James Patterson Lyke

James Patterson Lyke, O.F.M. (February 18, 1939 – December 27, 1992) was an African-American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Atlanta from 1991 to 1992.

The Most Reverend James Patterson Lyke O.F.M.
Archbishop of Atlanta
See	Atlanta
Installed	June 24, 1991
Term ended	December 27, 1992
Predecessor	Eugene Antonio Marino
Successor	John Francis Donoghue
Other posts	Auxiliary Bishop of Cleveland (1979–1990) Apostolic Administrator of Atlanta (1990–1991)
Orders
Ordination	June 24, 1966
Consecration	August 1, 1979
Personal details
Born	February 18, 1939 Chicago, Illinois
Died	December 27, 1992 (aged 53) Atlanta, Georgia
Buried	Arlington Memorial Park in Sandy Springs, Georgia
Denomination	Catholic Church
Coat of arms

Biography

James Lyke was born on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois, the youngest of seven children of Amos and Ora (née Sneed) Lyke.[1] His father abandoned the family, and his mother was left to raise the children in impoverished surroundings, relying on welfare checks.[2] The family lived in a flat, where there were no beds and the only source of heat was a coal stove, before moving to Wentworth Gardens, a Chicago housing project.[2] His mother, a Baptist, sent James to a Catholic school in the fourth grade in order to keep him out of trouble, and did the church's laundry to help pay the tuition. Shortly afterwards, she and six of her children, including James, converted to Catholicism.[2]

He joined the Franciscan order in 1959, studying at St. Francis Novitiate in Teutopolis, Illinois, later obtaining his B.A. degree in philosophy at Our Lady of Angels House of Philosophy through Quincy College in Illinois. He held a master's of divinity from St. Joseph Theological Seminary in Teutopolis and received a Ph.D. in theology in 1981 from the Union Graduate School in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Episcopacy

Pope John Paul II named him Auxiliary Bishop of Cleveland and titular bishop of Furnos Major on June 30, 1979.[3] While serving as Auxiliary Bishop in the Diocese of Cleveland, Lyke coordinated the hymnal project that produced Lead Me, Guide Me: The African American Catholic Hymnal in 1987.[4]

After the resignation of Archbishop Eugene Marino due to scandal, Lyke was appointed Apostolic Administrator of the Archdiocese of Atlanta on July 10, 1990.

He was appointed archbishop there on April 30, 1991,[5][6] and was installed there on June 24, 1991.

Lyke died of cancer on December 27, 1992. At the time of his death, he was the highest-ranking black Catholic clergyman in the nation.[7]

Legacy

• Lyke House - the Catholic (Newman) Center in the Atlanta University Center - is named for him.
• Archbishop Lyke Catholic Elementary School in Cleveland-Garfield Heights is named after him. In 1994, Saints Catherine and Henry in Cleveland and Saint Timothy in Garfield Heights which are predominantly African-American Catholic parishes merged their grade schools into Archbishop Lyke Elementary. They have a two campus system in which St.Henry has grades k-4 and St. Timothy grades 5-8.

References

1. Keiser, Gretchen (January 7, 1993). "Archbishop James Lyke, OFM -- 1939-1992". The Georgia Bulletin. Archived from the original on June 21, 2010. Retrieved December 27, 2009.
2. Keiser, Gretchen (July 2, 1991). "From Chicago Projects To Priesthood: A Faith Journey". The Georgia Bulletin.
3. Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). LXXI. 1979. p. 900. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
4. "Lead Me, Guide Me". GIA Publications. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
5. Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). LXXXIII. 1991. p. 527. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
6. "Interim Archbishop of Atlanta Named to Post Permanently". New York Times. May 1, 1991. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
7. "James Lyke Dies at 53, Archbishop of Atlanta". New York Times. December 28, 1992. Retrieved December 15, 2020.