Fr. Michael J. Kelly (19 May 1929 – 15 January 2021) was an Irish Jesuit

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

and

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

. He is known for his education work around the

HIV-AIDS pandemic The global pandemic of HIV/AIDS (human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) began in 1981, and is an ongoing worldwide public health issue. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), by 2023, HIV/AIDS ...

Early life

Michael J. Kelly was born in

Tullamore Tullamore (; ) is the county town of County Offaly in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is on the Grand Canal (Ireland), Grand Canal, in the middle of the county, and is the fourth most populous town in the Midland Region, Ireland, Midlands Reg ...

into a family of seven, three of whom (Michael, Joseph and Robert (Bob)) became Jesuit priests. While training as a Jesuit priest, he studied at

University College Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...

gaining first-class honours BA in maths and mathematical physics in 1951 and an MA in 1952, continuing his formation he gained licentiate in

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

in 1955.

Religious life

In 1955 Kelly was sent to

Northern Rhodesia Northern Rhodesia was a British protectorate in Southern Africa, now the independent country of Zambia. It was formed in 1911 by Amalgamation (politics), amalgamating the two earlier protectorates of Barotziland-North-Western Rhodesia and North ...

as a

. He taught mathematics at the Canisius School. He was ordained in 1961, and later became principal of the school. Then, he received a doctorate in education from the

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...

. In the mid-60s, he became a citizen of the new

Republic of Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bordered to the north by the Demo ...

. Fr. Kelly then established centres for education, veterinary science and agriculture in

Lusaka Lusaka ( ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zambia. It is one of the fastest-developing cities in southern Africa. Lusaka is in the southern part of the central plateau at an elevation of about . , the city's population was abo ...

. He was then elected Dean of Education at the

University of Zambia The University of Zambia (UNZA) is a public university located in Lusaka, Zambia. It is Zambia's largest and oldest learning institution. The university was established in 1965 and officially opened to the public on 12 July 1966. The language of ...

and, subsequently, Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Professor of Education. Fr. Kelly was intimately involved in planning for health education during the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Zambia.

Honours

In 2006, Fr. Kelly received an

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

from UCD. In 2012, he received an honorary degree from the

Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) is a not-for-profit medical professional and educational institution, which is also known as RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences. It was established in 1784 as the national body ...

. In 2012, Prof. Kelly was awarded one of the first ''Presidential Awards for Irish Abroad'' for his contributions to Peace, Reconciliation and Development, from the Irish Government. In 2018, Professor Kelly received the Order of Distinguished Service from

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Edgar Lungu Edgar Chagwa Lungu (11 November 1956 – 5 June 2025) was a Zambian politician who served as the sixth president of Zambia from 26 January 2015 to 24 August 2021. Under President Michael Sata, Lungu served as Minister of Justice and Minister ...

. In 2020, he appeared on an

Irish postage stamp The postage stamps of Ireland are issued by the postal operator of the independent Irish state. Ireland was part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland when the world's first postage stamps were issued in 1840. These stamps, and ...

as part of a series honouring "The Irish Abroad."

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Michael J 1929 births 2021 deaths 20th-century Irish Jesuits 21st-century Irish Jesuits Jesuit missionaries Roman Catholic missionaries in Zambia Irish Roman Catholic missionaries People from Tullamore, County Offaly HIV/AIDS activists Alumni of University College Dublin Christian clergy from County Offaly

Early life

Religious life

Honours

See also

References

External links