Arizona Senator Mark Kelly Practices Catholic Religion Despite Secular Upbringing
Mark Kelly, an American politician and potential running mate for Vice President Kamala Harris, practices the Catholic religion, highlighting his cultural heritage and family background.
Kelly is a member of the Democratic Party and has been serving as a junior United States senator from Arizona since 2020.
In addition to American politics, Mark Kelly has also served in the U.S. Military as a Navy combat pilot.
Currently, former Navy captain Mark Kelly is in the media spotlight for his endorsement of the Biden-Harris ticket, which has led him to be a possible running mate for VP.
Mark Kelly Rises His Religious Belief After His Wife’s Tragic Incident in 2011
Born on February 21, 1964, in Orange, New Jersey, U.S., Mark Kelly grew up in a Christian family practicing a Catholic religion.
However, the former Navy Captain Mark had not been a very religious person since childhood; his thoughts on religious faith changed through his wife.
On January 8, 2011, Mark’s wife, Gabby Giffords, faced a tragic attack at a constituent meeting held in Casas Adobes, Arizona, in the Tucson metropolitan area.
Following this tragic incident in his life, Mark started to raise his faith in religion and was seen praying for her wife in the hospital.
.@GabbyGiffords and I are wishing a very Merry Christmas to everyone celebrating!
Who’s wearing their ugly Christmas sweaters today? We’d love to see them. pic.twitter.com/vBPq9VDqHH
— Captain Mark Kelly (@CaptMarkKelly) December 25, 2022
Additionally, Mark was seen holding his wife’s hand at Tucson Hospital while she was praying. This experience led Mark to embrace religious faith from that moment on.
Later, after his wife successfully survived the tragic incident, Mark shared his faithful experience, stating,
“I hadn’t been a big believer in faith until just recently.” and again said “this event, horrible and tragic, was not merely random, that maybe something good can come from this.”
Following this tragic and profound experience, Mark began to believe in faith and joined the National Prayer Breakfast organized by the Christian Fellowship Foundation.
Here I am in 2015 saying goodbye to my twin brother @StationCDRKelly before his #YearInSpace. During that year we were studied and gave a lot of blood to see how his body changed compared to mine on Earth. Today, @NASA is releasing the results of what they learned. pic.twitter.com/NYF2tNd829
— Captain Mark Kelly (@CaptMarkKelly) April 11, 2019
Furthermore, besides his wife in his family, Mark Kelly is also very close to his twin brother, Scott Kelly.
Like Mark, his brother Scott is an American engineer and retired astronaut. Together, they have participated in various space missions.
Additional Information
- In addition to politics and astronomy, Mark is also a professional Author. Gabby: A Story of Courage, Love, and Resilience and Mousetronaut: Based on a (Partially) True Story are some of his literary works.
- During his career as an astronaut, Mark Kelly worked for NASA as a space shuttle pilot and spent over 54 days in space.
- Before his marriage to Gabby Giffords, Mark Kelly married Amelia Victoria Babis in 1989, with whom he has two children, Claudia Kelly and Claire Kelly.
