If you met Al Hicks in a group of Jesuits, you probably would not notice him. But if you already knew Al, you would notice him first. It wasn’t that Al sought the limelight; he avoided it. Rather, it was his humble openness, off-handed manner, and utter lack of a sense of entitlement that made people notice him. These qualities were there even in his high school days when his father announced (Oral History): “‘You’re not going back to Needham High.’ I said, ‘I’m not?’ ‘No, you’re going to Sacred Heart over in Newton Center.’ And I said to myself, ‘Why am I making this move?’ His father said, ‘Because you are fooling around.’ I said, ‘OK.’” Intrigued by the dedicated nuns at Sacred Heart but knowing little about male religious, nonetheless he “decided to enter the Society after high school, even though I had never met a Jesuit.”
Al’s ministry took many forms. Early on, he discovered his talent and delight in teaching math. He taught math twenty-three years at BC High (1969-1992), and eleven years at Nativity Prep in Boston (1991-2002), enjoying it so much that during a sabbatical at Belvedere College in Dublin (1978-1979), he taught math while spending the weekends cycling through Galway and Mayo, staying at B&Bs. He later extended his tours to Scotland.
Al’s view of ministry was expressed in a manner uniquely his. Using the biblical image of sheep and shepherd, he reflected, “What you bring to the community is more important than the work you do. The shepherd is there. Often the sheep seem to be leading him. Often you cannot find the shepherd. You have to look around. The shepherd is under the tree asleep, not doing anything. But all around the shepherd the sheep are eating. They are calm, under control, and reassured. They know where he is: ‘He’s over there, asleep under the tree.’”
Alfred J. Hicks was born on January 5, 1936, in Boston, the son of Gerard P. Hicks of Boston and Helena A. (Callahan) Hicks of Lynn. He was predeceased by his sisters, Patricia (Hicks) Sullivan, who later remarried as O’Malley, and Mary (Hicks) Soucy. He is survived by his nephews, Mark and Michael Sullivan.
Al’s first two years of high school were spent at Needham High, and his last two years at Sacred Heart High in Newton. His Jesuit studies and formation followed the usual lines: novitiate and juniorate at Shadowbrook in Lenox, MA, with a stint at St. Andrew-on-Hudson in Poughkeepsie, NY; Weston College for philosophy and theology (1957-1959; 1963-1967). His three years of teaching included learning Arabic at Baghdad College in Iraq, which the Jesuits founded in 1932 as a science-oriented secondary school. “B.C. on the Tigris” became so successful that in 1955 the Iraqi government gave the Jesuits land for a new university, Al Hikma. Although Muslim boys were always admitted to both schools, the objectives of the mission never included proselytizing. It was perhaps the focus on presence rather than proselytizing that gave Al Hicks his missionary views mentioned above.
Back in the States, Al earned a Masters in Math at Wesleyan University, CT, and began a long career teaching at BC High, which included serving as Rector (1986-1992). In 1991, he moved to Nativity Prep in Boston (1991-2002). Next, he spent the years 2003-2015 at the Jesuit Center in Amman, Jordan as superior of Jesuits in Amman and Iraq, acting Director of the Center, and serving the Chaldean community there. Returning to New England, he became pastor of St. Mary and Joseph Parish in Salem, NH (2015-2018). From 2018-2022, he served the McQuaid Jesuit Community in Rochester, NY, doing pastoral work and serving as a tutor.
In 2022, heart disease compounded by sciatica required him to move to Campion Health Center in Weston, MA. Walking was painful; at various times he needed the aid of crutches, a rollator, or a motorized wheelchair. Buoyant and cooperative even in pain, Al managed to get to the dining room most days until the very end. On October 16 at 11:40 p.m., Al died from the heart disease that had plagued him for many years.
Click here to light a Virtual Candle in memoriam of the life and legacy of Fr. Alfred J. Hicks, SJ.
