By Anthony Barich
National Reporter
ARCHBISHOP Barry Hickey had almost entered the Conclave that elected Pope John XXIII in 1958, Monsignor Michael Keating revealed at the December 20 Mass celebrating the prelate’s 50th anniversary of priesthood and 25 years as a Bishop at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.
Mgr Keating, who was installed as the new Dean of the Cathedral on December 8, told about 1,000 people including over 100 priests and Bishop Gerard Holohan of Bunbury, that when he arrived in Rome to study to replace Barry Hickey, he found that the future Archbishop was “a bit of a legend”.
People from throughout the Archbishop’s time as priest and Bishop in both Perth and Geraldton attended, including priests from Geraldton and representatives from St Brigid’s, dating back to his first posting as a priest.
Mgr Keating also gave special acknowledgement to Monsignor Thomas McDonald, who until this year had been Dean of the Cathedral for 18 years; and the more than 100 priests who concelebrated with the Archbishop, who had served with him for most of his 50 years as priest.
Representatives were also present from Highgate, where he also served as priest, and people from his welfare background.
His siblings Brian Hickey, Judy Clear and Patricia Stidwell, whose daughter-in-law made the Cathedral-shaped cake for the event, also attended the special Mass for his Jubilee celebration, among other relatives. Mgr Keating said that just as he had already shown himself to be a good scholar, champion swimmer and singer at St Charles Seminary, he found that the future Archbishop had also, in Rome, again proved to be a top swimmer, a soloist in the choir and “someone who had almost entered the Conclave that elected Pope John XXIII in 1958”.
“When I arrived in Rome to take the Archbishop’s place … he had been acting secretary to Cardinal Petro Fumasoni Biondi, which translates to Peter (Pietro) and smoke (fumo), thus they affectionately called him “Smokey Pete”. The sick Cardinal’s secretary, however, recovered to go into the Conclave.
The Monsignor revealed many at times amusing anecdotes about the Archbishop that revealed the development of a man who would be a compassionate and pro-active Bishop of Geraldton and Perth.
After being ordained a priest in Rome in December 1958, Fr Hickey was mainly responsible for setting up social welfare agencies and migrant services in Perth, including Centrecare and all its bodies which became part of the fabric of the Archdiocese, Mgr Keating said.
A common theme in Archbishop Hickey’s life is a regular tennis outing with a group of priests including Mgr Keating, which extended right up until the day before the re-dedication and opening of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception on December 8.
The oldest player in the group was Jesuit Fr Ferdie Marlow, who played tennis at least until his late 80s. “The Archbishop, in a letter to the priests, pondered that his ‘brilliant ‘– his words – tennis career was ‘coming to an end because of a knee problem. That difficulty was overcome and he plays on,” Mgr Keating said. Fr Hickey’s outstanding work in welfare, including his role as Episcopal Vicar for Welfare as appointed by Archbishop Launcelot Goody, was recognised with an Order of Australia membership in 1977.
When Fr Hickey was appointed Bishop of Geraldton in 1984, the priests’ tennis group travelled to the rural town annually to support its new Bishop, and he even travelled to Busselton with them in the Bunbury competition.
Mgr Keating, who worked closely with then-Mgr Hickey and Bishop Robert Healy when Vicar General, said that the now-Archbishop always had a calm exterior, “but I suspect he has had his share of sleepless nights”.
“He faced his most challenging moments in these 18 years” as Archbishop, Mgr Keating said, which included dealing with the sex scandal of the 1990s.
“He was the right man at the time when the abuse scandal hit the Church. I vividly remember his face being ashen white after he had dealt with some of these problems,” Mgr Keating said.
The Archbishop has many loves besides the Church, his family and friends, Mgr Keating said, especially music, tennis, Australian football (he’s a passionate West Coast Eagles supporter) and Sacred Scripture, as evidenced by the launch of the BJ Hickey Biblical Foundation after the December 20 Mass.
The Archbishop gave away free, signed copies to all after the Mass.
In a nod to an important part of the Archdiocese’s musical history, Archbishop Hickey also chose a Responsorial Psalm for his Jubilee Mass composed by Fr Albert Lynch, a gifted violinist born in Collie in 1900 who single-handedly changed the face of sacred music in Perth.
Archbishop Hickey is a reserved man, Mgr Keating said, who “makes such an effort” to bring the Gospel message to others, especially with his brief television spots on Channel Nine.
Though he doesn’t like long dinners, the Archbishop “enjoys greatly” an Italian meal, Mgr Keating said, and chose as a special treat a performance of Giuseppe Verdi’s La Vergine degli Angeli, which was sung by his cousin’s daughter, Jocelyn Hickey, a professional singer who went to Newman College and is now based in Melbourne having returned from auditioning in Germany.
He also chose N Praglia’s Tu es Sacerdos, sung by Fr John Jegorow.
In his address after the Mass, the Archbishop said that the celebration of his priesthood and Episcopal ordination was not about him, but about the life of service the priesthood represents and the significance of the role of Bishops in the Church as teachers.
Mgr Keating said that as well as reopening St Charles Seminary in 1994, the Archbishop had ordained more priests than any contemporary Bishop in Australia, which received a rousing applause.
“Perhaps our College of Propaganda (in Rome) encouraged him to internationalise the clergy in Perth,” Mgr Keating said.
The Monsignor added that he still uses the Archbishop’s book Couples preparing for Marriage published in 1983.
He also has a sharp wit, Mgr Keating said, and makes clever asides but is never hurtful.
“He can be the life of the party,” Mgr Keating said, recalling a meal at Bateman parish when the housekeeper, called Maria, entered with the food and the Archbishop burst into the song Maria from West Side Story.
He also increased caring agencies for the Church, has always lived simply and shares a great love for the needy and the Aboriginal people, Mgr Keating said, adding that the Archbishop spoke passionately about this when he blessed the Aboriginal art and ceremonial fire at the front of the Cathedral on December 15.
His legacy, however, is the Cathedral.
“From the start of the planning and construction of this iconic building, his vision and courage have been evident,” Mgr Keating said.
“In decades to come, people will say of Barry Hickey, ‘he was the Archbishop in whose time the Cathedral of St Mary’s was so splendidly restored and completed’.
“This Cathedral is a product of a Vatican II collaborative approach of Bishops, priests, Religious and laity in all aspects of the planning, building and funding of this splendid edifice.”