May 20, 2015
In Memoriam: Rev. Paul H. Walsh ’59; former PC chaplain was a retired auxiliary bishop
Rev. Paul H. Walsh ’59, retired auxiliary bishop of Rockville Centre, N.Y., died on Oct. 18, 2014.
Ordained a Dominican priest in 1966, he served at Providence College from 1967 to 1974. He was College chaplain and taught theology. He served as a member of the Providence College Corporation and as moderator for the Class of 1968. In 1970, he was received the Man of the Year Award from the Student Congress.
Bishop Walsh later was the master of students at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C. Among his assignments, he served as associate pastor and as prior of the Dominican Community at St. Vincent Ferrer Parish in Manhattan.
Bishop Walsh remained in the Dominican Order until joining the Diocese of Rockville Center in 1984 as a parish priest. He served as a diocesan priest for 19 years before being appointed auxiliary bishop of Rockville Centre and Titular Bishop of Abtugni in 2003. He retired as auxiliary bishop in 2012.
Frequently seen wearing his Providence College sweatshirt, Bishop Walsh was acknowledged for his service to the Church with the Bishop Harkins Award from the PC National Alumni Association in 2004. Called “a people’s priest and a priest’s priest” by one Rockville Centre diocesan pastor, Bishop Walsh was recognized as a mentor to new priests and was known for his gentle demeanor and kind disposition.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., Bishop Walsh grew up on Long Island. He attended Catholic schools there before earning his bachelor’s degree from PC in 1959. He attained his master’s degree in philosophy from St. Stephen’s College in Dover, Mass., and a licentiate in theology from the Dominican House of Studies.
Bishop Walsh is survived by his brother, Michael, and Michael’s wife, Susan, as well as by a niece and two nephews.
A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated in St. Agnes Cathedral in Rockville Centre.
