As a director at Falco, Caruso and Leonard Funeral Home for the past four years, Thomas Hickey has served as a healing presence for many in South Jersey.
“This is a ministry I take seriously,” he explained. “I’m an agent of grace, comforting others who are going through the most difficult times in their lives, and [I recognize] the solemnity and respect necessary when putting someone to their final rest.”
His vocation at the funeral home, which has locations in Camden and Pennsauken, also caused him to reflect on his own mortality. “I should live my life ready to meet God at any moment.”
It was such contemplations that paved the way for Hickey entering into full communion in the Catholic Church.
“The whole Mass was beautiful,” he said of the Easter Vigil Mass at Camden’s Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, where he received the Sacraments from Father Adam Cichoski, rector. “I can’t wait to help the parish in any way I can,” he added after the March 30 celebration – which was 30 years in the making.
Born in Medford Lakes, Hickey was baptized into the Protestant tradition but wasn’t raised in any faith. When he began at Falco-Caruso six years ago and began attending to the needs of families at various services, the Catholic funeral Mass was one that always kept his attention.
“I appreciated the profound and respectful atmosphere, whether it was the priest blessing the casket with incense or the pall draped on top of the casket,” Hickey said.
More than a year ago, Wanda Garcia, a colleague at Falco-Caruso, invited Hickey to Mass at Camden’s Cathedral. Hickey not only attended, but became eager to learn more and started attending the parish’s 11:30 Spanish-language liturgy on Sunday mornings.
“I felt fulfilled, attending and participating,” Hickey recalled. “I felt grace.”
At the 2023 Palm Sunday services and Gospel reading of Jesus’ suffering and death, he had another revelation. “I realized that there’s so much [more] that I thought I understood. I had to become Catholic myself to know the answers.”
In June, he began Sunday morning RCIA classes at the Cathedral, enjoying what he called the “a-ha” moments. About the Eucharist, he learned, “That’s what the Mass is all about – Jesus’ sacrifice for us and His love for all.” He called the prayers of the Rosary “a beautiful combination of meditation and the intercession of the Blessed Mother.”
“What I learned in these classes was everything I was looking for,” he added.
Though his last RCIA class was the week before the Easter Vigil in March, his formation continued during Holy Week, as he was asked to play Jesus in the parish’s live Stations of the Cross on Good Friday.
The day before he entered the Catholic Church, Hickey – cloaked in a tattered robe and wearing a crown of thorns on his head – carried a cross through the streets of Camden as hundreds of faithful and passers-by looked on. His journey ended at the Cathedral parking lot with a re-enactment of the Crucifixion.
“I was incredibly humbled to take part in the procession. The whole experience was a meditation on the path I’m walking in my own life,” he said. “One doesn’t understand Jesus’ sacrifice until carrying His cross and being lifted up.”
About 24 hours later, he found further meaning in the Easter Vigil, not just in his conversion, but in the rituals of the ceremony. “We started in darkness, and then Jesus came back to us, in the light,” Hickey said. As the Cathedral’s shadows were illuminated, “a feeling of jubilation and comfort came to me.”
Hickey is looking forward to diving into more of the Church life, including joining the Knights of Columbus and fostering a deeper relationship with Jesus. Looking back over the past year, he expressed gratitude for the Cathedral staff and parishioners who “have manifested the love of Christ and shown me such welcome.” That includes his colleague-turned-sponsor, Wanda Garcia.
“He’s always been very determined to learn the Catholic faith,” Garcia said, recalling the words he said to her after attending one of his first Masses at the Cathedral. “He told me, ‘This is where I want to be. I feel comfortable.’”
Hickey, in turn, recognizes Garcia’s role in setting him on a new faith path. “Her invitation changed my life.”
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