The Brothers of Christian Instruction founded Walsh University in 1958 and named it for Bishop Emmett M. Walsh, then leader of the Diocese of Youngstown. The order created the institution to provide a college-level education that developed students' moral virtues and sense of social responsibility as embodied in traditional Judeo-Christian values. As of 2015, Walsh University was the only Catholic university in the diocese and the only university sponsored by the Brothers of Christian Instruction, a religious order founded by the Fathers Jean Marie de la Mennais and Gabriel Deshayes in France in 1819. The university's mission reflects the Brothers' commitment to provide quality Catholic education with an international perspective to all who seek it and to develop leaders in service to others. Since Walsh's founding, it has become a successful regional and international Catholic university.