PRIESTS
In search of healing, one story at a time by
Father Dave Kelly, C.PP.S. is a Missionaries of the Precious Blood priest who serves as the executive director of the Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation in Chicago.
94 | VISION 2022 | VocationNetwork.org
Father Dave Kelly, C.PP.S.
How do you help a community ripped apart by violence, crime, and trauma? One way is to create a space where people can share difficult stories, together, in light of the Christian story. After decades of jail ministry, Father Dave Kelly, C.PP.S. got tired of sitting with families damaged by violence in some of Chicago’s toughest neighborhoods. The criminal justice system never seemed to bring much peace to families hurt by violence, and it seemed to inflict its own pain on the incarcerated and their families. In 2002, his religious community founded the Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation with a goal of restorative justice, including an emphasis on
