Black Catholics draw inspiration from memories of Archbishop Lyke

Published: 2005-06-29

ST. LOUIS (CNS) -- Close to 600 young people and adults gathered June 23-26 in St. Louis for a series of workshops to enhance their prayer and praise at the second Archbishop James Patterson Lyke Conference. In his keynote talk, Bishop Edward K. Braxton, newly installed as bishop of Belleville, Ill., offered a personal view of his friend, Archbishop Lyke, a Franciscan who was the head of the Atlanta Archdiocese when he died of cancer at age 53 in 1992. Describing Archbishop Lyke through his encounters with him, Bishop Braxton painted a picture of the man for whom the conference was named. "The archbishop lived the Gospel," Bishop Braxton said. Bishop Braxton also quoted his late friend: "Wherever we go and whoever we encounter, on the streets, in the marketplace or in our homes, I pray that our message will always be the greeting of Christ -- the greeting of the man who passes through the locked doors of our stubborn wills, the man who melts our stubborn hearts with his message, the man who sends us on our way with the words, 'Peace be with you.'"

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