Photo By Michael Alexander

ATLANTA—On Dec. 1 a new cross was dedicated and blessed as a memorial to the late Deacon Hilliard Lee at the St. Stephen Center for Diaconal Study, which is next door to St. Paul of the Cross Church, Atlanta.

The brief service followed the 8 a.m. Mass at the church, where Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory was the main celebrant. The men in formation for the permanent diaconate joined Archbishop Gregory, Father Jerome McKenna, CP, pastor of St. Paul of the Cross; other clergy and members of Deacon Lee’s family, including his widow Vivian and their children Abra, Christopher and Erika.

Deacon Lee, a longtime parishioner at St. Paul of the Cross Church, was assigned to the parish from 1991 until his death last May.

The metal cross is the work of sculpture artist John Parker, a member of St. Philip Benizi Church, Jonesboro. It was a gift from men in formation, the permanent diaconate class of 2019.