By Rita McInerney

Archbishop James P. Lyke, OFM, was installed as fifth bishop and fourth archbishop of Atlanta, on Monday, June 24 at a liturgy significant with links to the Church in North Georgia and his own Franciscan priesthood, and symbolic of the future.

The two o’clock installation rite before a capacity congregation of almost 700 people in the Cathedral of Christ the King was marked by contrasting moments of ecclesiastical pomp and warm simplicity.

Archbishop Lyke was surrounded on the altar by hierarchy representing the authority of the Church, as well as archdiocesan priests, permanent deacons and seminarians. Seated in the front sections of the cathedral were approximately 170 priests as well as close family members, old friends and associates from several places where he had ministered, including Memphis, Tenn., Grambling, La., and Cleveland, Ohio. Representatives of each parish and mission of the archdiocese of Atlanta were present.

The rite of installation opened the ceremony which concluded more than two hours later. It began with Archbishop Agostino Cacciavillan, apostolic pro-nuncio to the U.S., conveying greetings from Pope John Paul II expressing his sincere agreement with the appointment of Archbishop Lyke to guide the Catholics of North Georgia. The pontiff “was present in his prayers and good wishes,” Archbishop Cacciavillan said. In honoring the archbishop “we honor the Church,” and celebrate unity in faith, charity, love and worship.

Father Edward Dillon, vicar general of the archdiocese, moved to the pulpit and read form a scroll the papal mandate. It decreed that since the Metropolitan Church of Atlanta lacks its shepherd since its former archbishop, Eugene A. Marino, has relinquished the administration, a successor was named.

“…you have learned the discipline of caring for Christ’s sheep. From now on increase your diligence just as your burdens have become greater, and imitate your Father Francis of Assisi, an outstanding model of the love of God and of souls,” the mandate to Archbishop Lyke said.

The pro-nuncio asked Archbishop Lyke if he was willing to take the oath of fidelity to the pope. The archbishop “humbly accepted” and promised to guide the faithful always “with the care of the Good Shepherd.”

After embracing Archbishop Lyke, the Vatican representative handed to him the staff symbolic of his office and led him to his episcopal chair. Prolonged applause followed.

After the archbishop was embraced by concelebrants on the altar, members of the ecumenical community came forward to greet him. These included Episcopal Bishops Frank K. Allan and Charles Judson Child, Jr., both of Atlanta, and Bishop Harold C. Skillrud, of the Southeastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

He was also greeted by Sister Margaret McAnoy, IHM, president of the Atlanta Conference of Sisters, and Deacon Al Mitchell, executive director of the permanent diaconate.

Other greeters came forward to represent African-American, Hispanic, Vietnamese, Korean and Polish Catholics, seminarians of the archdiocese, youth and children. The mayor’s office was represented by Deacon Hilliard Lee, Jr., while Juan Carlos Vignaud, consul general of Argentina, brought greetings from the Atlanta consul corps.

Patrick and Sandra Meade, parishioners at St. Joseph’s Church, Dalton, gave the first reading from Isaiah (49:1-16) as the Liturgy of the Word began. Mrs. Meade, who is expecting their third child in October, is originally from Colombia. Her husband is a native of Nashville.

“God was certainly with us,” Sandra Meade said a few days after the installation experience that they look forward to telling their children about. “It was a very wonderful experience. We were very honored.”

Psalm 139 was sung during the responsorial by Claud Shirely. The second reading, from the Acts of the Apostles, (13:22-26) was given by Ms. Christine Nguyen, a Vietnamese parishioner from Our Lady of LaSalette Church in Canton. Deacon Mitchell proclaimed the Gospel from Luke (1:57-66, 80).

Archbishop Lyke’s homily was interrupted several times by applause, the first when he said, “From this day I will call the archdiocese of Atlanta my home and I have no reason to suppose that I will end my days anywhere else.” He received another burst when he mentioned that the day was also the 25th anniversary of his ordination as a Franciscan priest.

Emotion slowing his speech, he then thanked “everyone who has been with me along the way, for without the loving assistance of all my compatriots in the Lord, I surely would have faltered on the journey.”

The emotion was still evident when he went on to thank “my brothers and sisters, and all the members of my family whose generous pride in my calling has been with me from the beginning, and who walk with me even now.

“Above all, I thank the blessed shade of my mother, who put me on the road to faith, and who always exemplified for us all the same willing love which typified Mary, the Mother of Our Savior. It was her open heart where I first saw the law of God’s love inscribed with determination and dignity, the law that to this day sustains and nurtures me in my ministry.

Applause erupted the third time after the archbishop voiced a special message to his predecessor, Archbishop Eugene A. Marino, SSJ:

“Archbishop, we send you our greetings and assure you of our never-ending affection and prayers. Our love for you and our pride in your accomplishments far outdistance the extreme circumstances of your departure. You will always have a place in our hearts, and we long for the day when you will return. Be at peace, and do not tarry long before we see you face to face.”

He went on to acknowledge “priests, deacons, Religious and professional people of this local Church, who have welcomed me into their family, and who have unceasingly supported me as I have begun my work in the Church of North Georgia. I am confident, that as the future unfolds we will share often in the excitement and the fulfillment to which the calling of God leads us.”

Turning to those of the ecumencial community present he said “In our firm will to ‘prepare the way of the Lord,’ we find a common ground to work for the unity Christ taught and to express our solidarity as we work for mercy and justice for all.”

Lastly, he thanked the lay people of the Church. “It is you who are the Church, whom I am called to serve in union with the whole presbyterate of the archdiocese. It was from the gathering of John’s disciples, those who have come to repent and to be baptized, that Jesus Christ emerged that momentous day on the banks of the Jordan. It was with the humble fold of God that Jesus most intimately shared His life on earth. It was for the human family that He gave His life, rose from the dead, and ascended into the starry heights of heaven on high.”

Archbishop Lyke opened his homily with words familiar to Trekkies, the passage that opened every episode of the popular TV series, Star Trek. As he measured out the quotation, some in the pews spoke softly with him, and a teenager looked at her mother in amazement.

Fascination with Star Trek, he ventured, grows out of the obsession that all humans share for the unknown, for the future. In a similar way, 2000 years ago, Judeans were drawn to a man who dressed in the rough garments of an outcast, who fed on locusts and honey, and who announced in the wilderness a bold message: “Repent, for the day of the Lord is at hand.”

This was John the Baptist, whose feast day the archbishop chose for his installation in Atlanta. John was the “captain of a new enterprise,” that was about to be released on an “unsuspecting but hungry world.”

The archbishop explored the meaning of John the Baptist for the Church today.

“All of us, in some manner, are touched by the will of God, and know the conversion of heart and soul to his purpose that so invigorated the mission of John the Baptizer. We all come from some wilderness in which we realize the exclusivity of our relationship with God. Like John, we accept the powerful thrust of God which sets us on a road replete with human contact and relationships.”

“…Like John, who spoke forcefully to the moral degradation of his time, not hesitating to confront princes and potentates, we place our lives on the line for the sake of Christ’s commandments, the commandments to love God and to love one another, and we follow the journey of these commandments wherever they may lead.”

“As great as John was, we live in the aftermath of the Resurrection, certain of our destiny insured by the freely given grace of God. What all the prophets and patriarchs and all the people in the history of salvation longed for is ours to have and to hold.”

“…Christ came not only to save us but to send us…as healers into the world’s poverty and suffering, …as teachers against the world’s skepticism and apathy, …as scholars of the Resurrection, and living torches aflame with the zeal of God’s Holy Spirit. For this reason we call ourselves the ‘pilgrim Church.’”

General intercessions were sung from the choir loft in English, Vietnamese, Spanish, Korean, Polish, and Nigerian. Andrew and Terri Lyke, the archbishop’s nephew and his wife, presented the gifts for the Liturgy of the Eucharist.

The installation liturgy began promptly at 2 p.m. with a flourish of trumpets from the choir loft. One seminarian carrying the incenser, another the processional cross and two carrying lighted candles proceeded recently ordained Father Franklin Forts and the three lay persons serving as lectors. Next came the Episcopal and Lutheran bishops followed by the delegation of visiting Catholic bishops.

Permanent deacons and priests came next, some solemn, others smiling and reaching over to touch hands with people in aisle seats. Father Thomas Kenny, cathedral rector, led the apostolic pro-nuncio, Archbishop Lyke, and Cardinals Joseph Bernardin of Chicago and James Hickey of Washington, D.C.

The two cardinals were seated on the altar along with Archbishop Cacciavillan.

Concelebrants on the altar were Archbishop Daniel Pilarczyk, Cincinnati; Bishop John Donoghue, Charlotte; Bishop Joseph Francis, SVD, Newark; Bishop Joseph Gossman, Raleigh; Bishop Donna Pelotte, SSS, Gallup, N.M.; Bishop Anthony Pilla, Cleveland; Bishop David Thompson, Charleston; Father Edward Dillon, Father John Ford, ST, a close friend; Father Albert Jowdy, Council of Priests representative; Father Robert Karris, OFM, Franciscan provincial, and Abbot Bernard Johnson, OCSO, Monastery of the Holy Spirit, Conyers.

Thirteen bishops concelebrated from front pews. Black bishops attending, in addition to Bishop Francis, were Bishop Moses Anderson, SSE, auxiliary bishop of Detroit; Bishop Wilton Gregory, auxiliary bishop of Chicago; Bishop Curtis Guillory, SVD, auxiliary bishop of Galveston-Houston; Bishop Leonard Olivier, SVD, auxiliary bishop of Washington, D.C., Bishop John Ricard, SSJ, auxiliary bishop of Baltimore and Bishop J. Terry Steib, SVD, auxiliary bishop of St. Louis.

Approximately 170 priest concelebrants were seated in pews on the left front section and in the side aisles. They included archdiocesan priests, Franciscans and a large contingent of members of the National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus.

Across the center aisle were close family members, old friends, and former associates from several places where the archbishop ministered, including Memphis, Grambling, and Cleveland.

Deacons on the altar were Deacons Mitchell, Stewart Wilber and Evelio Garcia-Carreras. Masters of ceremony were Gerard O’Connor, Father Don Kenny, Father James Schillinger, Father Forts and Deacon William Edwards.

Thirty minutes before the liturgy began, songs of praise were presented in several idioms. Soloists were Janis Griffin, Our Lady of Lourdes, Atlanta; Dominica Hann, Korean Apostolate at St. Thomas More, Decatur; Kien Nguyen, Our Lady of Vietnam Mission, Forest Park; Kristiana Soljus, Polish Apostolate at the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Atlanta, and Ofelia Alverez-Builla, Christ the King, Atlanta.

For the liturgy, the cathedral choir and cantors Claud Shirley and Jeanne Brown offered hymns and responses that ranged from the triumphant to the softly spiritual.

H. Hamilton Smith, cathedral music director, and Kevin Culver, choirmaster were in charge of music for the installation rite. Alan Brown, Fellowship of Catholic Musicians, coordinated the prelude.

While some in the congregation arrived at the cathedral under the shelter of umbrellas, the rain had ended by the time the recessional came out the main door. Archbishop Lyke’s short walk from church to rectory was interrupted time and time again by family and friends eager to speak with and be photographed with him.

A short time later he appeared at the Hyland Center reception to move among the people there, pausing frequently to have his picture taken with groups ranging from archdiocesan seminarians to Franciscans he has known since his own years as a novice.

Everywhere around the cathedral complex bishops and priests were expressing happiness at the honor for their friend and colleague. Especially pleased was Bishop Joseph Durick, retired leader of the Nashville diocese and Archbishop Lyke’s bishop before Memphis became a separate diocese. Bishop Durick, now “recycled” he says, has charge of two missions in Alabama. He recalled that he and the archbishop “fought a few battles together” for civil rights. They were “very involved but prudent,” he recalled.

Bishop Gregory has known the archbishop for 30 years. He knows members of his family, knows his roots.

“He comes from a large urban community,” both his native Chicago and Cleveland where he served for 11 years, Bishop Gregory pointed out. “The variety of religious, cultural and ethnic groups in such a community offers special challenges.” He believes Archbishop Lyke’s familiarity with urban diversity equips him to be “very sensitive to these challenges.”

As a convert, Archbishop Lyke is “aware of the importance of evangelization, a responsibility of the Church second to none,” Bishop Gregory said. “And his background as a convert makes him interested in and open to the challenges of ecumenism.

A personal friend, a convert himself, and a bishop ministering in an urban setting, Bishop Gregory has had reason to call Archbishop Lyke, “late at night. We compare notes. I can tell you, he is a man of extraordinary charity and kindness, with a delightful sense of humor.”

The installation brought a “mix of pain and joy” to Bishop Ricard, SSJ. A member of the Josephite community, Bishop Ricard observed that his brother Josephite, Archbishop Marino, “did make an impression on the faithful here. He was loved and he’ll cherish those who helped him through difficulty.”

“Archbishop Lyke is a man of great sensitivity. In God’s own time, he will work things out. I hope this marks a beginning of an exciting chapter for the Church of Atlanta. He can bring it about. He’s handled this very well,” the bishop concluded.

Father Robert Karris, OFM, came from the Franciscan’s general chapter in San Diego and brought greetings to their Franciscan brother from Franciscans from 93 countries and the just-elected minister general of the order, Father Hermann Schalueck.

“This is a great event in our lives,” Father Karris explained, “to share in the joy of the archdiocese and the happiness of Archbishop Lyke. We are very proud of him, very happy for him and for the archdiocese.” Father Karris had just been selected to serve on the order’s General Council in Rome representing the provinces of North America, Malta, Ireland and England.

“It was a very good day,” said Father Paul Marshall, SM, a black priest from Cleveland, who thought the installation Mass was moving in its simplicity and tone.

Trinitarian Father Ford, one of the concelebrants, saw the ceremony as ‘inclusive as usual,” typical of his old friend. He sensed a “powerful spirit, tremendously powerful liturgy, deliberate and very prayerful.”

(Paula Day contributed to this article.)