John Alphonsus Heavey (1868–1948) was a
Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
bishop in
Queensland
Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
, Australia. He was the
Vicar Apostolic of Cooktown and the
Roman Catholic Bishop of Cairns.
Early life
Heavey was born on 13 November 1868 in
Roundwood,
County Wicklow
County Wicklow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606 in Ireland, 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces ...
, Ireland
or in
Ballyhaunis,
County Mayo
County Mayo (; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, County Mayo, Mayo, now ge ...
.
Religious life
Heavey was ordained as a Roman Catholic priest in
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
as a member of the
Augustinian Order on 23 May 1891.
He served as professor and prior of the order in
County Wexford
County Wexford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was ba ...
, Ireland, before being appointed in 1914 as
Vicar Apostolic of Cooktown in
North Queensland, Australia.
At the time the
Vicariate Apostolic of Cooktown was established in 1877,
Cooktown was expected to become the major town in North Queensland, but his predecessor Bishop
James Murray had relocated the headquarters of the vicariate to
Cairns
Cairns (; ) is a city in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. In the , Cairns had a population of 153,181 people.
The city was founded in 1876 and named after William Cairns, Sir W ...
circa 1904, as it had become the major town in the area.
Heavey's journey to Australia involved a number of misadventures. On his first voyage a buoy was hit that caused damage to the ship's hull and it began to take on water and had to return for repairs. When the ship departed again, it collided with a Belgian ship, but was found not to have sustained significant damage, so the journey continued, but news of German warship
SMS ''Emden'' being in the vicinity (
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
having commenced) required the ship to travel with "lights out" until arriving at Fremantle in January 1915.
In 1941, the Vicariate Apostolic of Cooktown was elevated to become the
Diocese of Cairns with Heavey as its first bishop.
Death
On 12 June 1948, Heavey died in Cairns. His funeral was held at
St Monica's Cathedral in Cairns with the
panegyric preached by
Archbishop of Brisbane James Duhig.
He was buried in the
Martyn Street Cemetery in Cairns.
See also
*
Catholic Church in Australia
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heavey, John
1948 deaths
Augustinian bishops
Roman Catholic bishops of Cairns
People from County Wicklow
1868 births