Born in St. Louis, Missouri, on December 3, 1882, David Hickey was ordained a priest for the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) on June 27, 1917.

He attended the first Mission Institute in St. Louis that offered an intensive study of credit unions, cooperatives, and rural life programs.

[2] On June 10, 1948, Pope Pius XII appointed Hickey as Titular Bishop of Bonitza and Vicar Apostolic of Belize (British Honduras).

He was consecrated a bishop by Archbishop Joseph Ritter on September 21, 1948, with principal co-consecrators William McCarty of Rapid City and Edward Daly of Des Moines.

[3] Besides the usual circuit of confirming the faithful and the construction of churches and schools, he fostered the spread of the credit union and cooperative movement which became an ecumenical venture in Belize and beyond.