When most Atlantans are just getting out of bed, Father Paul Kelley is at his work of bringing spiritual aid to the sick and dying at St. Joseph Infirmary where he is a chaplain.

Father Kelley and Father Conald Foust, both of Sacred Heart Parish, share the duty of administering to the St. Joseph patients.

Father Kelley says Mass at the hospital at 6:30 a.m. and by 7 a.m., he is making his rounds of the rooms and wards taking Holy Communion to the patients.

At this early hour when the rest of the city is beginning to get up, this young priest is caring for the afflicted. He says it does not depress him.

“When I realize that I’m bringing the Body of Christ and the other sacraments to these patients,” he said, “whatever depression I might experience disappears with this realization.”

Father Kelley, 27, and a Decatur native said the work is not only not depressing, it on occasion can be very gratifying.

He said, “I personally find it very satisfying work. You find people in a hospital very open to conversation. One of the sad, unfortunate things about it is that we do not have the time we would like to give the patients. Being a full-time assistant in a parish makes it hard to have all the time you’d like.” Father Kelley said of the patients, “You must by sympathetic with them. We know we are there to fulfill their spiritual needs. The difficulty of the task is that you must make the person realize that for the small amount of time we are with him, he is the most important person in the world.” Father Kelley explains that the presence of a priest at the hospital makes the patient realize that the church is thinking of him. He said, “This is shown not only by the priest’s presence but by the Sisters of Mercy, who staff St. Joseph.”

On some occasions the priest is invited to discuss conversion or to aid a non-practicing Catholic. Most of the patients have welcomed these visits but there have been times when the patient asked the priest to leave him alone.

Father Kelley said, “In a case where we feel that death is near the patient and the patient has said he doesn’t want to talk about it, we do visit him, just to say hello, and to inquire how he is progressing. This is primarily to leave the door open. Many times this person will take interest and eventually come around.”

Father Kelley has been a chaplain at the infirmary since September. He had worked with the sick while in the seminary in Baltimore. While a seminarian he did social work and visited patients at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, and Maryland General Hospital, all in Baltimore.