‘I have more than I need in life’
Very Rev. Fr. Raymond Hickey of St. Monica’s Catholic Church Rantiya, Jos, has said that he has gotten more than he need in his life as a priest of God.
Fr. Hickey stated this on Friday in Jos at the celebration of the 60th anniversary of his priestly ordination.
“I got all that I needed, in fact, I got more than I needed.
“I thank Almighty God for giving me an opportunity to serve in His vineyard,” the 84-years-old cleric said.
Hickey, an Irish priest who was born on Feb. 21, 1936, on arrival in Nigeria in October 1960, worked in Adamawa and Borno for 28 years and Lagos for seven years before moving to Plateau.
The Metropolitan Archbishop of Abuja Archdiocese, Most Rev. Ignatius Kaigama, said that Hickey had been working in Lord’s vineyard for 60 years without break.
Kaigama stated that there was nothing to say but to thank God for the life of the celebrant.
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“He was ordained in Rome in 1960 and for 60 years he has been serving obediently, zealously and dedicatedly and that is what we are celebrating today.
“Father Hickey gave his life totally; his youthfulness, his adult life, every energy God has given him be it pastoral, spiritual, intellectual and academic he has poured it for us here in Nigeria.
“He has been everything; a humble, simple and dedicated priest, parish priest, an author and somebody who is keen on contemporary issues.
“He did all this with outstanding dignity and great wisdom,” the Metropolitan Archbishop of Abuja said.
The Administrator of Catholic Archdiocese of Jos thanked the Irish Augustinian Community which Hickey was one of them, for showing Nigerians particularly northerners the way to worship God.
He also thanked the Augustinians for raising the Christian faith in the North including education by establishing the St. Augustine Major Seminary.
The Metropolitan Archbishop of Kaduna Archdiocese, Archbishop Matthew Ndagoso, thanked the Irish Church for the missionaries who helped in propagation of the gospel in the North.
Ndagoso said that the young Augustinian priests which Fr. Hickey was one of them, helped in translation of scriptures into the indigenous languages in the area.
“He is still a consultant to us because translations are still going on in Hausa,” he said.
The Superior, Augustinian Family in Nigeria, Very Rev. Fr. John Aboubakar, thanked Hickey for the extraordinary work he had done in northern Nigeria.
“Your missionary zeal to drive Catholicism in this part of the world continues to inspire younger people like ourselves.
“One of the text messages I received from a priest with us here, described you as a modern missionary legend and indeed the only living historical footnote and I totally agree with the description,” he said.
Most Rev. John Nyiring, the Bishop of Kano Catholic Diocese in his homily, emphasised the importance of thanksgiving.
Nyiring said that thanksgiving would continue even after death.
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