John Heavey

John Alphonsus Heavey (1868–1948) was a Roman Catholic bishop in Queensland, 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, Ireland or in Ballyhaunis, County Mayo.

Religious life

Heavey was ordained as a Roman Catholic priest in Rome as a member of the Augustinian Order on 23 May 1891.

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 having commenced) required the ship to travel with "lights out" until arriving at Fremantle in January 1915.

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.