By Gretchen Keiser

A limited number of people will be invited to attend the Mass in which Archbishop James P. Lyke, OFM, is formally installed as archbishop of Atlanta, but those who do primarily will be north Georgia Catholics.

With a seating capacity of 650 at the Cathedral of Christ the King, the largest single group to attend will be lay Catholics of the archdiocese, said Gerard O'Connor, administrative assistant to the archbishop. The next largest group numerically will be priests of the archdiocese.

A decision that Solomon would not relish, apportioning the few seats available, has been under study by the archbishop and a small planning committee.

Among the conclusions already reached are that each parish and mission will be asked to send two lay people as representatives to the Mass, which will be celebrated at 2 p.m. on Monday, June 24 at the Cathedral. Priests of the archdiocese will be invited. A representative group of Religious women from the Atlanta Conference of Sisters, and a limited number of permanent deacons and their wives will be invited.

Catholic organizations that will be represented include the Archdiocesan Planning and Development Council, the Knights of Columbus of St. Peter Claver, and the Holy Sepulchre and their Ladies Auxiliaries, the Atlanta Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women and the Serra Clubs. Catholic Center staff are also slated to receive invitations, although it is not yet certain that seating will be available for all employees. Department heads may be asked to distribute an allotment to their staff at their discretion.

"The archbishop's intention is for it to be an archdiocesan event and not a national event," O'Connor said, indicating that Archbishop Lyke was asking fellow bishops around the country, who are traditionally invited to every installation, not to plan to attend because of the severely limited space.

Approximately 30 prelates of the United State still be invited, including the four American cardinals, the bishops from Savannah and North and South Carolina, 10 African-American bishops, and others who have personal ties to Archbishop Lyke, particularly in diocese where he served before coming to Atlanta. The day is also his silver anniversary as a priest.

His guest list of family members and friends has been cut back, O'Connor said. Approximately 20 invitations to Georgia religious and civic leaders will be sent.

The Mass itself will include music selected by Archbishop Lyke, with Hamilton Smith and Kevin Culver of the Cathedral overseeing this aspect. Ethnic diversity will also be an element in the liturgy, which will include prayers of the faithful in several languages that are spoken by Catholics in north Georgia.

As simplicity and low-budget have become bywords for the installation, the reception afterward will be held in the Hyland Center gymnasium, and team of volunteers will be serving as hosts and drivers for visiting bishops.

Archbishop Agostino Cacciavillan, apostolic pro-nuncio to the United States, will be the prelate installing Archbishop Lyke as the fourth archbishop of Atlanta.