By A.M. Kelley
Superior Catholic Herald

Hardy took circuitous route to the priesthood

SUPERIOR -- To get from there to here, one new priest in the Superior Diocese took a circuitous route. He went from Wisconsin to the Philippines, Guam, Ireland, England, Portugal and back again.

Patrick Hardy's steppingstones to his June 25 ordination in Superior were more like giant boulders and the 62-year-old said his big challenge was learning to trust that God would guide him along the way. Born and raised in Battle Creek, Mich., Hardy was a paramedic in the United States Air Force from 1965 to 1969. But his entire military service spans 25 years with time spent in the Wisconsin Army National Guard. He married Lucy Astorga from the Philippines in 1968 and they had four children: Benjamin; Barbara, who is now married to Trevor Cox; Bradley, married to Michelle; and Bethany, married to John Rooney. Lucy and he separated after 23 years and the marriage was annulled. They have 16 grandchildren and a 17th is expected soon.

Hardy's educational background includes degrees from Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, and a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin. He's studied and taught anthropology at various UW campuses and in the Philippines and Guam, which his family especially enjoyed. Hardy referred to the island as "a little Hawaii." In Guam he taught marine archeology and established a center for underwater research. Back in Wisconsin he continued to teach full time until changes in 1998 set him on a new course. He took at job as a custodian at a Catholic church and school in Milwaukee. He still taught some evening courses at UW-Parkside and was helping to fund the educations of his children. But at the same time, a growing feeling that he wanted to "do more than teach in a university" kept drawing his attention to the priesthood. The experience as a custodian bought Hardy a little time to think things over. After pushing a broom for two years he approached the vocations director in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee about studying for the priesthood. That door never opened. Hardy, who was 58 at the time, was told he was too old for consideration.

He looked around for other options, did some research and then made a "wish list" with 200 places he'd consider moving if accepted as a seminarian. When the Diocese of Dublin, Ireland, invited him to move to Ireland, he took them up on the offer.

"They were very reasonable," he said, and suggested that he come and do some social work for a parish's homeless shelter. He bought a Raleigh bicycle and pedaled five miles to and from work every day. It was a positive experience and drew him closer to the priesthood but left him with doubts about living in Ireland. He went on retreats in Liverpool, England, and then in Fatima, Portugal. "I came to the decision to return to Wisconsin and ask all the other dioceses in this area if they would help me become a priest," he said. "I was so sure this would work out that I wrote letters immediately and sent them from Fatima." Vocation director Fr. Andrew Ricci of the Diocese of Superior contacted him. The meeting between the two men went well and Ricci recommended Hardy to Bishop Raphael M. Fliss. "I felt like I was, at last, in the right place at the right time," Hardy said.

He was admitted to Sacred Heart School of Theology in Hales Corners, Wis., and graduated in May with a master's degree in divinity. Hardy's children -- their ages range from 36 to 41 -- and grandchildren all live in the Milwaukee area. They attended his graduation ceremony from Sacred Heart and look forward to his first assignment in the diocese. "They all want to know when I get a rectory if they can come north and visit," he said. "I tell them, 'We'll see.'"

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© Superior Catholic Herald, 2006