh retired, he told The Monitor that while his calling led him to serve as pastor of six parishes, hold numerous diocesan positions and guide two major parish building projects, what he found most fulfilling as a priest was to meet the needs of those he was called to serve.
“My ministry was about being with people and helping them become centered on the Eucharist,” Msgr. Walsh said. “That was the driving force for me – to experience God’s people wherever they were.”
Msgr. Walsh was predeceased by his parents, Molly and Paddy Walsh, a baby sister, Marie, and his uncle and godfather Tom Walsh.
He is survived by his sisters Anne, Mary and Jo and his brother Padraig; three brothers-in-law, Martin, Denis and Michael and a sister-in-law, Niamh; nieces and nephews and their partners, grandnieces, grandnephews, cousins, relatives and many friends.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to Anchor House (anchorhouse.org), The Chubby’s Project (thechubbysproject.org) or Mount Carmel Guild (mtcarmelguild.org).