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Daniel's Story
My name's Daniel Kelly and I'm a seminarian for the Brentwood Diocese. My story begins before I was born. My Mum is Anglican and my Dad is Catholic; my parents were married in my Mum's church by her vicar and my Dad's parish priest. I was their first child born two years later. My Mum made the promise to bring up all her children in the Catholic faith so I was baptised at 11 months. After my sister was born and baptised my Dad began to slip away from the Church so my Mum would take us to the Catholic church on Saturday evening and to her own church on Sunday morning. When I look back on this time I realise I must have had a vocation to the Catholic priesthood even at this very early stage because while I attended Sunday School, joined the choir, and served at my Mum's church, at the Catholic church I was fascinated by what was going on in the sanctuary and had no intention of doing anything other than sit and watch. At one stage in my childhood I was |
I quickly learned the Mass off by heart so when my Grandparents gave me my first missal for my First Holy Communion I had no need of it at Mass so I decided the next best thing was to start saying Mass. Every Sunday afternoon I would line up my teddy bears on my bed, get a slice of bread and a cup of Ribena and say Mass for them, I even wrote homilies.
After my First Holy Communion Fr Howes came into the school and invited the boys to start serving at the altar. I jumped at the chance. It was such a privilege. I loved learning the names of all the things I had only ever seen from afar before and could now touch. I served every Saturday evening and every Friday morning. My greatest privilege was serving Fr Howes' funeral, I still remember Bishop Thomas' homily.
Growing up I went through all the jobs little boys want to do, fireman, doctor, policeman, vet. It wasn't until I got to Secondary School that I realised I wanted to be a priest and I told everyone at school. Unfortunately I was bullied for it but I kept repeating to myself the last Beatitude, 'Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so men persecuted the prophets who were before you.' [Matt 5:11-12] I held my head up high and didn't let anyone change my mind.
At the age of 16 my Deputy Headmaster, Mr. Brett, put me in touch with the Vocations Director, Fr Jon Armitage. I went to see him in Canning Town and he told me to do well in my GCSE's, take my A-Levels, go to university and then come back. I got 10 GCSE's, 3 A-Levels and went to Heythrop College, University of London to read Theology. After my graduation I got in contact with the new Vocations Director, Fr Joseph Silver. The following January I filled in the application form and began the six month selection process which included a Psychological Assessment, a Selection Conference at Wonersh and an interview with the Bishop's discernment panel. The Bishop accepted me for priestly formation and I am now in my third year at St John's Seminary in Wonersh. Because of my Theology degree I am not taking the degree at Seminary but instead I am studying for a Masters in Bioethics at Strawberry Hill. I am really enjoying seminary life and am particularly enjoying working in various parishes in the diocese, so far I have been to Grays, Forest Gate, Ilford and every holiday I go back to my own parish in Westcliff. Next year I hope to spend a full year in a parish and if all goes well I should be ordained priest in 2012.
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