It is with much joy that we celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of the ordination of a Columban priest missionary to Korea, Fr Peter Kelly.
It’s a fitting time to give you a potted history of Fr Peter. He was the second of eight children of James and Noreen Kelly and grew up in Deepdene, Victoria, receiving his secondary education at Marcellin College, Camberwell, Victoria.
In 1957, Fr Peter, along with a few classmates, came together in Sassafras, Victoria, to begin their Spiritual Year, the start of their journey towards the Columban missionary priesthood. The following year, they moved to St Columban’s Seminary, at first in Wahroonga and then in Turramurra, NSW, for philosophy and theology studies. He was ordained a Columban missionary priest in July 1963, in St Patrick’s Cathedral in Melbourne. Then at the beginning of the following year, Fr Peter and his classmates, Frs John O’Hara, Paul Carey and Peter Toohey, received appointments to mission in South Korea.
There, after language studies, Fr Peter was sent to the neighbouring diocese of Wonju, in Kangwon province, just south of the border with North Korea. The terrain was mountainous with many rough roads to travel and rivers to cross, icy in winter and swollen in summer. Most of the parishes had small and remote out-stations to visit, and sometimes the parish jeep became an ambulance carrying the sick to the hospital. But it was a rewarding life for Fr Peter, one he embraced as part and parcel of his mission as he journeyed with people still recovering from the devastation of the Korean War.
After some years in parish apostolate, Fr Peter was appointed to the positions of Chaplain and English Language Teacher at Jin Gwang High School, established by the Wonju Diocese. He also served several years as a secretary to the Bishop of the Diocese, Bishop Daniel Ji Hak Sun.
Fr Peter was then appointed to Australia, where he became the Chaplain to the Korean Catholic community in Sydney. At the same time, he served as Bursar at St Columban’s Seminary in Turramurra, NSW. In 1991, he was appointed to the China Mission Unit after obtaining a Diploma in Teaching English as a Second Language. He joined the staff at the Catholic Seminary in Shanghai and developed several English-language courses for theology and spirituality studies for Chinese seminarians, clergy and religious.
Fr Peter’s final appointment was back to Australia, where he once again served as the bursar at St Columban’s, Turramurra, and then at Strathfield. He now lives in retirement at St Columban’s, Essendon.
Along with the family of Fr Peter, we, the Columban family, offer him warm congratulations for, and sincere appreciation of, his 60-year journey as a Columban missionary priest.
Listen to "Diamond Jubilarian - Congratulations, Fr Peter"
Related links
- Read more from The Far East - July 2023
