Museum-caliber chalk artwork hangs on his walls. On a table in his living room stands a chalice with his parents’ wedding ring, one that he still uses regularly when celebrating Mass.
He namedrops St. Teresa of Kolkata as “a very wonderful close friend to me all these years.” He notes opera star Joan Sutherland’s similar friendship with him. He gladly shares stories from conversations with St. John Paul II. He recalls with enthusiasm the task of learning layups and dribbling a basketball to celebrate the opening of a community center.
But even as Father James Kelly describes his life as a kind of renaissance man that reaches 100 years on Jan. 7, 2025, he makes clear through conversation and action that two things rank most important to him.
First is the Lord to whom he has given nearly 75 years in priestly ministry. And a very close second is the person in front of him.
“The Lord, I think, has been very generous to me, having given me such wonderful friends and the wonderful things I’m able to enjoy in life,” Father Kelly said with gratitude. “I have many wonderful experiences that I can recount that most priests have never experienced.”
That priestly ministry, which extends to 75 years next May, can be recalled through the experiences as pastor of two parishes, two chaplaincies and service as a parochial vicar at a dozen parishes.
His journey began as “an ordinary kid” taking a ride on a truck to the Overbrook location of St. Charles Borromeo Seminary. It reached a zenith at St. Pius X Parish in Broomall where he plans to celebrate both his birthday and his priestly diamond jubilee in June.
But those are just numbers and places. Father Kelly’s human story abounds with richness much greater than any statistic. It stems from a life journey of adventurous evangelization.
“I’ve climbed bridges, and I got people (preventing them) from jumping off bridges,” Father Kelly said, offering pictures of international news coverage from lifesaving moments.
Father James Kelly points to a photo published by the Philadelphia Bulletin in 1976 recalling an incident in which he talked a distraught and suicidal man off a bridge and on to safety. (Courtesy Photo)
As the Catholic chaplain at Thomas Jefferson Hospital in Philadelphia, “I anointed 29,000 people a year,” he recalled. “I’ve had to help people who were in a psychiatric ward who climbed out the window in the bathroom, made their way to the edge of the building, ready to jump.”
Father Kelly boasts not of himself, but of God’s calling in these stories of being present to others in their lowest moments.
“God called me to do, whatever the occasion was. I tried to respond, because that was the call in the priesthood,” said Father Kelly. “When people called you for help, you came and you tried to help them.”
His mission meant learning four languages including Latin to celebrate the pre-Vatican II Mass, understand the Hebrew roots of the Bible or master Italian to serve a “national parish” like Our Lady of Pompeii for Italian people in North Philadelphia. Learning everything from foreign languages to jump shots to help God’s people and their parishes was not always easy.
“You can accomplish if you have that willpower to keep trying over and over,” he said. “You’ll eventually get it right.”
Travel has always been a part of helping to refuel Father Kelly’s spirit. He estimates that he has traveled to nearly 100 countries.
He also has treasured every conversation possible on his travels, often with well-known Catholics who shared enduring lessons with him.
“I became very close and friendly with Bishop (Fulton) Sheen, and one of the great things in his retreat, he asked the priest to spend one hour before the Blessed Sacrament every time they would say Mass,” Father Kelly said.
“I became very close to Mother Teresa, and it’s amazing. She said she would pray for me every day, and I thought that was so beautiful. And then here I am in the Holy Land, and she’s in the Holy Land, and she’s coming out of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre as I’m coming in, and she walks over to me and she says, ‘Father Kelly, how are you? Remember. I’m still praying for you every day.’”
Maybe the best reflection of Father Kelly’s impact is the 400 Christmas cards that he says he receives, ensuring that his mid-winter is not so bleak.
“I can’t remember what I did for these people that they send me a Christmas card (saying) thank you for something I did maybe 25 or 35 years ago,” he admits, “but it’s always nice to hear (from) friends, and thank God.”
Such joy keeps Father Kelly not just going, but thriving. For him, the key is the wonder of accepting what God has planned for him.
“I always ask the Lord, what surprise do you have for me today? I’m going to try my best. I hope it will be a very beautiful day to whatever you have in store for me. I have no idea what you have in mind for me, but we’re going to have a happy day today.”
For Father Kelly, having a happy day seems to be a very happy norm.
Share this story