By Robert Hiini
Parish Reporter
When Archbishop Barry Hickey embarked on completing the Cathedral he thought it would be a relatively straight forward affair.
Eight years down the track, after a quadrupling in cost and several delays to its completion, the Archbishop described himself as relieved but moreover, extremely pleased with the result, a unique church he is proud to hand over to the people and to his successors.
The Archbishop was 11 years old when he first laid eyes on St Mary’s Cathedral. He had come down from Kalgoorlie to visit his cousin Basil Hickey who was in the Cathedral Choir.
The young Barry Hickey was in awe at the size of the building and the full sound of the choir. “It made such an impression on me that I still remember what they were singing,” the Archbishop said, remembering their rendition of a Credo by medieval composer, Palestrina.
“I had never experienced anything like it in the bush.”
Doing something with the deteriorating and, in some sections, dilapidated building had been on the Archbishop’s mind for many years.
“I thought that it was not possible, that we didn’t have the money and that at best, we could fix it up or perhaps even build a second spire as originally intended
“As time went on, however, I was advised not to waste the money; that, if we were going to do anything we should do something big."
Archbishop Hickey set up a committee of priests and lay people to look into various possibilities. After a year of work, the committee presented a feasibility study, estimating that the refurbishment and completion of St Mary’s might cost around $7.5m.
Four architects were approached to produce designs which were then put out to parishes and Cathedral parishioners, with Subiaco architect Peter Quinn’s design coming up trumps.
Asked if he needed to draw on all his courage to commit the Archdiocese to the project, the Archbishop’s reply was disarming.
"Not really because the estimated cost was $7.5m and I thought if we could get one million each from parishes, the State and Federal goverments and schools we’d be nearly there. The price was good and everyone was saying to go ahead so I did."
"I thought it would be easy but the prices escalated enormously," the Archbishop said, referring to the blowout in material costs in the wake of the Global Financial Crisis.
"If I had known that at the time, I wouldn’t have gone ahead."
Ultimately, however, he was glad that he did, describing the function of a cathedral as being central to the life of a diocese.
"It’s the mother church. Every diocese should be proud of its cathedral. It’s a symbol of the unity of the diocese and a model for parishes.
"It can set high standards in artistry and is important for big Church functions like ordinations and civic functions that are compatible,” Archbishop Hickey told The Record.
The Archbishop said that, prior to the completed structure, he used to be "a bit apologetic" about St Mary’s because cathedrals in nearby dioceses were “extremely beautiful,” such as the one designed by the well-known priest-architect Mgr John Hawes in Archbishop Hickey’s previous diocese of Geraldton.
Quoting the late monsignor, he said that a cathedral, like a church, must be a poem in stone from the outside, and like a prayer on the inside, drawing people into God.
His stipulations to the architect were few, asking him to preserve what was there and at the same time, to create something new, something that would last for at least 300 years, to provide a new crypt for Perth’s Archbishops and to provide new facilities – meeting, function and rehearsal rooms – for the Cathedral Parish.
A committee was established to liaise with the architect and builders through project coordinator Michael Reutens with the Archbishop participating in monthly meetings to monitor the work’s progress.
Decisions about whether or not they would reuse floorboards and pews were made and new artworks were commissioned.
Archbishop Hickey said that the choice of altar caused the most vexation.
“We didn’t really have an altar of any great dignity. I always preferred a marble altar but when I saw the design of the Jarrah one and how it would fit in with the sanctuary I thought it was a very good suggestion and went along with it.”
He described the octagonal shape of the altar as being of theological design, a shape that is almost a circle, made up of two squares representing the human and divine occupying the same space, as manifest in Jesus and in His Church.
The Archbishop said that he had received very few criticisms of the project throughout its 6.5 year duration.
“Some have been critical of the design, but we can’t all have our own way, can we? Some didn’t want a contemporary structure but you can’t build today unless you build in a contemporary fashion; you can’t build an old cathedral.
“If you add to the old Cathedral, as we did, the difference must be visible. That’s the regulation in law. So we do have three sections built in three different centuries; the new part harmonising with the old.”
The response he has received to date has been overwhelmingly positive.
On Sunday, December 20, Archibishop Hickey will celebrate 51 years as a priest and 25 years as a Bishop in a building that he says, is unlike any other cathedral he has seen, anywhere in the world.
“Around Australia, you can go to all the cathedrals and they are all beautiful but this one will not look like any of the others,” he said.
“I’m very pleased to be able to hand St Mary’s over to the people and my successors. It is a worthy building, and I’m very glad that it is now complete.”