Fr Celsus John Kelly, born at Shepparton in Victoria on June 27th 1900, was a friar of the Holy Spirit Franciscan Province which encompasses Australia, New Zealand, Brunei, Malaysia and Singapore.
The Celsus Kelly Collection
In the 1930s and into the 1950s he was especially interested in researching Franciscan history within Australia and New Zealand; and as far as it was possible with the paucity of material available locally, within the Pacific zone.
Fr Kelly’s great research passion was for the Portuguese and Spanish explorations in search of the supposed Great Southern Land – the Terra Australis.
As there was nothing of real value on these Pacific explorations in Australia or New Zealand, Fr Kelly was given approval by the Provincial Administration in 1954 to pursue his investigations overseas. For the next 21 years he researched the great archives of Rome, Spain, Portugal, Mexico and Peru, the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris and the British Museum. It was during this period that he collected material, the Celsus Kelly Collection developed, and Father Kelly’s reputation as a world authority on Pacific exploration was established.
He founded Franciscan Historical Studies (Australia) imprint and published six volumes between 1963 and 1973 under the title Austrialia Franciscana*, volume VI being in collaboration with Fr Gerard Bushell OFM of the Holy Spirit Province. In 1965 he published his acclaimed: Calendar of Documents: Spanish Voyages in the South Pacific and the Franciscan Missionary Plans for Its Islanders*.
In 1966 he published for the Hakluyt Society his two volume: La Austrialia del Espiritu Santo: The Journal of Fray Martin de Munilla OFM and Other Documents relating to The Voyage of Pedro Fernandez de Quiros to the South Sea (1605-1606) and The Franciscan Missionary Plan (1617- 1627).
For his assistance with the International Conference in Portugal which marking the Fifth Centenary Celebration of Prince Henry the Navigator, Fr Kelly was presented with a number of sets of the commemorative five-volume Portugalia Monumenta Cartographica for presentation to Australia and New Zealand libraries of his choice, one being St Paschal Library.
Access to the Celsus Kelly Collection can be made available to bona fide scholars and researchers.
* These publications are available for purchase from the library in strictly limited quantities. Please contact librarian@franciscans.org.au
