By Anthony Barich
National Reporter
Archbishop Barry Hickey says he is still living the legacy left by his predecessor Bishops who were interred in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgun Mary on December 5.
In the first ceremony in the newly completed Cathedral, the remains of Spanish-born Martin Griver Y Cuni, the second Bishop of Perth; his successor and founder of The Record, Bishop Matthew Gibney; Archbishop Redmond Prendiville, the second Archbishop of Perth, his successor Archbishop Launcelot Goody and Archbishop William Joseph Foley, Archbishop Hickey’s predecessor, were interred in the crypt directly beneath the new sanctuary. Archbishop Hickey said that Archbishop Foley understood the call of the Second Vatican Council to involve the laity in the life of the Church and oversaw new structures to educate them and to foster solidarity among his priests.
“I’m still living in his legacy today,” said Archbishop Hickey, who was installed as Archbishop of Perth in August 1991.
He expressed hope that the Diocese of Perth’s founding Bishop John Brady, who is currently buried in France, and Archbishop Patrick Clune, who was buried at Karrakatta Cemetery at the express wish of the local Redemptorist clergy, would one day be interred in the crypt of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.
Two spaces have been reserved for the two Bishops.
Archbishop Hickey said it was a “sobering thought” that there would be many more Bishops of Perth to be buried in the Cathedral crypt including, eventually, himself.
During Saturday’s ceremony he also held his newly made crosier, which bears designs representing the two dioceses he has served in – a Geraldton wax flower and Blue Leschenaultia, found along the coast and river of Perth.
Bishop Gibney, he said, marked the beginning of the great “Irish dynasty” in the Archdiocese of Perth, with Archbishop Prendiville also born in Ireland. Bishop Gibney championed the cause of local Aborigines and publicly criticised government policies that were detrimental to their wellbeing.
Archbishop Hickey said that Bishop Griver travelled to the north of the State and oversaw the foundation of various Catholic missions.
Archbishop Hickey said he has fond memories of Archbishop Prendiville, who opened St Charles Seminary in Guildford in 1942, and which still bears fruit with over 20 students currently studying there for the Archdiocese of Perth and other WA dioceses. Archbishop Hickey entered St Charles Seminary in 1950 before gaining a Licentiate in Sacred Theology from Urbaniana University in Rome in 1958.
Archbishop Prendiville also “set the tone for Perth post-war”, Archbishop Hickey said, establishing many new churches in the city and country areas.
Representatives of schools named after two of the interred Bishops – Matthew Gibney Catholic Primary School and Prendiville Catholic College – formed a guard of honour as their ossuaries and coffins were carried by Perth clergy into the underground crypt on Saturday.
After these were carried to the crypt and blessed by Archbishop Hickey, he joined Auxiliary Bishop Donald Sproxton and other Perth clergy in singing the Salve Regina – the Hail Holy Queen prayer in Latin.
Archbishop Hickey said that Bishop Griver, who, though Spanish, was not a Benedictine like Perth Bishops Rosendo Salvado and Joseph Serra, grew up in a time of anti-clerical government that suppressed religious life.
Due to the anti-clerical government, he put off his calling to the priesthood and became a qualified doctor but later returned to fulfil his calling, and became “a very holy man”. Archbishop Hickey said that Griver was known for his asceticism, prayer life and dedication to his duties.
“He gave us the first Cathedral on this site,” Archbishop Hickey said.
Relatives of Archbishops Prendiville, Goody and Foley were present, including Joan Bianchini – whose parents were from County Kerry in Ireland where Archbishop Prendiville was from – and her husband Jim and daughter Louise Santelli.