JAMAICA — The St. John’s University Class of 2025 has turned their tassels to the left, celebrating the graduation of 2,102 undergraduate students on May 18. 

Alongside the students ranging from ages 19 to 57, St. John’s University conferred honorary degrees to Msgr. James J. Kelly, pastor emeritus at St. Brigid Church in Bushwick, and Sister Margaret Mary O’Doherty, a former New York City Catholic school teacher now serving at a convent with the Dominican Sisters of Sparkill. 

Though their paths have never overlapped, Sister Margaret Mary and Msgr. Kelly share a similar calling: serving immigrants struggling to find their way in the United States. For that work, the University awarded each of them a Doctorate of Humane Letters.

“I wish we had a way of helping people become citizens a little more easily, but we don’t,” Msgr. Kelly said. “We have to deal with the reality.”

Msgr. Kelly is a familiar face to many in the diocese. The Irish native came to the United States in 1960 at the age of 23, soon finding a home at St. Brigid. He spent his first few years assisting the main parish priest and was later assigned as pastor of St. Brigid in 1977.

Msgr. Kelly always supported immigrants, often accompanying them to their court hearings for citizenship. He noted, however, that advocating for the immigrants without a law degree was a challenge. 

“Once you had your law degree, you could say whatever you like,” Msgr. Kelly said. “But without a law degree, the judge wouldn’t even listen to you.”

Ultimately, Msgr. Kelly earned a law degree from St. John’s in 1980. Once he received his qualification, he was able to go to court and represent immigrants, largely pro bono clients, who were in need of counsel. 

 

Though retired from official parish duties, Msgr. Kelly has never faltered in his support of the immigrant community. He remains Chairman of District 3 Youth and Adults Inc., which provides educational citizenship training for immigrants. 

“The situation changed,”  Msgr. Kelly said, “but the immigrants didn’t change in the sense that they all had the same problems.”

For Sister Margaret Mary, part of her ministry is teaching the catechesis of the Good Shepherd to immigrant children at the Marydell Faith and Life Center in Nyack, New York.

“I’m working with immigrants right now, and I love it,” Sister Margaret Mary said. 

Sister Margaret Mary has lived in upstate New York for the past five years. Born in Elmhurst and growing up in Maspeth, Sister Margaret Mary joined the sisterhood in 1957 and graduated from St. Thomas Aquinas College in 1962. She taught at Catholic schools in the Bronx, Manhattan, Middletown, New York, and St. Louis before journeying out west in 1983, beginning 37 years of servitude at the Rocky Boy Indian Reservation in Montana. 

“I’ve learned more from all these people than I could ever do for them,” Sister Margaret Mary said. 

Bishop Robert Brennan offered benediction at the commencement ceremony, congratulating the students on their success and noting his personal relationship with Msgr. Kelly.

“He’s been important to my family since he first came to St. Brigid in 1960, and to this day, he’s doing incredible work,” Bishop Brennan told those in attendance. “We are so proud of him. 

“Really, we’re so proud of all of you.”