 Fr. Andrew Mary Patrick Skelly, OP
Fr. Skelly was a native of Ireland. Baptized
Patrick, Fr. Skelly entered the Dominican Order in 1875 in Ireland, but had to leave and
re-enter in 1877 due to tuberculosis. In the
order he received the name Andrew Mary under which he published and was known by. He journeyed to Rome where he made his solemn
profession in 1881. Upon his return to
Ireland, Fr. Skelly held several posts in the Irish province, among them prior at
Newbridge, Dundalk and Waterford. In all
three of these priories, Fr. Skelly seemed to be very successful at building and in
supporting the local community by setting up industries and promoting Irish culture.
Fr. Skelly sought to broaden his work, and came to the Western province,
being formally assigned here in 1908. He
formally transfiliated to the Province of the Holy Name in 1914. Much of Fr. Skelly’s ministry in the Western
province was spent in Portland and Seattle, although he also served in San Francisco, Ross
and Benicia, California.
Although Fr. Skelly was active in parish ministry in the Western
Province, he is most known for his publications. Apparently,
his sermons won him so much acclaim that he decided to have them published. In fact, according to Fr. Fabian Parmisano’s
history, Fr. Skelly was one of the pioneering publishers of the Western Dominican
Province. His publications were often in pamphlet format, and dealt with issues like
the origin of the Rosary, a commentary on the “Our Father” and the like. One of these letters was published by the Catholic
Truth Society in Ireland.
B. Herder Book Company published Fr. Skelly’s work Conferences
on the Interior Life, which was a four-volume work.
These were published in 1929. There
seems to be much excitement over the publishing of these volumes, as there is much
correspondence on the matter. It seems too as
if these works were the most popular of Fr. Skelly’s works.
In days when publishing was rare among Western Dominicans, Fr.
Skelly’s books and pamphlets were a breakthrough in our province. Although his works were not always academic in the
strict sense, his zeal for preaching and publishing is definitely a very Dominican
endeavor. Fr. Skelly helped to establish this
sort of spiritual writing in our province. His
name appears on several bibliographies, including the National Union Catalog. Interest in these publications still remains, and
these volumes are in the archives of the Western Dominican Province.
Fr. Skelly’s life seems to be one of a successful priest and a
successful Dominican. His legacy definitely
leaves its mark on the Western Province. |
