St. Brendan’s New Pastor Arrives with a Well-Rounded Resumé
Rev. William J. Kelly
St. Brendan the Navigator Parish’s new pastor, Rev. William J. Kelly, entered the priesthood a little later in life. His was a “delayed vocation.” But there was no delay for Father Kelly in making St. Brendan’s his workplace and home upon arrival there in July.
“I hit the ground running,” Kelly says. “Like the Energizer Bunny, I go, go, go, and then I hit stop.”
The clergyman happily reports that he has unpacked and settled into his place of work, as staffers buzz about parish offices one August morning. Kelly’s personal quarters still need some unpacking, he adds. But it’s not a concern. “Nobody sees it!” he says with smiling eyes that a pandemic face mask cannot hide.
As for that road leading him into the priesthood, Kelly had no clue about what he wanted to do for a living as a high school graduate in the mid-1970s.
“I tried some 25 different jobs in a couple of years,” he says while settling into a sofa in the rectory living room adjoining the offices. In at least one former job, the future priest worked as a disc jockey.
An unfortunate accident in the late-1970s – his grandmother’s fall from a step at a family July 4th party that broke seven bones on one side of her body – was instrumental in leading him into the medical profession. After spending time daily by his grandmother’s hospital bed, personnel there noted this grandson’s knack for patient care and suggested that he become a nurse or a doctor. Based on his SAT scores, studying to be an M.D. was not an option, the clergyman quips. So, he became a practical nurse after studying at Presbyterian Hospital in Philadelphia, and later a registered nurse and graduate of Gwynedd Mercy University in Pennsylvania. He primarily practiced pediatric medicine.
In 1986, the seasoned nurse felt called to become a member of the Norbertine Order of priests.
“I was very open to the Lord,” Kelly says. That calling was put on hold when his mother took ill and he went home to care for her. While at home, the pastor at the church of his youth, St. Matthew Church in Conshohocken, Pa., asked Kelly to manage the church’s religious education program. So, he did. Next, St. Matthew School’s principal asked him if he would consider being a kindergarten teacher. So the man on the path to priesthood taught kindergarten in Conshy from 1988 through 1996, before returning to the Norbertines.
Upon reflecting back, he muses that he worked and served in ways that affected “body, mind and spirit.” His priesthood benefited from those labors and experiences by giving him a deeper understanding of people that is useful in helping them, he says. Plus, “a lot of people think that priests come from perfect families, which is not the case,” Kelly adds. “My family has problems like everyone else’s.”
Further spiritual stirrings led Kelly to leave the Norbertines, whom he holds in high regard, and become a diocesan parish priest. While he was certainly active as a Norbertine – teaching from 1997 through 2000 at what is now Neumann Goretti High School in South Philadelphia and more – Kelly longed for deeper immersion into sacramental life by officiating at baptisms, weddings and additional Masses, including funeral Masses.
After daily meetings with a spiritual director and a counselor during a three-week retreat, Kelly knew what he needed to do. He contacted the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington and the Diocese of Camden to inquire about possibilities.
Administrators at the Diocese of Camden welcomed him with open arms, he recalls. And the Norbertines kindly allowed him a five-year trial period.
Kelly was ordained as a diocesan priest in 2005 at the age of 49. St. Brendan’s new pastor will celebrate the 15th year of this priesthood on Sept. 17. Some of those years were spent serving as parochial vicar, or associate pastor, at the Parish of the Holy Cross in Bridgeton and St. Damian Parish in Ocean City. Before coming to Avalon and Stone Harbor, Kelly served as the pastor at Mary, Mother of Mercy Parish in Glassboro.
“I left it to the Lord,” Kelly says.
“You will put me where you want me,” he prayed, “where you need me.”
He adds, “I take that [vow of] obedience seriously.”
Now that he’s pastoring St. Brendan Parish, “I feel like I’m at home,” Kelly says. “I’m where I’m supposed to be” with strong support from the Diocese of Camden, “welcoming” parishioners, “exceptional” parish staffers, beloved family members and friends. There’s sheer joy in his words when Kelly talks about the “many gifted and talented people” he’s met in his new ministry, people who want to use their talents for the benefit of the church.
“I feel the parish is one big family,” Kelly says, before acknowledging that the merger of Maris Stella Church, Sacred Heart Church and St. Paul Church into the St. Brendan Parish 10 years ago was hard on individuals and individual church communities. “My goal here is to make St. Brendan’s one vital, vibrant Eucharistic community.”
Even with pandemic protocols in place, they’re starting to see more people at Masses each week, Kelly says with delight. “There’s no greater thrill than saying Masses that are now filled to capacity” on Saturday evenings and Sundays, the pastor adds. Under COVID-19 protocols, seating capacity at 30% allows for 250 in attendance. Last summer, a total of nearly 8,000 people attended 11 weekend Masses. This year, that total number is 1,000.
“I’m so impressed with people on vacation at the shore who take the time to bring their families to church,” Kelly says.
Kelly makes quiet time for God, especially in the busy summertime, during walks, even as late as 9pm, or rides a bike. Walks – often on the beach – are helpful, he notes. “I walk, think, pray,” he says. While walking, he often prays the rosary or the Divine Mercy Chaplet, which he has programmed on his phone. During the day, St. Brendan’s new pastor prays the Liturgy of the Hours, as all priests do.
Some evenings, the former disc jockey can be found “sitting on the dock of the bay,” prayerfully enjoying a sunset, he says. “And I’m not wasting time!” Kelly jokes as he borrows lyrics from the late Otis Redding’s “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay.”
“My role is to bring people, and hopefully me, closer to God,” concludes the new shepherd of the seasonally shifting flock at St. Brendan the Navigator Parish by the sea.
