It is my sad duty to inform you that Rev. Lucien D. Lindsey, a priest of the Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter, died on March 14, 2018. He was 80 years old.
Father Lindsey was born Feb. 22, 1938 in Okmulgee, OK. He earned a Bachelor’s in sociology from the University of Oklahoma in 1960, and a Master of Divinity from Seabury-Western Theological Seminary, Evanston, IL, in 1963. He and Lois Jeanne Savage were married on August 27, 1961, have four children and many grandchildren.
Father Lindsey was ordained as a deacon for the Episcopal Church on June 11, 1963 and a priest on Dec. 11, 1963. On Sept. 28, 2001, Father Lindsey was consecrated Bishop of the Episcopal Missionary Church. As an Anglican deacon, priest and bishop, Father Lindsey faithfully tended the people of God for 49 years, from “the inner city of Chicago to the plains of Oklahoma.” His priestly and episcopal assignments included: Parish vicar and rector; teacher of Latin, the bible, ethics and computers; mentor to deacons; canon missioner to Native Americans; and supporter of military chaplaincies and prison ministries in Oklahoma, Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee.
Father Lindsey retired from active ministry and began the process of joining the Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter. He and Jeanne were received into the full communion of the Catholic Church by Most Rev. Gregory J. Hartmayer, Bishop of Savannah, on October 7, 2011. Bishop Hartmayer ordained Father Lindsey a deacon and a priest in December 2013.
Rev. Msgr. Jeffrey Steenson, then-Ordinary of the Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter, assigned Father Lindsey as Parochial Administrator of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Community that same month. Father accepted this position, returning to part-time active ministry until illness required that he retire for a second time.
The Vigil for Father Lindsey will be held at 7 p.m., on Sunday, March 18, 2018, at the Alleluia Community School, 2819 Peach Orchard Road, Augusta, Ga. The Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m., on Monday, March 19, 2018, The Solemnity of Saint Joseph, Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary, at St. Mary’s on the Hill Catholic Church, 1420 Monte Sano Ave., in Augusta. Interment will immediately follow at the Alleluia Community Cemetery.
I ask all priests of the Ordinariate, in fraternal charity, to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass for the blessed repose of the soul of Father Lucien Lindsey.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Most Rev. Steven J. Lopes
Bishop, Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter
Photo courtesy of the Diocese of Savannah