James Oliver Van de Velde, SJ (April 3, 1795 – November 13, 1855[1]) was a Belgian-born Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Natchez from 1853 to his death in 1855.

John Andrew James Oliver Benedict Rottheir Van de Velde was born on April 3, 1795, to a wealthy Catholic family in Lebbeke in the Austrian Netherlands (a Flemish town in present-day Belgium).

However, by 1815 Napoleon had been defeated; Catholic Belgium was joined with Protestant Holland in the independent United Kingdom of the Netherlands.

When the ship reached Baltimore, the original plan was for Van de Velde to travel overland to Bardstown, Kentucky, to enter St. Thomas Seminary.

However, after losing a large amount of blood due to his injury, Van de Velde was too weak to make the trip.

[6][7] Van Assche and his friends arrived in Washington in September 1821 and then entered the Jesuit seminary in White Marsh, Maryland, in October 1821.

Van de Velde was ordained into the priesthood in Baltimore for the Jesuit Order on September 25, 1827, by Archbishop Ambrose Maréchal.

[4][10][3] Van de Velde left the presidency of Saint Louis University in 1843 to serve as vice-provincial of the Jesuits.

Van de Velde was consecrated on February 11, 1849, in the Church of St. Francis Xavier at Saint Louis University by Archbishop Peter Kenrick.

After his consecration, Van de Velde traveled from St. Louis to Chicago, celebrating mass in Cahokia, Kaskaskia, and Quincy along the way.

Van de Velde also tried to visit locations in the diocese that had historical meaning for the Jesuit Order and the Catholic Church.

[2] These trips, along with the tough winter climate, worsened Van de Velde's rheumatism and other health problems.

[12] In May 1852, Van de Velde arrived in Baltimore for the first plenary council, a meeting of all the bishops in the United States to discuss policies and rules for the American church.

[4] [1][5] Arriving in Rome in June 1852, Van de Velde met twice with Pope Pius IX and reiterated his health problems.

Van de Velde then visited Belgium, France and Germany before sailing from Liverpool, England, for New York City in November 1852.

When the Vatican announced its 1853 decision to create the Diocese of Quincy in Southern Illinois, Van de Velde purchased a piece of property there for its new cathedral.

As he had done in Illinois, Van de Velde immediately started traveling throughout the diocese visiting Catholic communities.

[14][3] On October 23, 1855, Van de Velde slipped on the front steps of his residence and fractured his leg in two places.

During this period, Natchez was in the middle of a yellow fever epidemic and Van de Velde soon contracted the disease.