Tags: Christian Bishop.
James Oliver Van de Velde (April 3 1795 – November 13 1855) was a U.S. Catholic bishop born in Belgium. He served as the second Roman Catholic Bishop of Chicago between 1849 and 1853. He traveled to Rome in 1852 and petitioned the Pope for a transfer to a warmer climate due to his health. In 1853 the transfer was granted; Van de Velde became bishop of the Diocese of Natchez in Mississippi where he served until his death two years later.
