Knights of Peter Claver, Inc.

History ~ Archbishop James P. Lyke Unit #340

Early in 1994, a small group of St. John’s parishioners approached our Pastor Father Gracz (later vested as Monsignor) to seek his approval to form a unit of the Knights of Peter Claver, Ladies Auxiliary, and Juniors at our parish.  Father Gracz gave his approval to establish a council and court but added that we should delay including the youth until such time that the Knights and Ladies were well organized.  Upon receiving Father Gracz’s approval, the group moved forward with our membership recruitment campaign for potential Knights and Ladies.

On July 28, 1994, the Council and Court of St. Peter Claver at St. John's were established.  The initiation was held at St. John's in Daly Hall, occurring during the 79th Knights of Peter Claver National Convention.  This was particularly special as Supreme Knight, A. Jackie Elly, and Supreme Lady, Dorothy Henderson, conducted the initiation.  Eight men and eleven women from St. John's were initiated.  The unit took the name, Archbishop James P. Lyke, in honor of our recently deceased Archbishop for Atlanta.

Sometime later, we established our Junior Knights and Junior Daughters in order to address the needs of our Catholic youth.

Since formation, we have continued to strive to be a visible lay ministry at St. John's while continuing to keep our focus on our mission--to serve God, the Catholic Church, our pastor, and our Noble Order through efforts to execute works of charity, evangelization and social outreach.

We are indebted to Monsignor Gracz for being the one who gave us the opportunity to establish a unit of Knights of Peter Claver at St. John’s.  We are also grateful to Father Douglass and Father Parker for their unwavering support.  Our prayer is that we, Archbishop James P. Lyke Council and Court #340 Family, remain active, add to our membership, and continue to be of service to our Church and to our community.