Rev. Stephen Kennelly, 75, died on March 10, 2017, after a brief hospitalization in County Kerry, Ireland.
A native of Ireland, he was born in Ballylongford, County Kerry, on January 9, 1942. He was the third of five children born to Stephen and Bridget Kennelly.
He attended the Ballylongford Boys National School and then high school at St. Joseph College in County Kilkenny, Ireland, after which he attended University College in Dublin. He entered the seminary at St. Patrick’s College, Carlow, Ireland and was ordained on June 7, 1969 in the Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin, Ireland.
Shortly after his ordination, Father Kennelly entered the diocese of San Angelo on September 13, 1969. During his years of priestly ministry with the Diocese of San Angelo, he served the communities of St. Joseph, Rowena; St. Boniface, Olfen; Sacred Heart, Abilene; St. Joseph, Odessa; Our Lady of San Juan (now San Miguel Arcángel), Midland; Sacred Heart, McCamey; and Good Shepherd, Crane. After receiving permission to join the missionaries of the Society of St. James the Apostle, he also served the people of Peru and Ecuador for many years.
After his medical retirement in February 2002, he returned to his homeland in Ireland where he lived with his sister and brother-in-law, Mae and Pat Dowling. His funeral Mass and interment took place in Ballylongford, Ireland.