William Augustine Hickey (May 13, 1869 – October 4, 1933) was an American

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

of the

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. He served as bishop of the

Diocese of Providence The Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence ( la, Dioecesis Providentiensis) is a diocese of the Catholic Church in the United States. The diocese was erected by Pope Pius IX on February 17, 1872 and originally comprised the entire state of Rhode ...

in Rhode Island from 1921 until his death in 1933.

Biography

Early life

William Hickey was born on May 13, 1869, in

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...

, to William and Margaret (née Troy) Hickey. His father served in both the

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and the

Union Navy ), (official) , colors = Blue and gold , colors_label = Colors , march = , mascot = , equipment = , equipment_label ...

during the

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. Hickey attended Holy Cross College in Worcester, then went to France to study at St. Sulpice Seminary in

Issy-les-Moulineaux Issy-les-Moulineaux () is a commune in the southwestern suburban area of Paris, France, lying on the left bank of the river Seine. Its citizens are called ''Isséens'' in French. It is one of Paris' entrances and is located from Notre-Dame Cath ...

. Upon his return to Massachusetts, Hickey attended St. John's Seminary in Boston.

Priesthood

Hickey was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

to the priesthood for the Diocese of Worcester by Archbishop

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (15 November 2022)Classic Connection review ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who wa ...

on December 22, 1893."Most Rev. William A. Hickey, D.D.", Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence
/ref> He then held several pastoral roles in Worcester County. From 1903 to 1917, Hickey served as a pastor in

Gilbertville, Massachusetts Gilbertville is an unincorporated village in the town of Hardwick, Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States, about 20 miles west of the city of Worcester. The Gilbertville Historic District and Ware–Hardwick Covered Bridge, which traverse ...

, where he would preach in four different languages (English, French, Polish, and Lithuanian) every Sunday. He was then transferred to St. John's Parish in

Clinton, Massachusetts Clinton is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 15,428 at the 2020 census. For geographic and demographic information on the census-designated place Clinton, please see the article Clinton (CDP), Massach ...

, where he built a

parochial school A parochial school is a private primary or secondary school affiliated with a religious organization, and whose curriculum includes general religious education in addition to secular subjects, such as science, mathematics and language arts. The ...

and

parish hall A church hall or parish hall is a room or building associated with a church, generally for community and charitable use.

. U.S. Senator David I. Walsh made these comments about Hickey:

Father Hickey has...been a soldier camping in the homes of the sick and the poor under the white banner of the Church, fighting for salvation; has battled for Christ in the trenches of humanity. Not a day has passed over his head since our boys first left Clinton that he has not prayed for his people.

Coadjutor Bishop and Bishop of Providence

On January 16, 1919, Hickey was appointed

coadjutor bishop A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) is a bishop in the Catholic, Anglican, and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in the administration of the diocese. The coadjutor (literally, "co ...

of the Diocese of Providence and

titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of Claudiopolis in Isauria by

Pope Benedict XV Pope Benedict XV (Latin: ''Benedictus XV''; it, Benedetto XV), born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, name=, group= (; 21 November 185422 January 1922), was head of the Catholic Church from 1914 until his death in January 1922. His ...

. Hickey received his

episcopal consecration A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or offic ...

on April 10, 1919, from Bishop Thomas Beaven, with Bishops

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and Daniel Feehan serving as co-consecrators, in the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul in Providence. He was immediately appointed as

apostolic administrator An Apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

for the

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

by the incumbent Bishop Matthew Harkins., Hickey automatically became the third Bishop of Providence on Harkin's death on May 25, 1921.

Language controversy

In 1923, Hickey started an initiative to upgrade and build new high schools in the diocese. The diocese soon unveiled plans to upgrade

Mount Saint Charles Academy Mount Saint Charles Academy is a private Roman Catholic coeducational junior/senior high school located in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence. History In the late 1800s, a significant number of French C ...

, a secondary school in

Woonsocket, Rhode Island Woonsocket ( ), is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 43,240 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, making it the sixth largest city in the state. Being Rhode Island's northernmost city, Woonsock ...

. The academy had been teaching classes in French to accommodate the later

French Canadian French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fren ...

Catholic population in the town. However, it soon became clear that Hickey intended for the classes in the renovated school to be English only. Parishioners became angry that they were being forced to pay for this policy. Elphege Daignault, a Woonsocket lawyer, became a protest leader. In one swipe at Hickey, he labeled Irish-American clergy as “national assassins". In 1924, the dissidents founded the newspaper ''La Sentinelle'', to express their opposition. The dissidents were now called Sentinellists. Daignault and the Sentinellists first appealed Hickey's plans to Archbishop Pietro Fumasoni-Biondi, the apostolic delegate, or Vatican representative, to the United States. When that appeal failed, Daignault sued the diocese in state court in Rhode Island. The

Rhode Island Supreme Court The Rhode Island Supreme Court is the court of last resort in the U.S. State of Rhode Island. The Court consists of a Chief Justice and four Associate Justices, all selected by the Governor of Rhode Island from candidates vetted by the Judicial No ...

eventually ruled that it had no jurisdiction in church affairs. By this point, the controversy had gained publicity in French Canadian communities in the United States and Canada. The Sentinellists finally sent a delegation to Vatican City to appeal directly to

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City fro ...

, but he refused to see them. In 1927, Hickey

excommunicated Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...

Daignault and other Sentinellists and placed ''La Sentinelle'' on the ''

Index Librorum Prohibitorum The ''Index Librorum Prohibitorum'' ("List of Prohibited Books") was a list of publications deemed heretical or contrary to morality by the Sacred Congregation of the Index (a former Dicastery of the Roman Curia), and Catholics were forbidden ...

''., prohibiting Catholics from reading it. Eventually Daignault and the others recanted their opposition to Hickey and he lifted their excommunications. William Hickey died in Providence on October 4, 1933 from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

at age 64.

References

External links

History of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations

Episcopal succession

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hickley, William A. 1869 births 1933 deaths College of the Holy Cross alumni Seminary of Saint-Sulpice (France) alumni Saint John's Seminary (Massachusetts) alumni Clergy from Worcester, Massachusetts Roman Catholic bishops of Providence American Roman Catholic clergy of Irish descent 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Catholics from Massachusetts