Dom Francis Paulinus Hickey, a nephew of Abbot Hickey and a cousin of Fathers Cuthbert and Leo Almond, was the last surviving monk of the generation that entered Ampleforth before the opening of the new College. Born in Liverpool on May 6th, 1845, he came to College in 1857 and completed his Humanities in the summer of 1864. In October of that year he took the religious habit at Belmont, and made his profession in the hands of Prior Bede Vaughan on October 25th of the year following. Returning to his Alma Mater in 1868, he was solemnly professed under Prior Bede Prest and received all the Sacred Orders from Bishop Cornthwaite of Beverley. On the day of his ordination to the priesthood, March 8th, 1873, the Bishop gave Confirmation to a large number of the boys, and it was on this occasion that he granted an indulgence of forty days for the recital of the Memorare before the statue of Our Blessed Lady in the Lady Chapel.
Fr Paulinus took an active part in teaching in the School, and already as a teacher of English and as a preacher gave promise of the work by which he was best known in his later life and will be longest remembered. He was sub-prefect in 1870 and the following year during the prefectship of Fr Basil Hurworth, and in 1874 he succeeded Fr Wilfrid Sumner for the space of one year as prefect of discipline. In the year of his ordination and the first half of 1874 he acted as chaplain to Mrs Barnes at Gilling Castle, and it was in the latter year, on the Sunday in the octave of Corpus Christi, that the first of the Processions of the Blessed Sacrament took place at Gilling, which continued during Mrs Barnes' lifetime. Prior Prest carried the Blessed Sacrament assisted by a large number of the monks and boys, and, attracted by the novelty, some hundreds from the country side, Catholics and non-Catholics, gathered either to take their part in the celebration or to stare and wonder what the papists would venture to do next.
In 1875 Fr Paulinus' short term as prefect of discipline ended and he left for the Mission in the North Province. He was at Cleator, Bedlington and St Mary's, Liverpool, within the next four years, and in 1882 went to Hindley where he remained six years. In 1888, 1889 and 1891 he worked in the South Province, at Merthyr Tydfil, St David's, Swansea and Dowlais successively. In 1892, he was placed at Harrington in Cumberland, where he built a church, school and presbytery. In 1896 he was transferred to Aberford which he served for eleven years, and from 1907 for another eleven years he was chaplain to Sir Henry Bedingfield, Bart., at Oxburgh in Norfolk. In 1918 he went for a short time to Cockermouth and in the same year became chaplain to the Benedictine nuns at Dumfries. Seven years later he was moved, in 1925, to Petersfield, which, despite his great age, he courageously served until his death in his 86th year on April [10th] last.
He will be best remembered by posterity as the author of three volumes of 'Short Sermons' published respectively in 1906, 1908 and 1913. Bishop Hedley in the Introduction which he wrote for the first of the series says, 'It is a pleasant task to introduce to priests and to the Catholic public generally a volume of thoughtful, sound and useful sermons... To me it appears that the sermons in this volume are fair specimens of what would really catch the attention and do good. Each sermon has unity and the leading idea is steadily worked out. They contain a good deal of instruction of a clear and definite kind. The language though homely is terse and pointed; there is no lack of warmth and piety. The writer has aimed at providing a series of useful discourses for occasions when perhaps an overworked or delicate priest would, if not helped in this way, be obliged to leave his people without the word of God. They will read well, and will strike the reader as having a character of their own if the reader takes a little pains with them.' Cardinal Logue, on receiving the second volume, wrote to the author: 'I find the 'Sermons' everything which they profess and ought to be. They are short but replete with matter on the leading subjects of religious instruction. They are simple, solid, practical and attractive... I have great pleasure in recommending your 'Short Sermons' to the clergy, not only as furnishing very useful and solid matter on the leading Christian truths; but as supplying them with a model of what may be easily done without trenching on the time or overtaxing the patience of their hearers.' The volumes met with equal commendation from other Archbishops and Bishops, and the Press accorded them an appreciative welcome. We may safely say of Dom Paulinus 'Defunctus adhuc loquitur.'
CORRIGENDUM
An inexactitude in the obituary notice of Dom Paulinus Hickey has been pointed out. It is true that he built in 1892 the church at Harrington; but the presbytery was built earlier, in 1886, by Fr Hutchison, and the school chapel dates back to 1872, when it was served from Workington.
FRANCIS PAULINUS HICKEY 10 April 1930
1845 6 May Born Liverpool
1857 Educ Ampleforth
1864 10 Oct Habit at Belmont
1865 25 Oct Simple Vows
1867 10 Nov Minor Orders
1868 28 Nov Solemn Vows Ampleforth
1869 31 Oct Subdeacon
1871 23 Dec Deacon
1873 8 Mar Priest Bishop Cornthwaite
1875 Cleator
1877 Bedlington
1879 St Mary's Liverpool
1882 Hindley
1888 Merthyr Tydvil
1889 St David's Swansea
1891 Dowlais
1892 Harrington (where he built the church)
1896 Aberford
1907 Feb Returned to Ampleforth
Chaplain to Sir H Bedingfield Oxburgh Norfolk
1918 Cockermouth
Sep Convent Chaplain Dumfries
1925 Petersfield
1930 10 Apr Died
Published short sermons