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His Excellency, the Most Reverend Clarence Kelly | |
|---|---|
| Superior General of theSociety of Saint Pius V | |
| Installed | 1983 |
| Term ended | December 2, 2023 |
| Predecessor | Office established |
| Successor | William Jenkins[1][unreliable source?][better source needed] |
| Other post | Founder of theCongregation of Saint Pius V |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | April 14, 1973 by Marcel Lefebvre |
| Consecration | October 19, 1993 by Alfredo Méndez-Gonzalez |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Clarence James Kelly November 23, 1941 (1941-11-23) New York City, U.S. |
| Died | December 2, 2023 (2023-12-03) (aged 82) |
| Denomination | Catholic |
Ordination history of Clarence Kelly | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Styles of Clarence Kelly | |
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| Reference style | |
| Spoken style | Your Excellency |
| Religious style | Bishop |
Clarence James KellySSPV (November 23, 1941 – December 2, 2023)[2] was an AmericanTraditionalist Catholic bishop. He was a co-founder of theSociety of Saint Pius V and the founder of theCongregation of Saint Pius V.
Kelly attended theCatholic University of America between 1967 and 1969 where he studied philosophy.[2] He began his theology studies in 1969 at theSeminary of the Immaculate Conception inHuntington, New York.[2][3]
In 1971, Clarence Kelly joined theSociety of Saint Pius X (SSPX)Seminary atÉcône,Switzerland.[3] On April 24, 1973, in Écône, Kelly was ordained a priest for the Society by ArchbishopMarcel Lefebvre.[4]After his ordination, he returned to the United States and undertook some speaking engagements for theJohn Birch Society.[5] He eventually became the superior of the SSPX's North-East district of the United States.
Archbishop Lefebvre directed the SSPX's priests to follow the 1962liturgical books. Fr Kelly and eight other American priests refused to do this. On April 27, 1983, these nine priests, along with some seminarians who were sympathetic to them, were expelled from the SSPX by Lefebvre for their refusal to use the 1962 Missal and for other reasons, such as their resistance to Lefebvre's order that priests of the SSPX must accept the decrees of nullity handed down by diocesan marriage tribunals and their disapproval of the SSPX's policy of accepting into the society new members who had been ordained to the priesthood according to the revised sacramental rites ofPaul VI.
Almost immediately, these priests, with Kelly as their leader, formed theSociety of Saint Pius V[5] (SSPV), which held that it is at least a debatable question whether the popes since 1958 have been legitimate Roman Pontiffs.[5] The Society does not believe that it has the right to decide the question of sedevacantism definitively, but believes that "those who presently are thought to be occupying hierarchical positions in the Catholic Church are acting, for the most part, as though they do not have the Faith, according to all human means of judging".[6]They reject any changes to the Mass (including changes made to the Holy Week Ceremonies byPope Pius XII in 1955), and adhere to thepreconciliarCode of Canon Law.[6] Kelly was replaced by FatherRichard Williamson as the superior of the SSPX's North-East district of the United States.[7][better source needed]
In part due to Kelly's rejection of the validity of sedevacantist bishops consecrated by or in the lineage of BishopNgô Đình Thục, some of the original priests of the SSPV, such as FatherDaniel Dolan, FatherAnthony Cekada, FatherDonald Sanborn, and Father Thomas Zapp, broke away from the society.
In 1984, Kelly purchased a formerCatskills resort inRound Top, New York, and established St. Joseph's Novitiate. There he also founded theDaughters of Mary, Mother of Our Savior, a congregation of religious sisters.[8]
Lengthy litigation followed the expulsion of Kelly and others from the SSPX over the disposition of property and churches.[9] In 1985, Kelly, Cekada, Dolan, and Sanborn sued Schmidberger, Williamson, Bolduc, and others related to the SSPX for libel.[10]
On October 19, 1993, inCarlsbad, California, Kelly was consecrated a bishop by BishopAlfredo Méndez-Gonzalez, the retired Bishop ofArecibo, Puerto Rico.[4][5][11]
In 1996, Kelly founded theCongregation of Saint Pius V[4] (not to be confused with theSociety of Saint Pius V, which he co-founded earlier), a society for priests andcoadjutor brothers.
On February 28, 2007, he consecrated Father Joseph Santay, CSPV, as a bishop.[12][better source needed] On December 27, 2018, Kelly served as the co-consecrator in Santay's episcopal consecration of Father James Carroll, CSPV.[13][better source needed]
Kelly resided at Immaculate Heart Seminary.[4] He died on December 2, 2023, at the age of 82.[14] ASolemn Pontifical Requiem Mass was celebrated for the repose of his soul in the chapel of St. Pius V inMelville, New York, on December 6. His funeral, in the form of aSolemn High Requiem Mass, was celebrated on December 7 in St. Joseph's Novitiate Chapel inRound Top, New York, after which he was buried in the nearby cemetery.[2]
Quotations related toClarence Kelly at Wikiquote
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