Clarence Kelly
| Ordination history of Clarence Kelly | |
|---|---|
Priestly ordination | |
| Ordained by | Marcel Lefebvre |
| Date of ordination | April 13, 1973 |
| Place of ordination | The International Seminary of Saint Pius X, Écône, Switzerland |
Episcopal consecration | |
| Principal consecrator | Alfredo Méndez Gonzalez |
| Date of consecration | October 19, 1993 |
Bishops consecrated by Clarence Kelly as principal consecrator | |
| Joseph Santay | February 28, 2007 |
Clarence Kelly (born 1941) is a traditional Catholic bishop. He was born in Brooklyn, New York, and ordained as a priest on April 13, 1973, in Écône, Switzerland by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre for the Society of St. Pius X.
Kelly eventually became superior of the society in the United States. In 1983 Kelly, along with eight other priests, left the society because of their refusal to accept the 1962 Roman Missal promulgated by Pope John XXIII which was used by Archbishop Lefebvre. "The nine" also refused to recognize post-conciliar annulments and ordinations. The nine priests formed the Society of St. Pius V (SSPV), which held that it is, at least, a debatable question whether the popes since 1958 have in fact been legitimate Roman Pontiffs and, subsequently, whether the revisions of the Roman Missal after 1958 were legitimate.
Many of the original and principal priests of the SSPV, including Daniel Dolan, Anthony Cekada and Donald Sanborn, broke away from the SSPV in part due to the Most Reverend Clarence Kelly's rejection of the validity of bishops consecrated by or in the lineage of Archbishop Pierre Martin Ngô Đình Thục, and because they wanted to start an independent ministry to openly promote the sedevacantist position. Sanborn and Dolan were subsequently consecrated bishops in this Thục-lineage after previously openly rejecting them.
Kelly was consecrated as a bishop on October 19, 1993, in Carlsbad, California, by Alfredo Méndez-Gonzalez, the retired Bishop of Arecibo, Puerto Rico who is now excommunicated.