Brother Egbert Xavier Kelly, F.S.C., was an Irish De La Salle Brother who was last assigned to the De La Salle Brothers in the Philippines and was kidnapped and then murdered by the retreating

Japanese Imperial Forces The Imperial Japanese Armed Forces (IJAF) were the combined military forces of the Japanese Empire. Formed during the Meiji Restoration in 1868,"One can date the 'restoration' of imperial rule from the edict of 3 January 1868." p. 334. they ...

at the De La Salle College, of which he was President, during the Allied Liberation of Manila during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

Early life

He was born William Kelly on 4 March 1894 in

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ga, Contae Chill Mhantáin ) is a county in Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is bordered by ...

, Ireland. During his youth decided to become a De La Salle

brother A brother is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to non-famili ...

and went to the Christian Brothers Retreat in Castletown to test his vocation. He was then admitted to the

novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

and became a member of the Institute.

Assignment to the Philippines

In 1911 Kelly was assigned to the Christian Brothers District of

Penang Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the M ...

. During his trip, he went for a brief stay in

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

after which he proceeded to De La Salle College in

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populated ...

. He began teaching in the

grade school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...

department until he was tasked to teach in the

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

department.

Assignment to Belgium

Kelly was selected by the Christian Brothers Superiors to help in the establishment of a Second Novitiate at the General Motherhouse in Lebecq-les-Hal, Belgium. This assignment was completed in 1930.

Return to the Philippines

Upon the completion of his assignment to the Motherhouse, Brother Xavier returned to Asia to teach for three years in

Rangoon Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...

, Burma, and another three years in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...

. In 1935, he was reassigned to Manila and was appointed President of De La Salle College in 1937. Kelly's first six years as President was spent in expanding the facilities of the College. A large classroom wing was constructed at the north end of

St. La Salle Hall St. La Salle Hall is an H-shaped four-story structure built in neoclassical style in the Philippines. It was built from 1920 to 1924 to serve as the new campus of De La Salle College (now De La Salle University) due to lack of space of the previou ...

and a new

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common type ...

was constructed at its south end. This chapel was considered the most beautiful in the Philippines and had few rivals in the District, although the Brothers would regret about the chapel's limited size. The chapel was dedicated in 1940 and was large enough to accommodate the school's entire student body, which was then 1,200.Br. Egbert Xavier FSCLa Salle Brothers in R.P.
Accessed 9 September 2006

World War II

Kelly was the President of De La Salle College in Manila when the Japanese army invaded the Philippines on 8 December 1941. In January 1942, Japanese troops forcibly entered De La Salle College and began to occupy all but a small portion of the building. The Irish Brothers were left to the chapel and a few small rooms while the American De La Salle Christian Brothers were interned, first in a retreat house of the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

at Santa Ana, Manila, and then in a Spanish hospital in San Pedro,

Makati Makati ( ), officially the City of Makati ( fil, Lungsod ng Makati), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. Makati is the financial center of the Philippines; it has the highest concentration ...

. They were later put in a Japanese

concentration camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simpl ...

Los Baños, Laguna Los Baños, officially the Municipality of Los Baños ( tgl, Bayan ng Los Baños), colloquialy 'elbi' or simply LB, is a 1st class municipality in the province of Laguna, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 115,353 ...

, until they were rescued and freed together with their other fellow clergy-prisoners by the American Forces under General Douglas MacArthur in February 1945. The other De La Salle Christian Brothers on the De La Salle Taft Campus, including Kelly, were not imprisoned by the Japanese at the start of the Japanese Occupation and permitted to stay on the De La Salle campus on Taft Avenue. On 10 February 1945, a Japanese detail forcibly took Kelly and separated him from the others in the building. He was never seen again and his body was never recovered. Kelly, plus the other 16 De La Salle Christian Brothers soon murdered by the Japanese inside De La Salle College during February 1945, are now honored with an elegant marble plaque at the entrance of the De La Salle Main Chapel.

Sainthood

The

Congregation for the Causes of Saints In the Catholic Church, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, previously named the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia that oversees the complex process that leads to the canonization of saints, pass ...

already preserved the cause of Bro. Kelly, but hasn't yet given the decree of '' nihil obstat'' and the title as "Servant of God" by the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Egbert Xavier 1894 births 1945 deaths People from County Wicklow Roman Catholic religious brothers Irish Roman Catholic missionaries Presidents of De La Salle University De La Salle Brothers in the Philippines Irish expatriates in the Philippines People executed by Japanese occupation forces Irish people executed abroad Extrajudicial killings in World War II 20th-century Roman Catholic martyrs Presidents of universities and colleges in the Philippines Roman Catholic missionaries in the Philippines