Priesthood: A ministry of service, hope

By Bill Doyle | CFP Correspondent

SHREWSBURY – Msgr. Francis D. Kelly has kissed the rings of the last five popes and he proudly keeps photos of himself with each of them. He knows Pope Benedict XVI the best, having worked with him at the Vatican 30 years ago on the Catechism of the Catholic Church when Pope Benedict was known as Cardinal Ratzinger.
“It was the first time in 400 years that the Church put all of its teachings together in one place,” Msgr. Kelly said.
Msgr. Kelly was one of 20 clergy working on the final editing commission and Cardinal Ratzinger knew him by name.
“It was wonderful,” Msgr. Kelly said recently at his residence, the Southgate at Shrewsbury senior retirement community, “because he is literally a genius.”
Whenever an issue came up, Cardinal Ratzinger explained each different point of view without referring to notes or books. One day, Msgr. Kelly recommended an improvement to a draft and Cardinal Ratzinger agreed with him, so it made the final version.
“I was glad I did something useful,” he said.
Msgr. Kelly, 85, has been useful throughout the nearly 60 years since the Worcester native was ordained a priest in Rome in 1963 and, although he’s retired, he’s still helping out whenever he can. He will offer the benediction at “Celebrate Priesthood! - Taste of the Diocese,” a fundraiser from 5:30-7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 20, at the St. Paul Diocesan Junior/Senior High School gymnasium in Worcester. The evening will benefit the retired priests fund. For many years, the cost of care for the 50 or so retired priests has exceeded resources by an average of $500,000 a year. Last year’s event raised $165,000.
“So it’s very important, and I think the priests are grateful to the people for that support,” Msgr. Kelly said.
The list of Msgr. Kelly’s accomplishments is impressive, including serving as rector at Blessed John XXIII National Seminary in Weston (now Pope St. John XXIII National Seminary) for 11 years, serving as executive director of the department of religious education at the National Catholic Educational Association in Washington, D.C., for 12 years and working in Rome for 25 years, including eight as superior at Casa Santa Maria, the house for English- speaking priests pursuing graduate studies at the Pontifical North American College.
He began serving the Church, however, even before he was ordained. He was an altar boy at St. Paul Cathedral when the Diocese of Worcester was created out of the Diocese of Springfield in 1950. So, he grew to know the first bishop of Worcester, Bishop John J. Wright, well. He remembers that Bishop Wright arranged for a three-day youth congress at the Worcester Auditorium each fall. On the final day, a Sunday, each parish had a float in a Catholic youth parade down Main Street and Bishop Wright and the mayor reviewed the parade from the steps of City Hall.
After graduating from St. John High School, Msgr. Kelly attended the College of the Holy Cross. During his freshman year he informed his parents that he wanted to become a priest. They were very pleased.
As a seminarian he was in Rome for two sessions of the Second Vatican Council, which updated the liturgy and brought the Catholic Church into the modern world.
“That was a great start,” he said.
His first assignment was associate pastor at St. Joan of Arc in Worcester for 3½ years. He remembers the busy parish holding religious education classes five days a week.
The principal at Lincoln Street School, a public elementary school, would line up the students and march them across the street to St. Joan of Arc for those religious education classes.
“I don’t think anybody would do that today, but that was the ’60s,” he said.
At Bishop Bernard J. Flanagan’s request, he attended graduate school at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., to earn a degree in theology and religious education. He became diocesan director of religious education and held various positions with the National Catholic Educational Association in Washington, D.C.
In 1992, he joined the faculty at Blessed John XXIII Seminary and went on to serve as rector for more than a decade. He also served as an assistant at St. Mary of the Assumption Parish in Milford. Later, at Casa Santa Maria in Rome, he was responsible for 70 priests from all over the United States.
One day, Pope Benedict held Msgr. Kelly’s hand and reminded him to tell his students that prayer was more important than their books, studies, and degrees. When Msgr. Kelly relayed the Pope’s message to the students, he remembers that they responded, “Well, tell my professors that.”
The key to becoming a good priest isn’t complicated, Msgr. Kelly has always preached.
“Friendship with Jesus Christ,” he said. “It’s as simple as that.”
He told his students they wouldn’t be happy and effective priests if they didn’t spend at least an hour a day in the chapel praying and reading the Scriptures. In his retirement, Msgr. Kelly celebrates or attends Mass seven days a week and he still spends more than an hour a day in prayer.
Msgr. Kelly has met Pope Francis several times and on the 50th anniversary of his priesthood, Msgr. Kelly celebrated Mass with him in the Pope’s private chapel in 2013. Earlier that year, Msgr. Kelly postponed his retirement at age 75 when Pope Benedict appointed him the first American in the College of Canons at St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican in nearly 50 years. The 25 Canons spend their days praying and celebrating Mass.    
At the urging of Bishop McManus, Msgr. Kelly moved from Rome to Southgate at Shrewsbury early on in the pandemic.
“COVID was very bad in Italy,” he said. “People didn’t know what it was. There was one diocese where 15 priests died because they were going to people’s houses and anointing them. Nobody knew how contagious it was.”
After he returned to the Worcester area, Pope Francis made him a Canon for life. He remains the only American Canon. He returned to Rome late last August, the month he turned 85, when Pope Francis invited him to attend a meeting about the new constitution for the Vatican and the central government of the church.
“I’m blessed to be able to accept what comes and put myself into it,” he said.
So what has changed about the priesthood since he was ordained in 1963?    
“Certainly the attitude of service,” he replied. “In the beginning, there was a greater veneration for priests. If you were going to seminary, people would say, ‘Oh, that’s wonderful.’ Not so today. Today, we live in a secular culture and people’s instinctive reaction is, ‘What do you want to do that for?’ So, the culture has completely changed. So that kind of veneration and all the rest is gone, which is a good thing.”
On the cover of Msgr. Kelly’s the fourth book, Priests for a New Era, a Ministry of Service and Hope, Jesus is pictured washing Peter’s feet as a reminder that Jesus showed the apostles that he was all about service, humility and helping people.
“So, I think that switch in attitude,” Msgr. Kelly explained, “about the priesthood from some kind of exalted role to be venerated to one of servant, companion and helper on the way, that shift in attitude in the Church and in people is very good.”
For most of his ministry, he didn’t serve in the Worcester Diocese, but he remained a priest of the diocese. He’s pleased to see that Worcester has become more diversified since he grew up on the first floor of a three-decker on Blossom Street near Elm Park. He’s also happy to see that Worcester has become more prosperous and advanced.
Msgr. Kelly is one of 14 priests, along with Bishop Daniel P. Reilly, who reside at Southgate. Most of his retirement salary helps pay for housing and meals and he’s left with about $400 a month for all other expenses. The diocese covers the remainder of his housing costs as well as his benefits, including medical care.
Msgr. Kelly said he’d start his priesthood all over again if he could.
“The important thing to remember is that it’s serving the people,” he said, “but it’s serving them in the name of, and with the love of, the Lord Jesus. We’re not social workers. There’s a huge difference. We’re trying to help people have a vision of life where they understand that we’re all on a journey to God, not to death, but to God. So, we’re on a journey toward eternal happiness, glory, joy and so forth. Our job is to help people on the way and lift their spirits.”