Father Pascal Francis Kelly died of pneumonia on February 7, 1975, at St. Mary's Hospital in Minneapolis, Minnesota, his home since multiple sclerosis confined him to a hospital bed in 1956. Following services at Holy Rosary Church, he was buried on February 11 in St. Mary's Cemetery in Minneapolis.

Father Kelly was born on March 1, 1904, in Dover, New Jersey. He attended public elementary and secondary schools in Yonkers, New York, and in Sayre, Pennsylvania. After a year of studies at New York University, he completed additional preparatory courses for the Dominican Order at Aquinas High School in Columbus, Ohio, and Providence College in Providence, Rhode Island. He then entered the novitiate at St. Rose Priory in Springfield, Kentucky, where he made first profession on September 11, 1927. Philosophical and theological studies followed at the Dominican House of Studies in River Forest, Illinois, at St. Joseph Priory in Somerset, Ohio, and at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C. On June 17, 1933, he was ordained to the priesthood at St. Dominic's Church in Washington.

Holy Rosary Parish and Priory in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was Father Kelly's only assignment. Shortly after arriving there in the fall of 1934, he was stricken with multiple sclerosis. Nevertheless, he continued with his parish duties to the best of his ability until 1956 when he was forced to enter the hospital permanently.

Despite this long history of physical suffering, Father Kelly carried on a dedicated apostolate of prayer and counselling over the years with all the patients at St. Mary's Hospital and, through his many visitors, with countless others throughout the world. The generosity of his guests at St. Mary's also enabled Father Kelly to serve as a tireless fund raiser for the work of the missions and for the education of priests.

In 1973, the Provincial Chapter voted unanimously to acknowledge Father Kelly's years of prayer and service to the Order in a public ceremony. On Saturday, September 15, 1973, the Provincial, Father Gerard Cleator, together with the members of the Provincial Council and the brethren from the Twin Cities, concelebrated Mass with Father Kelly. Presiding at the Mass was Archbishop Leo Binz of St. Paul-Minneapolis. Father Cleator also presented Father Kelly with a special message of praise, commendation, and gratitude from Father Aniceto Fernandez, Master of the Order, who wrote that "the apostolate you have carried on from your hospital bed over the years has been most fruitful for so many thousands of souls. Your spirit of prayer, your dedication to the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice, and your sufferings endured with patience and cheerfulness have all been a source of great edification to the Brethren of the Province and of the Order."