AN UNFULFILLED LAST WISH

PIGO' CEMETERY

in the late 1950s

In the summer of 1959, Bishop Baumgartner was in a bit of a crisis. The Stigmatine priests who staffed Fr Dueñas Memorial School told him only that April or May that they wouldn't be returning at all to the school. That meant Baumgartner needed to find 6 or 7 priest teachers in three months.

He turned to the Capuchins who did the best they could to get some of their priests to serve as principal and to teach, while allowing the first (few and male) lay teachers to teach at Fr Dueñas.

But, in order to help run the school, the Capuchins in New York sent one of their own to Guam, specifically to teach at Fr Dueñas. He also had, unlike most of the other priests, a college degree. His name was Father Donan Hickey. The understanding was that Fr Donan was to be on Guam and teach at Fr Dueñas for a few years.

Shortly after Father Donan arrived, someone took him on a tour of the island. Fr Donan told me this story himself.

The tour ended at an unusual place - a cemetery! Pigo' Cemetery. As the car drove into the cemetery, Fr Donan saw this huge, white marble cross on top of a rock. It made such a huge impression on Father Donan. He told the driver the following, "This is where I want to live, die and be buried." Fr Donan continued to live the rest of his life on Guam, teaching at Fr Dueñas and being pastor of a few parishes. What was supposed to be a short time on Guam turned out to be a lifetime commitment.

Except that...

In 1993, Fr Donan went back to his home state of New York for a little break and to visit his family. While he was there, his health declined. It declined so bad that he couldn't get out of bed. He died in New York, and the superior decided to bury him at the friars' cemetery in Yonkers, New York.

His last desire for his earthly life - to be buried at Pigo' - never came about.

I wonder, though. He was bedridden in New York, but lucid. He knew he was approaching death. Had he not mentioned to anyone, or even insisted, that he be buried in Guam? Perhaps he resigned himself to the circumstances he found himself in.

FR DONAN'S GRAVE IN YONKERS, NEW YORK

Not where he wanted to be buried!

Alas, we do not decide where we are born nor where we die.

The huge white marble cross is still at Pigo' Cemetery, but on top of the new mausoleum. The big rock is gone.