Francis Martin Kelly (November 15, 1886 – June 24, 1950) was an American prelate of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Winona in Minnesota from 1928 to 1949.

Early life

Francis Kelly was born in

Houston, Minnesota Houston ( ) is a city in Houston County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 997 at the 2020 census. History The community was named after Sam Houston, first president of the Republic of Texas. In 1852, William McSpadden platted th ...

, to

James James may refer to: People * James (given name) * James (surname) * James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician * James, brother of Jesus * King James (disambiguation), various kings named James * Prince Ja ...

and Ellen Kelly. His father sat in the

Minnesota Legislature The Minnesota Legislature is the bicameral legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota consisting of two houses: the Senate and the House of Representatives. Senators are elected from 67 single-member districts. In order to account for decenn ...

. After attending the

College of St. Thomas The University of St. Thomas (also known as UST or simply St. Thomas) is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university with campuses in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Saint Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Fo ...

St. Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...

, he earned a Bachelor of Philosophy degree from

the Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Catholic research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is one of two pontifical universities of the Catholic Church in the United States – the only one that is not primarily ...

in Washington, D.C. (1909) and a

Doctor of Sacred Theology The Doctor of Sacred Theology (, abbreviated STD), also sometimes known as Professor of Sacred Theology (, abbreviated STP), is the final theological degree in the pontifical university system of the Catholic Church, being the ecclesiastical equ ...

degree from the Propaganda University in Rome (1913).

Priesthood

Kelly was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

to the priesthood for the Diocese of Winona by Archbishop

Édouard-Charles Fabre Édouard-Charles Fabre (; February 28, 1827 – December 30, 1896) was Bishop of Montréal in 1876 and first Archbishop of Montreal in 1886. Life Fabre was the eldest of 11 children in an important Montreal business family. His father Édou ...

in Montreal on November 1, 1912. He became secretary to Bishop

Patrick Richard Heffron Patrick Richard Heffron (June 1, 1856 – November 23, 1927) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as the second Bishop of Winona from 1910 until his death in 1927. Early life and education Patrick Richard Heffron was bor ...

in 1914, and taught philosophy at St. Mary's College and St. Teresa's College between 1915 and 1926. He was

chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

of the diocese (1919–26) and vice- rector of St. Mary's College (1918–26).

Auxiliary Bishop and Bishop of Winona

On March 22, 1926, Kelly was appointed

auxiliary bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

of Winona and

Titular Bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of Mylasa by

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI (; born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, ; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939) was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 until his death in February 1939. He was also the first sovereign of the Vatican City State u ...

. He was consecrated on June 9, 1926. On February 10, 1928, Pius XI appointed Kelly as bishop of the diocese. In 1941, Kelly suffered a stroke, and had to re-learn how to celebrate Mass. In 1942, he suffered a second stroke, which led him to spend the rest of his life, including his final seven years as bishop, at Saint Marys Hospital in

Rochester, Minnesota Rochester is a city in Olmsted County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. It is located along rolling bluffs on the Zumbro River's south fork in Southeast Minnesota. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a popul ...

. He retired on October 17, 1949. Francis Kelly died in Rochester, Minnesota, on June 24, 1950.

References

1886 births 1950 deaths People from Houston, Minnesota Roman Catholic bishops of Winona University of St. Thomas (Minnesota) alumni Catholic University of America alumni 20th-century American Roman Catholic titular bishops {{US-RC-bishop-stub