Columbia April 2019

APRIL 19 E COVERS FINAL.qxp_Layout 1 3/14/19 4:08 PM Page 1

K N I G H T S O F C O LU M BU S

A PRIL 2019

COLUMBIA

April Columbia 19_EN.qxp 3/13/19 8:58 AM Page 1

Never stop being her protector.

LIFE INSURANCE • DISABILITY INCOME INSURANCE • LONG-TERM CARE INSURANCE • RETIREMENT ANNUITIES

Find your agent at kofc.org/faa

APR 19 E 3_14 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 3/15/19 11:38 AM Page 1

K N I G H T S O F C O LU M BU S % '$ ♦ $$ ♦ *

COLUMBIA F E AT U R E S

8

The Resurrection of the Flying Fathers Canadian priests revive the legendary hockey team that plays for charity and good cheer.

BY MEGAN HOEGLER

13 Forgiveness Changes the Future A Catholic humanitarian from Northern Ireland shares how he overcame tragedy and chose love over anger.

BY RICHARD MOORE, WITH COLUMBIA STAFF

16 Preserving a Christian Presence The supreme knight visits Iraq as the Order’s commitment to support persecuted Christians continues.

BY COLUMBIA STAFF

20 ‘According to Your Word’ The Order cosponsors a daylong catechetical program at World Youth Day 2019 in Panama.

( .!-.) '** '**# -, .+ ( -) % ,&!.+ ' '*## " ,+ ! )-.+( &+-, .,( )& " .)&)"%- , + -.,(

BY ANDREW FOWLER

24 Easter Fire Christ’s victory over death empowers the Church to heal and transform the world through the Holy Spirit.

A fresco by Fra Angelico depicts the resurrected Christ meeting Mary Magdalene on Easter morning.

BY MARY HEALY

D E PA RT M E N T S 3

Building a better world Violence at the hands of Islamic State militants may have subsided, but our support of suffering Christians remains crucial.

BY SUPREME KNIGHT CARL A. ANDERSON

4

Learning the faith, living the faith

6

Knights of Columbus News Pope Francis Receives Supreme Knight in Private Audience • Order Mourns Death of Architect of K of C Headquarters

Our need for repentance and forgiveness is confirmed, not negated, by Christ’s victory over sin and death.

BY SUPREME CHAPLAIN ARCHBISHOP WILLIAM E. LORI

PLUS: Catholic Man of the Month

7

Fathers for Good Don’t let digital devices overtake your family life.

BY SOREN JOHNSON

26 Knights in Action

APRIL 2019

♦ COLUMBIA ♦ 1

APR 19 E 3_14 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 3/15/19 12:02 PM Page 2

The Path to Heaven A CLASSIC EPISODE of The Twilight Zone begins with a jewelry thief fleeing the police and getting shot. He is awakened in the afterlife by a man dressed in white, a “guideâ€? who assures him he has only one concern: “Your comfort. My job is to see to it you get what you want — whatever it may be.â€? Incredulous, the shameless crook is soon wallowing in wealth, wine and women. Eventually, however, he becomes bored and argues there must have been some mistake. “Look, I don’t belong in heaven,â€? he says. “I want to go to the other place.â€? The guide responds, “Whatever gave you the idea you were in heaven? ‌ This is the other place.â€?

In the episode’s closing narration, we’re told, “Now he has everything he’s ever wanted — and he’s going to have to live with it for eternity.�

Though a work of popular entertainment, this episode of The Twilight Zone provides a practical lesson and invites us to examine our own consciences. As Lent gives way to Holy Week and Easter, we might ask ourselves: How often do we value our immediate desires and contentment over God’s will for our lives? Or, as Pope Francis once said, “Am I a Christian of the culture of comfort, or am I a Christian who accompanies Jesus to the cross?� The Way of the Cross, after all, is the path to heaven.

During his agony in the garden, Jesus cried, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me; still, not my will but yours be done� (Lk 22:42). It was through his perfect obedience and love that the Lord reversed the original sin,

and we, baptized into his death, are now invited to share in his abundant life through grace (cf. Rom 5:19, 6:3). This new life is defined not by earthly prosperity and things that will pass away, but by the virtues of faith, hope and charity.

Consider the saints and all who witness to God’s grace and mercy by their lives. For example, at age 10, Richard Moore was blinded by a rubber bullet during conflicts in Northern Ireland; rather than responding with anger, he has chosen forgiveness and peace (see page 13). In the case of many displaced Christians in Iraq, who lost everything fleeing the threat of genocide, they courageously continue to bear witness to their faith with joy and hope (see page 16).

The life of grace is also evident in less dramatic circumstances: It is seen in all those who respond to God’s personal call to the priesthood, religious life or marriage and family, and live their vocations faithfully, as well as in all who follow the commandments to love God and neighbor.

Christian witness demonstrates that authentic freedom and lasting joy are found not in getting exactly what we want, when we want it. Rather, they are found in conforming our wills to God. Christ’s victory over sin and death opened the true path to heaven and allows us to respond in faith: “May it be done to me according to your wordâ€? (Lk 1:38).♌ ALTON J. PELOWSKI EDITOR

Good Friday Liturgy of the Lord’s Passion Good Friday is the day Christ gave up his life out of love for each one of us. Every council is asked to encourage Knights and their families to attend their parish’s Liturgy of the Lord’s Passion on Good Friday, April 19. It is also a perfect time to invite friends, fellow parishioners or others to worship together and rediscover the joy of faith. Help your pastor promote your local Good Friday Liturgy. Visit kofc.org/goodfriday 2 ♌ COLUMBIA ♌

APRIL 2019

COLUMBIA PUBLISHER Knights of Columbus ________ SUPREME OFFICERS Carl A. Anderson SUPREME KNIGHT Most Rev. William E. Lori, S.T.D. SUPREME CHAPLAIN Patrick E. Kelly DEPUTY SUPREME KNIGHT Michael J. O’Connor SUPREME SECRETARY Ronald F. Schwarz SUPREME TREASURER John A. Marrella SUPREME ADVOCATE ________ EDITORIAL Alton J. Pelowski EDITOR Andrew J. Matt MANAGING EDITOR Cecilia Hadley SENIOR EDITOR Margaret B. Kelly ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Venerable Michael McGivney (1852-90) Apostle to the Young, Protector of Christian Family Life and Founder of the Knights of Columbus, Intercede for Us.

________

HOW TO REACH US MAIL COLUMBIA 1 Columbus Plaza New Haven, CT 06510-3326 ADDRESS CHANGES 203-752-4210, option #3 addresschange@kofc.org PRAYER CARDS & SUPPLIES 203-752-4214 COLUMBIA INQUIRIES 203-752-4398 FAX 203-752-4109 K OF C CUSTOMER SERVICE 1-800-380-9995 EMAIL columbia@kofc.org INTERNET kofc.org/columbia ________ Membership in the Knights of Columbus is open to men 18 years of age or older who are practical (that is, practicing) Catholics in union with the Holy See. This means that an applicant or member accepts the teaching authority of the Catholic Church on matters of faith and morals, aspires to live in accord with the precepts of the Catholic Church, and is in good standing in the Catholic Church.

________

Copyright Š 2019 All rights reserved ________ ON THE COVER Chaldean Catholic Archbishop Bashar Warda of Erbil blesses an image of Father Michael McGivney during Supreme Knight Carl Anderson’s recent visit to Iraq.

"! " " " "! " " " !! "

! " " "

E D I TO R I A L

APR 19 E 3_14 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 3/14/19 5:49 PM Page 3

BU I L D I N G A B E T T E R WO R L D

Sustaining Hope in Iraq Violence at the hands of Islamic State militants may have subsided, but our support of suffering Christians remains crucial

by Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson “WITHOUT THE KNIGHTS of Columbus, our Christian community would not have survived.” This is what I heard time and again as I visited Iraq in March, meeting with survivors of genocide, refugees, medical personnel, educators and bishops, as well as U.S. and Kurdish government officials.

I came to Iraq at the invitation of the Chaldean Catholic archbishop of Erbil, Bashar Warda — a member of the Order and a good friend.

The day before leaving for Iraq, I had the privilege of a private audience with Pope Francis. He and I discussed the Knights’ efforts to help the persecuted Christians in that region — an issue that is close to his heart. He encouraged us to continue, saying, “A Middle East without Christians is not the Middle East.”

My trip to Iraq provided a concrete opportunity to express our solidarity with these Christians who have suffered so much, to assess the effectiveness of our past support and to understand future needs.

It was equally important to convey to Kurdish government officials that the Christians there are not alone; they have important allies.

I was encouraged to hear from the prime minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government of his administration’s commitment to protect Christians. Without that commitment and effective security, Christians face an uncertain future.

Since 2014, we have spent more than $20 million to help persecuted Christians and others targeted for genocide in the Middle East. Our support has helped provide food, housing,

education and medical care for tens of thousands of displaced people. It has also funded rebuilding the town of Karamles after its liberation from ISIS. We were the driving force behind the 2016 declaration by then-Secretary of State John Kerry that ISIS had committed genocide against religious minorities. We then worked closely with Vice President Mike Pence to update policy so that persecuted minority communities would no longer be overlooked by U.S. government aid.

As part of these efforts, I testified numerous times at congressional hearings, and my testimony became the basis for the Iraq and Syria Genocide Relief and Accountability Act. Congress unanimously passed the bill due in large part to the efforts of Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) and Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.). The act, which was signed into law by the president in December, provides for direct funding of groups targeted for genocide.

Having discussed this issue with Vice President Pence and Mark Green, administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, I know their commitment. But much remains to be done that government cannot do.

That is why we entered into a groundbreaking memorandum of understanding with USAID to build a new government-private sector partnership to help these suffering minorities.

The violent genocide of Christians

by ISIS has been stopped, but we must not allow their despicable goal to be achieved by indifference.

I will remember many things about my trip to Iraq, such as praying with

still suffering Christians displaced from Mosul, one of the oldest Christian cities in the world, and listening to senior churchmen speak about the deteriorating situation of Christians entrusted to their care.

There are hopeful images as well: the opening of McGivney House to provide apartments for young families and care for the elderly; the construction of a new Catholic hospital; and the activity of the newly established Catholic University of Erbil.

These initiatives in housing, education and medical care are building an infrastructure to sustain Christian life.

On a more personal level, I will cherish the painting I received from a young Yazidi boy helped at the medical clinic we support. It depicts a large sun shining down on a church, a mosque and a Yazidi temple, with a large Knights of Columbus emblem in the foreground. Another memory that will not soon fade is praying with young school children at Sts. Peter and Paul the Apostles Parish with the rosaries I presented to them as a gift from Pope Francis.

There are many reasons the Knights of Columbus is so committed to our persecuted brothers and sisters. Yet perhaps it is as simple as this: We want a world where children can paint their pictures with bright colors and can recite their prayers together in peace.

Vivat Jesus!

APRIL 2019

♦ COLUMBIA ♦ 3

APR 19 E 3_14 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 3/14/19 5:49 PM Page 4

L E A R N I N G T H E FA I T H , L I V I N G T H E FA I T H

The Fullness of Mercy Our need for repentance and forgiveness is confirmed, not negated, by Christ’s victory over sin and death

by Supreme Chaplain Archbishop William E. Lori MANY YEARS AGO, I asked a pastor what the Church has in mind for the to host a diocesan celebration of Divine Easter season.

Mercy Sunday in his parish. His answer Paying close attention to the liturgy was disappointing. Even though this itself, we see a different picture. Scrip- heaven. This is why we rejoice even as devotion is endorsed by the Church ture, liturgy and doctrine hold together we continue to seek his mercy. and was avidly promoted by St. John as one dynamic movement the incarnate The Lord has won the victory by his Paul II, he thought that it contrasted Lord’s suffering, death, resurrection and cross and resurrection, and the question with the joy of the Resurrection. “Beg- exaltation in heaven. These events in confronting each of us is whether or not ging for mercy, going to confession — Christ’s life are known as the paschal we will participate in this victory. In all those penitential things belong to mystery; the word “paschal” or “Pasch” other words, will we allow the Lord in Lent,” he said. “At our parish, Easter is refers to the Lord’s passage from death his grace and goodness to engage our a time for rejoicing!” freedom? Will we allow the I sometimes ponder that Lord’s victory to be applied to priest’s response, which was our sinfulness, to wound our Will we allow the Lord’s victory to hearts with love, to reach our inbased on a faulty, and all-toocommon, understanding of the most soul where the darkness of wound our hearts with love, to Easter mystery. It is as if our need sin still lurks? Or will we remain to do penance, seek forgiveness in the face of such disengaged reach our inmost soul where the and ask for mercy vanishes in the tremendous love and allow our darkness of sin still lurks? twinkling of an eye at the end of own love to remain superficial?

Holy Week. With the dawn of On Divine Mercy Sunday, Easter, we might think, comes the Gospel relates how the risen the unconditional love of the Savior, a to life. Jesus, the sinless Lamb of God, Lord appeared before the Apostles and love that affirms us without challenging took upon himself the sins of humanity. gave them the power to forgive sins. us, a love that makes few if any demands He then made the passage from death, There is no better day to go to confeson the way we live our lives. a death that epitomized our sinful con- sion. On Divine Mercy Sunday, the Such a misunderstanding can surface dition, to the glory of the resurrection. Divine Mercy chaplet is prayed in even in the lives of very faithful In his merciful love, he triumphed over common. What a wonderful way to Catholics who take the discipline of sin and death and opened the way of express our need for the Lord’s mercy!

Lent very seriously. For example, a per- mercy for the whole of humanity.

Divine Mercy Sunday also includes euson may have fasted during Lent, but Easter does not presume that we sin- charistic adoration and Benediction. come Easter Sunday and beyond, life ful human beings no longer need God’s What a beautiful opportunity to allow becomes a smorgasbord of self-indul- mercy, but rather that in the crucified the risen Lord, truly and substantially gence. Another may have given up gos- and risen Lord, divine mercy is abun- present in the Most Holy Sacrament of sip, but come Easter Monday, the dirt is dantly available. The Lord loves us with the Altar, to gaze upon us with the look dished. In other words, Easter is seen as a love stronger than sin and death! He of love, the look of mercy! a time for rejoicing that our Lenten has made possible our exodus from the This Easter season, may we know the penance is over, signaling a return to death of sin to the new life of grace fullness of joy because we experience the business as usual. I don’t think that’s and, ultimately, to the fullness of life in fullness of mercy.♦ 4 ♦ COLUMBIA ♦

APRIL 2019

APR 19 E 3_14 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 3/14/19 5:49 PM Page 5

SUPREME CHAPLAIN’S CHALLENGE

A monthly reflection and practical challenge from Supreme Chaplain Archbishop William E. Lori: “And it happened that, while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them.

With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight. Then they said to each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning [within us] while he spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us?’�

(Gospel for April 21, Lk 24:30-32) A “fire in the belly,� passion, a drive — these are some of the ways we talk about others who can summon a deep, inner motivation and who make a difference. My brothers, can we say the same about our inner drive to go deeper in our Church’s teaching? Do our hearts “burn within us� and cause

H O LY FAT H E R ’ S P R AY E R I N T E N T I O N

us to daily familiarize ourselves with the riches of our faith?

Do we have a deep desire to be the kind of men who don’t stand silent when we hear our Church’s teaching denigrated?

In order to lead with faith, we need to know our faith. We can’t give what we don’t have. By God’s grace, may we each become disciples whose “hearts burn within us.�

Challenge by Supreme Chaplain Archbishop William E. Lori: This month, I challenge you to deepen your desire to have a heart “burning within youâ€? for new knowledge of the Church’s teaching and doctrine. Invest five to 10 minutes a day reading the Catechism of the Catholic Church or other resource, listening to a Catholic talk online, or taking advantage of another formation opportunity. Second, I challenge you to talk with a brother in Christ about what you’re learning.♌

C AT H O L I C M A N O F T H E M O N T H

& # &# & %"% #$! % & $

% & " ! & & & # & %"%& % !" &% & $" !&#$! %&#$ % & &#$ & % " $"%!& !$

Blessed Lucien Botovasoa (1908-1947)

For doctors and their humanitarian collaborators in war-torn areas, who risk their lives to save the lives of others.

L I T U RG I C A L C A L E N DA R April 2 St. Francis of Paola, Hermit April 4 St. Isidore, Bishop and Doctor of the Church April 5 St. Vincent Ferrer, Priest April 11 St. Stanislaus, Bishop and Martyr April 13 St. Martin I, Pope and Martyr April 14 Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord April 18 Holy Thursday April 19 Friday of the Passion of the Lord (Good Friday) April 20 Holy Saturday April 21 Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord April 28 Sunday of Divine Mercy April 29 St. Catherine of Siena, Virgin and Doctor of the Church

LUCIEN BOTOVASOA loved to read stories from the lives of the saints, especially the martyrs, to his students in Madagascar. Children in his village, Vohipeno, are now told the story of Botovasoa, a husband and father who became a martyr of faith and charity.

He was born in 1908, the oldest of nine children, and baptized at age 14. A talented student, athlete and musician, he was sent to the Jesuit college. He then returned to Vohipeno, where he married and taught at the parish school. He and his wife, Suzanne, had eight children, five of whom survived infancy.

Known as a “happy man who made others happy,� Botovasoa was devoted to his family, his students and his faith. He directed the parish choir, helped lead a local religious group, and assisted the local priest.

But he felt a desire to offer even more to God. In 1940, after reading the Rule of the Third Order of St. Francis, he became a Franciscan tertiary — dressing in simple khaki clothes and living a spirit of sacrifice, poverty, fasting and prayer.

The political situation in Madagascar became tense in 1946, as Malagasy nationalists began agitating against French colonial rule. Separatists viewed Botovasoa’s deep faith as allegiance to the French government, and the mpanjaka (local ruler), who supported independence, ordered his arrest.

Refusing to flee, Botovasoa entrusted his wife and children to his brother. To the mpanjaka, who ordered his execution, he said, “You will die a Christian, but do not be afraid.�

Botovasoa prayed for his executioners before being beheaded April 17, 1947. Seventeen years later, the mpanjaka was baptized. Lucien Botovasoa was beatified in 2018.♌

APRIL 2019

♌ COLUMBIA ♌ 5

APR 19 E 3_14 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 3/14/19 5:49 PM Page 6

K N I G H T S O F C O LU M BU S N E W S

Pope Francis Receives Supreme Knight in Private Audience Supreme Knight Carl Anderson presents Pope Francis with an icon of St. Jean Vianney during a private audience at the Vatican Feb. 28.

The pope received Anderson on the last day of the Order’s novena for repentance, renewal and rebuilding following the sexual abuse crisis.

The image of the CurÊ of Ars was made by Fabrizio Diomedi and commissioned by the Knights of Columbus as part of another spiritual response to the crisis: the K of Csponsored pilgrimage of the saint’s incorrupt heart throughout the United States, which will continue until early June. During the audience, the pope and the supreme knight discussed other K of C initiatives, including the Order’s support of displaced Christians in the Middle East.

Learning that Anderson was traveling the next day to Erbil, Iraq, Pope Francis asked the supreme knight bring a supply of papal rosaries for the Christians in Erbil as a sign of the Holy Father’s prayerful union with them.

Kevin Roche is pictured with an architectural drawing of the Knights of Columbus headquarters in 1966. When it was completed in 1969, the 320-foot building became the tallest in New Haven, Conn., at that time.

6 ♌ COLUMBIA ♌

APRIL 2019

KEVIN ROCHE, the award-winning architect who designed the Knights of Columbus Supreme Council headquarters in New Haven, Conn., died March 1 at age 96. Roche also contributed to the 1980s restoration of St. Mary’s Church, the birthplace of the Order.

A native of Dublin, Ireland, Roche moved to the United States in 1948 to continue his studies with Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and later worked closely with the renowned architect Eero Saarinen. Roche designed hundreds of distinctive large-scale projects during his distinguished career, including the Oakland Museum, the Ford Foundation headquarters and new wings of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He was awarded the Pritzker Prize, considered his profession’s highest honor, in 1982.

The Knights of Columbus tapped Roche to design a new home for the Supreme Council in 1965. The build-

ing he planned reflected his problemsolving approach to architecture. For example, the four corner towers do more than symbolize the Order’s core principles — they also carry the weight of the building, maximizing work space.

When the Knights of Columbus refurbished St. Mary’s Church as part of the Order’s 1982 centennial celebrations, the Supreme Council again turned to Roche. St. Mary’s was built on a prominent site and a grand scale in the 1870s. At that time, the high cost of construction nearly bankrupted the parish and the planned steeple was never built.

Roche designed a belfry and spire to top the church’s truncated tower.

The steeple was finished in 1984, more than a century after the rest of the building.

Roche is survived by his wife of 55 years, Jane Clair, his five children, and 15 grandchildren.♌

Order Mourns Death of Architect of K of C Headquarters

APR 19 E 3_14 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 3/14/19 5:50 PM Page 7

FAT H E R S F O R G O O D

Four Steps to Beat the Screen Don’t let digital devices overtake your family life

by Soren Johnson

W

e may lament the way young people treat their phones as a body appendage, and how they prefer texting to talking. But to understand today’s teens, “digital natives� of the iGeneration, we must also talk honestly about our own digital habits and assess the example we set through our own attachment to technology. If we hope to limit the screen time of our children, we have to be willing to put down our own phones and laptops to spend time talking, listening and doing things together.

Growing evidence shows that the situation is dire for young people who can mark their coming of age by the model of their first smartphone. The sooner we begin to address the screens of our teens, the better. In fact, limits should be set, and good habits modeled and formed, well before children reach adolescence.

If you don’t believe digital addiction is possible or prevalent, listen to Chamath Palihapitiya, a former senior executive at Facebook: “The short-term, dopamine-driven feedback loops that we have created are destroying how society works.�

Or Chris Anderson, former editor of Wired and a father of five, on the addictive effect of screens: “On the scale between candy and crack cocaine, it’s closer to crack cocaine.�

Now, before getting defensive and expounding upon the positive uses of the web and the smartphone in our pocket, let’s confront some uncomfortable facts.

According to a recent Barna poll, more than half (57 percent) of teens are on their devices four or more hours a day, and 26 percent are on them for eight or more hours. “A typical day for iGen,â€? summarizes one researcher, “involves 2 hours of instant chat, 2 hours streaming and surfing, 1 ½ hours on social media, and another 1 ½ hours playing games on smartphones and consoles.â€?

No wonder that 79 percent of teens, according to another study, “display symptoms of emotional distress when

kept away from their personal electronic devices.�

Boil down the mounting data and you arrive at a simple conclusion: For the health of our children and our families, we need to place reasonable limits on screen time. We fathers, grandfathers, uncles or mentors sense this deep down, yet we may not know what to do.

Here’s a four-step plan: 1. Honestly assess your own media use. Yes or no: Is the smartphone the first thing you reach for in the morning and the last thing you look at before going to bed? Yes or no: Should you do with less screen time in your own life? If so, how can you begin to cut down?

2. If your phone or other digital device has become a sort of idol, you may need a sacramental solution, confessing to a priest and expressing sorrow over the fact that your excessive reliance on devices has taken time and attention from family, loved ones, prayer time and other religious obligations.

3. Given the powerfully addictive nature of technology, you may not be able to “just say no.� Take an incremental approach as you replace bad habits with good ones.

In the coming week, as you focus on reducing your nonessential media use, implement a simple daily practice, such as a Morning Offering prayer, five minutes of Scripture reading, or a nightly examination of conscience. Ask God to give you a renewed love for these ways of spending time with him.

4. Picture your next interaction with an iGeneration young person in your life. Imagine that both of you have a smartphone in your hand. Set a great example by refraining from looking at the phone, and ask him or her to do the same. Make eye contact and let the conversation begin.♌ SOREN JOHNSON is director of evangelization for the Diocese of Arlington and a member of Holy Family Council 6831 in Leesburg, Va.

FIND ADDITIONAL ARTICLES AND RESOURCES FOR CATHOLIC MEN AND THEIR FAMILIES AT FATHERSFORGOOD. ORG .

APRIL 2019

♌ COLUMBIA ♌ 7

APR 19 E 3_14 FINAL2.qxp_Mar E 12 3/15/19 10:38 AM Page 8

The Resurrection of the Flying Fathers Canadian priests revive the legendary hockey team that plays for charity and good cheer

by Megan Hoegler

T

hey were called the Harlem Globetrotters of hockey.

From getting pies in the face to playing with tiny sticks as “penance” for penalties, the Flying Fathers combined crowd-pleasing antics with real skills on the ice.

Unlike the Globetrotters, however, the Flying Fathers wore a second uniform as well — the black clerics and Roman collars 8 ♦ COLUMBIA ♦

APRIL 2019

of Catholic priests. During their heyday in the 1960s and 70s, they played across North America and Europe, bringing communities together and raising millions of dollars for good causes.

Now, nearly a decade after the Flying Fathers left the ice, the team has been brought back to life. Led by Father John Perdue, 33, the vocation director for the Diocese of Peterborough,

APR 19 E 3_14 FINAL2.qxp_Mar E 12 3/15/19 10:38 AM Page 9

Can hockey make the world better? The players and managers of the Flying Fathers think so. From left, Father Paul Patrick, Father John Perdue, Sister Mary Catherine Perdue (aka Sister Mary Shooter) and Father David Berezowski hit the ice to help revive the legendary Canadian charity team. Frank Quinn, second from right, managed the original team for decades; Barrie Shultz manages the new team.

Ontario, a new troupe of priests have laced up their skates to fill arenas with laughter and raise funds for charity.

The roster is filled with members of the Knights of Columbus, and their games typically feature the “episcopal ordination� of the first scorer, rule-breaking shenanigans by Sister Mary Shooter, the hockey-playing nun, and other slapstick surprises. “There’s been such a confluence of positivity in this revival,� said Father Perdue. “From the pure joy and athleticism involved, to the laity’s desire for a positive image of the priesthood, to the potential for attracting young vocations, God’s hand seems to be at play here.�

A TRADITION REBORN Les Costello, left wing of the Stanley Cup-winning Toronto Maple Leafs, shocked the sports world in 1950 when he entered the seminary at age 22. While serving as a parish priest

in northern Ontario, Father Costello cofounded the Flying Fathers Hockey Club in 1963 with Father Brian McKee, also a talented athlete, who was a member of North Bay (Ontario) Council 1007.

They started the club to raise money for a boy in North Bay who risked losing his vision if he did not receive costly eye surgery. “The boy was being raised by a single mother, and money was tight,� recalled Frank Quinn, 73, the Flying Fathers’ longtime general manager and a member of Ernest J. Wolff Council 798 in Peterborough. “They raised $5,000, which back then was a fortune.�

The surgery was a success, but the team did not stop there.

Over the next 40 years, they played more than 900 games across Canada, the United States and Europe, netting more than $4 million for local and national charities, parishes and foundations.

APRIL 2019

♌ COLUMBIA ♌ 9

APR 19 E 3_14 FINAL3.qxp_Mar E 12 3/15/19 11:31 AM Page 10

THE FLYING FATHERS – 2019 ROSTER Father Justin Bertrand, 28 (#00, goalie) Diocese of Pembroke Fort-Coulonge (Québec) Council 7221

Father John MacPherson, 55 (#3, defense) Archdiocese of Halifax-Yarmouth, Nova Scotia Chaplain of Father Holden Council 5030 in Kentville and Father Don Campbell Council 11526 in Windsor (also played with Flying Fathers 1988-2008) Father Michael Goring, 46 (#26, defense) Diocese of Pembroke St. Andrew’s Council 15945 in Killaloe, Ontario

Father David Berezowski, 62 (#27, defense) Military Ordinariate of Canada Father Terence FitzPatrick Council 7676 in Chesterville, Ontario (chaplain) (also played with Flying Fathers 1996-2007)

Father Stephen Helferty, 30 (#89, defense) Diocese of Pembroke Member of Renfrew (Ontario) Council 1916 Father Tavis Goski, 30 (#4, forward) Archdiocese of Ottawa Holy Cross Council 10617 in Ottawa Father Kris Schmidt, 33 (#6, forward) Archdiocese of Edmonton Father Duncan MacDonnell Council 6363 in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta

Father John Perdue, 33 (#8, forward) Diocese of Peterborough St. Alphonsus Council 11086 in Peterborough Father Daniel Janulewicz, OMI, 38 (#10, forward) Congregation of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate Fathers A and J Kulawy Council 9790 in Winnipeg, Manitoba

Father Paul Patrick, OMI, 32 (#13, forward and goalie) Associate pastor of St. Therese Parish and chaplain of St. Therese Council 11709 in Courtice, Ontario

Father Matthew McCarthy, 54 (#19, forward) Archdiocese of Toronto Holy Redeemer Council 9544 in Ottawa

Father James Beanish, 59 (#66, forward) Diocese of Pembroke Bishop N.Z. Lorrain Council 1531 in Pembroke 10 ♦ C O L U M B I A ♦

APRIL 2019

The Flying Fathers drew crowds wherever they went, and once enticed Peanuts creator and hockey aficionado Charles Schulz onto the ice, where he received a pie in the face. He enjoyed it so much that he asked for another.

In the 1980s, the team became such a sensation that Francis Ford Coppola’s Zoetrope Studios wanted to make a film out of their story. Wayne Gretzky even auditioned for a role, but the project eventually fizzled.

Father Costello continued playing into his 70s. He died tragically in 2002 at 74 after falling and hitting his head on the ice during a Flying Fathers game.

“I was devastated, but it’s a comfort knowing Father Les died doing what he loved — raising money for charity, serving the Lord and playing the game,” said Quinn. “What a way to go.” The turnout for Costello’s funeral was so large that it had to be held in a hockey arena.

With Father Costello no longer on the roster and more and more priests retiring, the Flying Fathers finally ran out of steam, playing their final game in 2008. Quinn packed up the old jerseys and memorabilia.

A retired police officer, Quinn kept busy with his K of C council and served as an usher at St. Peter in Chains Church in Peterborough. It was there that he met Father John Perdue, a young priest who shared Quinn’s passion for hockey.

“One day, Frank and I started talking about the Flying Fathers, and he mentioned he used to be their general manager,” said Father Perdue, a two-time junior hockey champion. “He still had the copyrights to the name, the old jerseys and original flyers. Basically Frank was what was left of the Flying Fathers.”

With Quinn’s blessing, Father Perdue reached out to seminary friends and soon had a dozen new priests donning the Flying Fathers jersey. Their first game, which took place January 2018, was a trial run to gauge community interest.

The Flying Fathers sold out a 600-seat arena in Ennismore, Ontario, and won the game 13-6. All proceeds went toward the vocation office of the Diocese of Peterborough.

“It ended up being a huge success,” said Father Perdue, who is a member of St. Alphonsus Council 11086 in Peterborough.

“People were talking about the game for months. I had parishioners telling me how much fun their children had at the game and how cool it was to see their priest play hockey.”

The Flying Fathers continued their win streak into the 2019 season. They played three games in February — in Pembroke and Parry Sound, Ontario, and Fort-Coulonge, Québec — and won them all (thanks, in large part, to a “touchdown” they scored midway through each game when a football mysteriously materialized on the ice).

Even better, they raised more than $10,000 for local parishes, schools, and organizations such as a hospice center, a pregnancy support center, long-term care homes and Habitat for Humanity.

“We are now playing on a national level,” said Father Perdue. “We have guys on the team from Edmonton all the way to Halifax. We want to play across Canada and even internationally if we can.”

APR 19 E 3_14 FINAL2.qxp_Mar E 12 3/15/19 10:54 AM Page 11

The new Flying Fathers continue the original team’s tradition of “ordaining� the game’s first scorer as a bishop. In Parry Sound, Ontario, on Feb. 20, a member of the opposing team, the Eager Beavers, received the honor.

‘FOR A BETTER WORLD’ The Flying Fathers team is made up of a mix of young priests and original Flying Fathers, including Father John MacPherson, 55, who played from 1988 to 2008. “We have a great dynamic going between the older original players and the new young guys,� said MacPherson, who serves as chaplain of Father Holden Council 5030 in Kentville, Nova Scotia.

One new player is Father Kris Schmidt, 33, a priest in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, who flew in for the games with the permission of his bishop.

“It was a great three days of hockey and getting to know my fellow priests,� said Father Schmidt, who is a member of Father Duncan MacDonnell Council 6363 in Fort Saskatchewan. “Initially I thought I’d have to wait and see if the Flying Fathers came out west, so I feel incredibly blessed to have gotten to play with them this year.�

In addition to raising money for charity, the games have “fostered a spirit of priestly fraternity,� Father Perdue said. “Sometimes we don’t get to spend as much time as we’d like with our fellow priest friends.�

APRIL 2019

♌ C O L U M B I A ♌ 11

APR 19 E 3_14 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 3/14/19 5:51 PM Page 12

Father Perdue also gets to spend time with his sister, a member of the Sisters of Our Lady Immaculate in Cambridge, Ontario. Sister Mary Catherine Perdue is better known by her stage name, Sister Mary Shooter, as she brings back one of the classic antics of the original Flying Fathers. “She appears on the ice after the ref awards a penalty and skates down from center ice in her habit to score a goal,� Father Perdue explained.

Growing up, both of them spent a lot of time at the local rink. “I would go to hockey practice, and she would go to figure skating practice,� said Father Perdue. “She also took drama in school, so she has this animated flair about her. We couldn’t ask for a better Sister Mary Shooter.�

Among the Fathers’ other guest players is Smitty the Clown, who is known to deliver an occasional pie to the face. “We also have the Flying Monk, who shows off his hockey skills only to have his cloak pulled off to reveal his Montreal Canadiens pajamas,� noted Father MacPherson.

Pranks and showmanship aside, Quinn sees the team as a sign of hope in the Church. Ten years ago, he could not find any young priests to play; today, thanks to Perdue’s connections and 12 ♌ C O L U M B I A ♌

APRIL 2019

a pope whose voice resonated with Catholic youth, he has been pleasantly surprised by the team’s resurgence. “We have some great guys in their late 20s, early 30s,� said Quinn. “I think we have John Paul II to thank for that. I remember him speaking at World Youth Day [in Toronto] and saying, ‘God loves you.’ All the young people cheered, but then he wagged that little finger of his at them and said, ‘Yes, but God also expects a lot from you.’�

Father Justin Bertrand, 28, who is a priest in Fort-Coulonge, QuĂŠbec, sees playing for the new Flying Fathers as part of his vocation. “Our motto is playing and praying for a better world,â€? said Father Bertrand, a member of Fort-Coulonge Council 7221. “Father Les used to say, ‘A Flying Fathers game is a success when you see a grandfather bouncing his grandson on his knee and they are both laughing and smiling. ‌ Save the family and you save the world.’ The Church, and the world, needs more good news. That’s why this is a beautiful thing to do.â€?♌ MEGAN HOEGLER is a freelance writer based in Toronto.

From left: Teammates Father Berezowski, Father Perdue and Father Patrick share a laugh at the rink. • An archival photo depicts “Sister Mary Shooterâ€? skating during a Flying Fathers game. Father Les Costello, behind sister in a hat, was ringleader of the original Flying Fathers for decades. • Father Daniel Janulewicz takes a pie to the face during the game in Parry Sound last February.

APR 19 E 3_14 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 3/14/19 5:51 PM Page 13

FORGIVENESS CHANGES THE FUTURE A Catholic humanitarian from Northern Ireland shares how he overcame tragedy and chose love over anger

by Richard Moore, with Columbia staff

R

SUNDAY, BLOODY SUNDAY ichard Moore was just a 10-yearI grew up in a place called the Creggan old kid excited to be out of school estate in Derry. I was born in 1961, on a sunny afternoon. He wasn’t and the conflict in Northern Ireland thinking too much about the British didn’t really start until 1968-69, so I soldiers stationed nearby as he raced remember the Creggan and Derry as a along the football pitch with his very peaceful and beautiful place to friends in May 1972. To a boy in live. And then what seemed overnight Derry, Northern Ireland — the site of to me, everything changed. a recent massacre of protesters that beRight outside our front door was came known as “Bloody Sunday” — like a war zone; there were shootings, soldiers had become part of the backbombings, riots on a daily basis. The drop of life. This time, however, a solCreggan was up on a hill, so you could dier at the army post fired a shot. A look down and see the rioters throwing rubber bullet hit Moore in the face, leaving him permanently blind. stones at the police station or the milDespite the challenges, Moore has itary or the smoke billowing up in the led a happy, fruitful life. He graduated sky from a burned-out building or a from college, married and raised a famhijacked vehicle; you could see the ily. Today, he is a musician, businessmilitary across the street with their helman and philanthropist. He founded mets, their visors, their rifles.

Richard Moore’s testimony is featured in the Children in Crossfire, a nonprofit that I remember the morning of Bloody documentary John Paul II in Ireland: A helps families in Ethiopia and Tanzania Sunday in late January 1972. At that Plea for Peace, which tells the story of how break the cycle of poverty through edstage, protest marches were somethe pope sowed the seeds for peace and helped end ucation and economic opportunities thing regular, and I remember being the conflict in Northern Ireland. For more in(childrenincrossfire.org). out in the street that morning watchformation, visit jp2inireland.com.

Moore credits his happiness in large ing everybody making their way to part to his parents’ faith and love, a the march. I didn’t go to it that day, pivotal encounter he had with Pope John Paul II 40 years but many of my family did. ago, in 1979, and his choice to forgive the soldier who shot When I went home for the night, my mother was crying and him. He spoke with the Knights of Columbus about his ex- everybody was sitting in the living room. The television was periences, which are also highlighted in the documentary there and the news was coming in about so many people dead John Paul II in Ireland: A Plea for Peace. in Derry, shot dead by the British army. My Uncle Gerard had APRIL 2019

♦ C O L U M B I A ♦ 13

APR 19 E 3_14 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 3/14/19 5:51 PM Page 14

been shot dead that day, and my mother had just got the news.

So it was a very tense, sad and scary time.

About three months later, I got out of school as normal, and my friends and I began to race along the bottom of the school playground. As we did so, we had to pass this British army lookout post. I was about 10 feet away from it when a soldier fired off a rubber bullet. The rubber bullet hit me on the bridge of my nose; I lost my right eye and I was left completely blind in my left eye.

The next thing I remember, I was lying on the school refectory table. My music teacher, Mr. Giles Doherty, found me lying on the ground, and he carried me into the school refectory. And I remember him asking me my name; he knew me very well, but he wasn’t able to identify me because of the extent of the injuries. My nose was completely flattened, my eyeballs were down on my cheekbones, and my face was just a bloody mess.

cession of the youth Mass.” I couldn’t believe it, but it was nothing compared to the excitement of my mother. When I told her, it was like the greatest honor that ever could be bestowed upon anybody.

That day I was seated at the foot of the altar. And I could hear singing from the half a million young people there.

When the time came for me to walk up, I was very nervous.

My girlfriend then, Rita — she is my wife now — was with me as well, and as I began to go up the steps, I could feel the wind; I had this sense of being up very high. I could hear my name being announced, and then I met the pope, and he gave me a hug. It was a very brief moment, but it was like time had stopped. The pope gave me a hug, and somebody later said he had tears in his eyes.

I will never be able to overexaggerate the significance of that embrace. The older I get, the more I realize how important that was. The fact that I was singled out in that way gave me a responsibility, I think. The work that I do today, my attitude toward life and my desire to make a difference in the world, I think in many ways has all been rooted in my faith and that experience of meeting John Paul.

WITNESS OF FAITH AND LOVE My parents were completely and utterly brokenhearted. They were two very devout Catholics; they went to Mass every single day of their life. They didn’t support violence in any way, and despite THE CIRCLE OF FORGIVENESS their best efforts of avoiding the TrouIn my young adult years, I began to bles, the Troubles found us. And I think about my blindness, about why THINK THE REASON suppose they had every cause to be I’m so happy and contented, and I reangry, but they weren’t. alized that one very significant reason I NEVER EXPERIENCED There was a lot of hurt; there were was because I had no anger or no haa lot of tears. I remember at night tred. Anger is a self-destructive emoANGER WAS BECAUSE OF being in my bed, and my mother tion; it destroys you from the inside would think I was sleeping, and she out, and I didn’t have that.

MY PARENTS, BECAUSE would kneel down beside my bed and Many years after that I began to OF THEIR WITNESS.” start to cry. And she’d be pleading think about forgiveness. Forgiveness is with God, saying things like “God, first and foremost a gift that you give look at him, he is only a 10-year-old to yourself. Forget about the soldier boy. Please give him back his eyewho blinded me; if he wants my forsight.” And then I would pretend to wake up and she would giveness, he has it, but that’s not what’s important. What’s imkind of pull herself together. But I never heard my mother or portant for my peace of mind is that I forgive him. So father say an angry word. forgiveness isn’t about the perpetrator; it’s about yourself.

I remember one time hearing one of my older brothers say The second thing that I realized about forgiveness is it doesto my mother, “They murdered my Uncle Gerard; they n’t change the past, but it does change the future. I was able blinded Richard; it’s time to get our own back.” And my to get through my life in a happy way because I wasn’t angry mother said to him, “If you want to help Richard, go in there and I forgave that soldier. and help Richard, but you’re not helping Richard by hurting I never knew the soldier’s name until 33 years after I was somebody else.” So, I think the reason I never experienced shot. His name is Charles, and I met him in 2006. It’s one anger was because of my parents, because of their witness, thing to feel forgiveness; it’s another thing to be able to tell their faith and their love. the person you forgive them. And what I experienced that day is almost beyond words. I realized it is possible to meet someA LIFE-CHANGING EMBRACE body that hurt you so much and to actually like them and to When it was announced that John Paul II was coming to care about them.

Ireland in 1979, there was an enormous excitement among When I think about John Paul being shot, and meeting and Catholics. forgiving the guy who shot him, in my mind there’s a little conAnd then I got a phone call from my parish priest, Father nection there between me and the pope. He met the man who Jimmy Doherty: “Richard, they want you to meet the pope shot him; I met the man who shot me, and I met John Paul. I in Galway; they want you to take part in the offertory pro- just think there’s a circle of events there that connects us.♦

“I

14 ♦ C O L U M B I A ♦

APRIL 2019

APR 19 E 3_14 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 3/14/19 5:51 PM Page 15

Richard Moore (center) meets in 2007 with the Dalai Lama (left) and Charles Inness, the British soldier whose rubber bullet blinded him. The Dalai Lama is the patron of Moore’s charity, Children in Crossfire, and a personal friend. • Moore is pictured as a child, before and after the rubber bullet took his sight at age 10.

APRIL 2019

♌ C O L U M B I A ♌ 15

APR 19 E 3_14 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 3/14/19 5:52 PM Page 16

Supreme Knight Carl Anderson stands outside the newly completed McGivney House with Chaldean Catholic Archbishop Bashar Warda of Erbil, Iraq.

The church-run apartment building was constructed with support from the Order to serve displaced families and the elderly.

16 ♌ C O L U M B I A ♌

APRIL 2019

APR 19 E 3_14 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 3/14/19 5:52 PM Page 17

PRESERVING A

CHRISTIAN PRESENCE The supreme knight visits Iraq as the Order’s commitment to support persecuted Christians continues

by Columbia staff | photos by Tamino Petelinsek APRIL 2019

♦ C O L U M B I A ♦ 17

APR 19 E 3_14 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 3/14/19 5:54 PM Page 18

M

cGivney House in Erbil, Iraq, recently received a finishing touch: an image of its namesake.

Sprinkling holy water with an olive branch, Chaldean Catholic Archbishop Bashar Warda of Erbil blessed an image of Venerable Michael McGivney and hung it in the facility’s chapel during a visit from Supreme Knight Carl Anderson March 1-2.

The supreme knight then spoke to a group of displaced Christians gathered in the chapel.

“St. Ignatius of Antioch said, ‘I wish not merely to be called Christian, but also to be Christian,’” he noted. “Those of us from other places in the world understand that you are teaching the world how to be a Christian. Your faith, your courage, your determination, and even your suffering is a witness that many, many people of other countries see.”

Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq, received tens of thousands of Christians and other religious 18 ♦ C O L U M B I A ♦

APRIL 2019

minorities fleeing persecution by Islamic State militants in 2014. To care for these displaced people, the Archdiocese of Erbil and its partners have had to address many different needs, including food, housing, education and health care.

During his visit to Erbil, Supreme Knight Anderson met with Church leaders as well as Kurdish and U.S. government officials to discuss the ongoing needs of Christians in Iraq and how the Order can continue its support.

In these meetings, including one with the prime minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Nechirvan Barzani, the supreme knight emphasized the need to provide Christians and other religious minorities with protection and security. Towns throughout the Nineveh Plains region have been liberated from ISIS, allowing some people to return and rebuild, but militia groups now pose a grave threat.

Anderson met with bishops and priests from Mosul and

APR 19 E 3_14 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 3/14/19 5:55 PM Page 19

Above: Supreme Knight Anderson, religious education students and local Church leaders stand with a tapestry depicting Our Lady Help of Persecuted Christians, which was given to Sts. Peter and Paul Chaldean Catholic Church in Erbil.

Opposite page, clockwise from top left: Archbishop Warda, Supreme Knight Anderson, Chaldean Catholic Archbishop Najib Mikhael Moussa of Mosul, Bishop Mikha Pola Maqdassi of Alqosh, Syriac Orthodox bishop Mor Nicodemus Daoud Sharaf of Mosul, Father Samer Sorish and Father Thabet Habib Yousif discuss the needs of the Church in Iraq. • The supreme knight hands out rosaries, which were given to him by Pope Francis to personally deliver to Christians in Erbil. • Father Thabet and Archbishop Moussa accept a chalice and icon, respectively, from the supreme knight. The chalice, a gift to Father Thabet’s parish, is inscribed: “Presented to Mar Addai Church, Karamles, Nineveh Region, Iraq, with gratitude for your courageous witness.” • Members of the STEP-IN medical team in Erbil, led by Dr. Zuzana Ulman (in white), unload medical supplies from the group’s van. elsewhere in Iraq, as well as with residents of Christian towns including Karamles, where hundreds of families have returned with support from the Order.

He also visited several schools and churches to greet and pray with students and families living in Erbil. Introducing him and the Knights of Columbus to a group of high school students, Archbishop Warda explained in Arabic, “The person who established this brotherhood is Father McGivney, whose aim was to bring the men close to the Church so they can be good Christians, good husbands and good fathers. These people were very supportive of us, especially when our families were facing displacement.”

He added, “We want to express our thanks to them,” and encouraged the students to “pray the rosary for this fraternity.”

Throughout the visit, Supreme Knight Anderson saw firsthand several projects supported by the Knights of Columbus,

including the STEP-IN medical clinics, which have served displaced Christian and Yazidi families since 2014, and the recently completed McGivney House.

McGivney House will soon provide 120 high-quality, rentfree apartments for young families in order to help them to stay in the region. On the first floor of the church-run building is the Pope Francis Venerable Care Home, which will accommodate 40 elderly residents.

“We truly bless the Knights of Columbus for their remarkable strength and support,” Archbishop Warda said. “We very much appreciate and bless their continued contributions, generosity in prayers and their fervent support for the Christians of Iraq.”

For more details on the latest K of C support of Middle Eastern Christians and how you or your council can help, visit christiansatrisk.org.♦ APRIL 2019

♦ C O L U M B I A ♦ 19

APR 19 E 3_14 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 3/14/19 5:55 PM Page 20

‘According to Your Word’ The Order cosponsors a daylong catechetical program at World Youth Day 2019 in Panama

by Andrew Fowler 20 ♦ C O L U M B I A ♦

APRIL 2019

APR 19 E 3_14 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 3/18/19 10:51 AM Page 21

THE ‘NOW OF GOD’ YOU, DEAR YOUNG PEOPLE, are not the future. We like to say, “you are the future.� No, you are the present.

You are not the future of God; you young people are the now of God. He invites you and calls you in your communities and cities to go out and find your grandparents, your elders; to stand up and with them to speak out and realize the dream that the Lord has dreamed for you.

Not tomorrow, now, for wherever your treasure is now, there will your heart also be. ‌ For Jesus, there is no “meantime,â€? but only a merciful love that wants to enter into and win over our hearts. He wants to be our treasure, because Jesus is not a “meantime,â€? an interval in life or a passing fad; he is generous love that invites us to entrust ourselves. ‌ In a special way throughout these days, Mary’s fiat has been whispering like a kind of music in the background.

She not only believed in God and in his promises as something possible, she believed God himself and dared to say “yes� to taking part in this now of the Lord. She felt she had a mission; she fell in love and that decided everything.

May you feel that you have a mission, may you fall in love; the Lord will decide everything. — excerpted from Pope Francis’ homily at the final Mass of World Youth Day 2019. More than a half million people attended the Mass, which took place Jan. 27 at Campo San Juan Pablo II (St. John Paul II Field) in Panama City.

Pope Francis is greeted by flag-waving pilgrims as he arrives for the World Youth Day vigil at Campo San Juan Pablo II Jan. 26.

S

hortly before leaving Panama City, Pope Francis thanked the thousands of volunteers who made World Youth Day 2019 possible, comparing their work to the Gospel miracle of the loaves and fishes. “You could have easily chosen to do other things, but you wanted to be involved, to give your best to making possible the miracle of the multiplication, not only of loaves, but also hope,� he said.

Knights of Columbus from three Panamanian councils were among those multiplying hope by helping to organize the Fiat Festival, the largest catechetical program for English speakers at World Youth Day (WYD) 2019. The Jan. 23 event was cosponsored by the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS), the Knights of Columbus and the

U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Javier MartĂ­nez, financial secretary of Nuestra SeĂąora de Guadalupe Council 16981 in Panama City, said the Knights were honored to have a role in welcoming the world to his country and to witness the energy of the young pilgrims. “What an opportunity,â€? said MartĂ­nez, “to be a council in this position and part of a big international event.â€?

The Knights of Columbus has a long history of sponsoring programming at World Youth Days, which were established

by Pope John Paul II as a way for young people from around the globe to come together and celebrate their Catholic faith.

The international gathering, comprising nearly a week of faithfilled events, has been held every two to three years since 1987.

Pope Francis chose as the theme for WYD 2019 Mary’s APRIL 2019

♌ C O L U M B I A ♌ 21

PILGRIM KNIGHTS Knights of Columbus who participated in World Youth Day 2019 speak about the role the Order has played in their lives Marcus James, 21, grand knight of St. Thomas Aquinas Council 16464 at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas, traveled to Panama with FOCUS, combining WYD events with a mission trip to a small rural town. Serving at the altar during the Fiat Festival’s eucharistic adoration was a highlight of his World Youth Day experience. “To be able to bring Christ among his people like that and to see their reactions was awesome,â€? said James, who credits the Order with helping him and other men turn faith into action. “Men want to [serve] the Church but a lot of them haven’t really figured out how,â€? he said. “I think the Knights fill that role. ‌ If it weren’t for the Knights, I probably wouldn’t be on this mission right now.â€?

Daniel Lang, 21, deputy grand knight of University of Nevada Council 16207 in Reno, made it to Panama with help from his council, which raised funds for him to travel with a group from the Diocese of Reno. “They wanted this for me because they knew this could help me,� said Lang, who is discerning a religious vocation. Lang joined the Order at age 18 after noticing the Knights’ involvement in his parish. He values the friendship and community he finds in the Order: “No matter what city I go to, I find people who are like

me and share the same values of charity, unity, fraternity and patriotism.�

Drew Dillingham, 28, a member of Potomac Council 43 in Washington, D.C., spoke at the Fiat Festival with his wife, Kim, about the vocation of marriage. The couple first met in October 2014 at the Saint John Paul II National Shrine, during the opening of the permanent exhibit on the life of the pope.

They were married two years later and now have a 1-year-old daughter. “When I think of Church institutions that are doing the most to evangelize lives, the Knights and FOCUS are at the top of the list,� said Dillingham. “I would encourage everyone to learn more about them and to get involved.�

Max Korzan, 26, a member of St. Maximilian Kolbe Council 16634 in Silver Spring, Md., organized and led a group from Washington, D.C., and Maryland to Panama, recruiting some pilgrims from young adult events at the Saint John Paul II National Shrine.

What distinguishes the Knights from other Catholic groups, Korzan said, is the fraternity: “I’m now realizing, thanks to the Knights of Columbus, what it really means to be a man, what it means to be Catholic and to take part in that. As soon as you start digging, you realize just how much they do and how important the Order is.� — reported by Andrew Fowler

Drew Dillingham and his wife, Kim, speak about marriage at the Fiat Festival.

Drew, a member of Potomac Council 433 in Washington, D.C., met Kim at the Saint John Paul II National Shrine in 2014.

22 ♌ C O L U M B I A ♌

APRIL 2019

fiat, her “yes� to God at the Annunciation: “I am the servant of the Lord.

May it be done to me according to your word� (Lk 1:38).

The Knights in Panama were contacted several years ago by FOCUS to begin planning the Fiat Festival event. “We said, ‘You can count on us,’� recalled Luis Anderson, a member of Panama Balboa Council 1371. “We’ve been grateful to be a part of this, to be able to participate, to do whatever we can to make this a success.�

The Order first expanded to Panama in 1909, when Council 1371 was established in Panama City. The jurisdiction has seen renewed growth in recent years with the formation of two new councils, Nuestra Seùora de Guadalupe Council 16981 in 2017 and Basilica Don Bosco Council 17054 in 2018. When the Catholic youth of the world aren’t on their doorstep, the Panamanian Knights are busy raising money for local and international charities, providing scholarships, renovating their parishes, and assisting the elderly.

In preparation for World Youth Day, the Knights helped FOCUS find production crews to set up the festival, which took place at the Figali Convention Center in Panama City. About 50 members then volunteered throughout the eight-hour event, assisting with security and crowd management.

Young pilgrims packed the indoor sports arena, which seats more than 10,000, and the festival included music, discussion panels and a number of speakers who reflected on the theme of this year’s World Youth Day. Many college Knights and other members of the Order participated in the event as pilgrims or presenters (see sidebar).

Curtis Martin, founder of FOCUS and a member of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen Council 7502 in Northglenn, Colo., encouraged the young people to bravely accept God’s mission for them, knowing that “God doesn’t make your life better; he makes it bigger.�

Sister Bethany Madonna of the Sisters of Life shared her personal vocation story and told the audience that

APR 19 E 3_14 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 3/14/19 5:56 PM Page 22

APR 19 E 3_14 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 3/14/19 5:56 PM Page 23

Knights from Panama, the United States and Canada gather at the Fiat Festival. Three councils in Panama City helped plan and execute the festival, the largest event for English speakers at World Youth Day 2019. • Bishop Robert Barron of Los Angeles (left) and a packed convention center pray before the Eucharist at the culmination of the Fiat Festival.

each person there had been given a fiat before he or she was born: “God the Father spoke a fiat over you. He said, ‘Let there be you.’�

Auxiliary Bishop Robert Barron of Los Angeles, founder of Word on Fire Catholic Ministries, focused his remarks on one’s identity in Christ. “The Christian spiritual life never begins with our achievements,� he said. “It never begins with our excellence. It begins with the invasion of grace. You find out what God has planned for you, [and] you are going to find life and life to the full.�

The daylong event culminated with a eucharistic procession throughout the arena, followed by adoration and Benediction led by Cardinal Seån O’Malley, archbishop of Boston.

At the conclusion of the festival, the local Knights were simply grateful for the chance to help.

Rodrigo de la Guardia, a member of Council 16981, said, “I have to give people everything that I can, because I am grateful to God. That’s why I’m here.â€?♌ ANDREW FOWLER is a content producer for the Knights of Columbus Corporate Communications Department.

APRIL 2019

♌ C O L U M B I A ♌ 23

EASTER FIRE Christ’s victory over death empowers the Church to heal and transform the world through the Holy Spirit

by Mary Healy 24 ♦ C O L U M B I A ♦

APRIL 2019

APR 19 E 3_14 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 3/14/19 5:56 PM Page 24

APR 19 E 3_14 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 3/14/19 5:56 PM Page 25

I

magine Jesus’ disciples, huddled together in gloom and discouragement, when Mary Magdalene came bursting into the room at the break of dawn with the cry, “He is alive! He is risen from the dead!” For the early Christians, this joyous proclamation became the very heart of the Good News that their hearts burned to tell the whole world. They understood — as modern people often fail to grasp — that if Jesus is truly risen from the dead, that fact changes everything.

The ancient world knew well that death is the most indisputable fact of human existence. The human mortality rate is, after all, 100 percent. Rich and poor, strong and weak, good and evil alike, all eventually go down into the grave together, leaving behind all their loved ones, earthly possessions, hopes, dreams and plans.

The early Christians therefore recognized that if Jesus has risen from the grave, then it is not just a lovely miracle that happened to one person. Nor is it a resuscitation to earthly life like that of Lazarus, who would have to die again. No, in Jesus, the power of death has been broken. “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” (1 Cor 15:55). The whole trajectory of human sin, sorrow, suffering and condemnation has been turned around. The curse has been reversed.

with a courage, missionary zeal and supernatural power that they had never known before.

Immediately, they began to proclaim the Gospel in the same way that Jesus had: not only with words, but with mighty deeds that demonstrated the truth of the words. They healed the sick, liberated those oppressed by demons, brought unity where there had been division, brought joy where there had been sorrow, and brought the light of truth where there had been idolatry and spiritual darkness.

And the Apostles, through the sacraments, brought the forgiveness of sins and the birth of new citizens of the kingdom in baptism.

It is no wonder that the Good News spread like wildfire across the ancient world and the Church grew exponentially, even during periods of severe persecution. The kingdom of God was visibly breaking in.

OUTPOSTS OF THE KINGDOM Our goal in life is not only to get to heaven one day; rather, we are also called to extend the presence of the kingdom of heaven on earth.

We need to draw upon that same power of the Holy Spirit with which Jesus himself was anointed during his earthly ministry.

As disciples of Christ, our works of prayer, charity, and virtue, when motivated by the conviction that Jesus is truly THE OPEN HEAVENS alive, are acts that bear witness to the In Jesus’ own earthly life there was a power of Christ’s resurrection in the remarkable foreshadowing that helps ilN JESUS, THE POWER world. Every Catholic family, parish and luminate what would occur in his resurorganization is meant to be an “outpost rection. At the beginning of his public OF DEATH HAS BEEN of heaven,” where all those involved can ministry, Jesus was baptized in the Jordan experience something of the fearlessness, River by John. Even though John’s bapBROKEN. THE CURSE HAS joy and hope that come from knowing tism was a “baptism of repentance for the BEEN REVERSED.” Jesus’ victory over death. Indeed, the forgiveness of sins” (Lk 3:3), Jesus willKnights of Columbus, through its various ingly submitted to it as an act of proinitiatives — prayer campaigns, serving found humility and obedience to the those in need, defending religious liberty, Father. His decision to identify totally advocating for Christians at risk, and prowith sinners meant that ultimately he would have to go to the cross. Indeed, his going down into the tecting the rights of the vulnerable — are directly involved in takwater prefigured his death; Jesus later speaks of his death as a “bap- ing ground from the dominion of darkness and extending the presence of the kingdom of God on earth. tism” (Lk 12:50).

Jesus foretold that such power would be at work in the Church Jesus’ coming up from the water, likewise, prefigured his coming up from the grave. What happened when he came up from the when he said to Peter, “I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I water? He was “praying, the heavens were opened, and the Holy will build my church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail Spirit descended upon him” in the form of a dove (Lk 3:21-22). It against it” (Mt 16:18). Note that gates are not offensive weapons is noteworthy that the Gospel does not say that heaven then closed but defensive. Jesus is not saying that the Church would flee before back up again. The implication is that Jesus lived under an “open the power of hell but ultimately be rescued. No, the Church is on heaven.” Indeed, his mission was to bring heaven to earth. Jesus, an offensive campaign against sin, Satan and death. Even Hades in his human nature, had access to all the grace, power, mercy, itself (the netherworld or realm of the dead) will not be able to healings and blessings of heaven, and he distributed them on earth. withstand the witness of the disciples of Jesus, walking in the vicFrom that day, he was “filled with the Holy Spirit” and went “in tory of his resurrection. Its gates will be broken down and its capthe power of the Spirit” to begin his mission of making the king- tives liberated.♦ dom of heaven present on earth (Lk 4:1,14).

What occurred at Jesus’ baptism parallels what would later hap- MARY HEALY is a professor of Scripture at Sacred Heart Major pen to the whole Church, gathered in the upper room after Jesus’ Seminary in Detroit and the author of Healing: Bringing the Gift ascension: As 120 disciples, including Mary and the Twelve, were of God’s Mercy to the World (Our Sunday Visitor, 2015). In 2014, praying, “a sound came from heaven… and they were all filled she was appointed as one of the first three women ever to serve on with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:2-4). The Holy Spirit imbued them the Pontifical Biblical Commission.

“I

APRIL 2019

♦ C O L U M B I A ♦ 25

APRIL 19 E KIA 3_15 FINAL.qxp__Layout 1 3/15/19 11:07 AM Page 26

KNI GHTS IN ACTION

REPORTS FROM COUNCILS, ASSEMBLIES AND COLUMBIAN SQUIRES CIRCLES

FAITH

!9+)923:4,: 6314*: -(989:!. -688933:'4-8.6/:

:68: 6/348": &'&":*293987:5:'4++-8648 1437:)2950:)5$68(:+5.1689:74:%63792:'57192689:'1-$ -48 9: /9,7 ":%63792:'57192689: $9.1-$580:%63792: /6 5)971: ,4 42&: 19:.4-8.6/:19/*90:719:%637923:4,:719: /93390:%5.25+987: :5 .4++-867#:426(685//#:)5390:68: 867315": 6(9265: :3977/9:6874:5:2936098.9:68:719: 64.939:4, 5/96(1&:%68.9:719:3637923: 58790:74:4)7568:5:)5$68(:+5.1689:580:-79836/3:74:+5$9:'4++-8648 14373":719:.4-8.6/:,4-80:580:*-2.15390:719:89.93352#:9 -6*+987:,24+:5:+92.1587:68: 75/#& 19: 86(173:5/34:19/*90:,680:5:3-**/692:,42:719:26(17:,/4-2&: 19:3637923:15 9:368.9:3752790:71962 *29*5257648:4,:5/752:)2950:580:15 9:0485790:67:74:/4.5/:*5263193&

PACKING UP A PRIEST

TRAVELING BISHOP

Members of St. Michael the Archangel Council 10577 in Reno, Nev., helped move Father Tom Babu from his former parish in Stead to his new assignment in Carson City. The Knights assisted Father Babu in packing his things and then unloading them at his new home.

Members from five Louisiana assemblies presented a Mass travel kit to Bishop Shelton Fabre at Mass at St. Francis Cathedral in Houma.

CHURCH PANTRY

Christ the King Council 15594 in Kahului, Hawaii, extensively renovated Christ the King Catholic Church’s food pantry by fixing the ceiling, painting the exterior, and replacing walls, air conditioning, flooring and doors. The members funded the project with a pancake breakfast that raised $2,400.

26 ♌ C O L U M B I A ♌

APRIL 2019

RENOVATIONS FOR A REVEREND

Northwest Hennepin Council 11941 in Rogers, Minn., completed extensive renovations in a home adjacent to the St. Martin Parish that will serve as a new residence for the pastor. Council members spent more than 400 volunteer hours remodeling the kitchen and bathroom, installing new carpeting and hardwood flooring, gutting and refinishing the basement, installing new doors, and completing other projects.

parish school, which was badly damaged several years ago when a heavy snowfall collapsed the roof. Grand Knight Dan Greenwell and Deputy Grand Knight Dorian Tavares, together with their wives, brought food to the crew and helped with the painting.

GIFT OF THE WORD

Archbishop Hennessey Council 959 in DeWitt, Iowa, purchased Catholic youth Bibles for the middle school students and teachers at St. Joseph School. The council has also helped the school organize prayer services and vocation talks.

SUPPORTING SEMINARIANS

The Archangels Council 15422 in Old Mill Creek, Ill., established an annual scholarship of $500 in the name of late member Ron Kotal. The scholarship will be awarded to a seminarian attending the University of St. Mary of the LakeMundelein Seminary in Mundelein. Council 15422 also welcomed nearly 200 new and returning students to the seminary with a pig roast dinner.

PARISH SCHOOL REBUILD

St. John Francis Regis Council 7914 in Hollywood, Md., restored and repainted the walls and halls of the local

2642:74:!533:57:719: 2631: 562 4,: !68893475": 5: .9/9)257648 4,:719:37579 3: 2631:192675(9:68 04 874 8: %7&: 5-/": 2580 86(17: !577: 9,,248: 4,: %7& 5-/: '4-8.6/: : /9,7 : 4683 !52$:'48842:4,:719: 5+39# '4-87#: 6 63648: 4,: 719: 8 .6987: 2092:4,: 6)9286583:68 /95068(:5:24352#:0906.5790:74 -8)428:.16/0298:580:719:*24 /6,9: +4 9+987: 68: 719: 86790 %75793:580: 29/580&

APRIL 19 E KIA 3_15 FINAL.qxp__Layout 1 3/15/19 11:07 AM Page 27

K N I G H T S I N AC T I O N

FAMILY

BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO MOURN

Stanley S. Hebert Sr. Council 8770 in Maurice, La., held a shrimp boil dinner fundraiser at the parish hall of St. Alphonsus Church.

The Knights prepared and sold 650 dinners, raising $2,600 for Steps to Heaven, an organization that ministers to families who have suffered a miscarriage or lost an infant. The council also provides gowns for infants in the neonatal intensive care unit and isolette/incubator blankets for local hospitals.

/ /+)20&2 0).2 0( 2 +1*1. 2!0"*'1(2 21*2 -(1' -(1'#2 -*1(-#2-*%2.,/1+2 1 /)2+/*/ .,/1+2 -++1- /2 0 )2-.2 -))2-.2.,/2 0).2 0( 2 +1*1. 2!-.,0(1'2!,"+',21*2 - $0(-' 2!0"*'1( !,-$(-1*2 -.,/+2 *+1'02 -+.1*2 %0 1)020&&1'1-./%2.,/2+/*/ -(2-*%2 (/))/%2.,/2 2$-+.1'1 $-.1* 2'0"$(/) 22

WELCOMING THE STRANGER

Members of Bishop Francis Marrocco Council 16233 in North York, Ontario, welcomed the Hannas, a Christian refugee family from Iraq. The Hannas found sanctuary at St. Edward the Confessor Parish in Toronto thanks to an immigration program co-sponsored by the parish and the council.

1 2!0(/ +0 /2 +1 ,. #2%1).+1'. %/$". 20&2 ,102 1).+1'.2 # ).-*%)2 1.,2 ,1 ,2 )',00( )0$,0 0+/2 -+/%2 0,*)0*# -+/% )2 &- 1( #2 .,/1+2 $-+1), $+1/).#2 -.,/+2 - 1%2 "&& -*#2 -*%2 1),0$2 /&&+/ 0*&0+.0*2 0&2 .,/2 10'/)/2 0&2 ./" /* 1((/ 2 ,/2 ).-./ '0"*'1(2 $+/)/*./%2 -2 ,1 , )',00(2."1.10*2)',0(-+),1$20&

# 2 .02 -+/%#2 -2 )."%/*.

-.2 . 2 0)/$,2 !/*.+-(2 1 , ',00(21*2 +0*.0*#2.02 1' 20&& .,/2 .,/1+2 '/(/ +-.10*2 0& !-.,0(1'2 ',00()2 // 2

HAPPY REUNION

Abnaki Council 334 in Augusta, Maine, was asked by the pastor of St. Michael Catholic Parish to help move an elderly parishioner from a structurally unsound home to an assisted living center. The Knights worked with other St. Michael ministries to move the woman to a safer situation. In the process, they also facilitated a reunion with her estranged son, who joined in to help.

FISHING FUN

For more than 18 years, St. Clements Council 10257 in Boonville, Ind., has conducted an annual fishing tournament at Lake Last Cast for people with physical and intellectual disabilities and their families.

Knights grilled cheeseburgers and set up “cooling tents� to provide shade around the lake. Seventy people volunteered, 95 participated and 323 fish were caught. Trophies were awarded to the participants who caught the biggest fish and most fish throughout the day.

FOR A HERO’S KIN

Msgr. Peter M.H. Wynhoven Council 3091 in Westwego, La., partnered with Westbank Social Club and many local police and fire agencies to coordinate a bike ride fundraiser. The event raised close to $6,000

for the family of a Westwego police officer who was shot and killed when he stopped to assist at a crime scene.

More than 500 bikers participated. Council 3091 also held a special bingo event that raised $1,000 for the officer’s family.

FAMILY COOKOUT

Onawa-Blencoe Council 6249 in Onawa, Iowa, hosted some 70 children and adults at an open ecumenical cookout and potluck near Monona County’s Blue Lake to celebrate family life.

MAKING THEM A HOME

Members of St. Paul Council 10775 in Inabanga Bohol, Visayas, worked with parish volunteers on the home of a family in need in Barangay Lutao.

The group provided walls and roofs as part of this project throughout the Diocese of Talibon.

APRIL 2019

♌ C O L U M B I A ♌ 27

APRIL 19 E KIA 3_15 FINAL.qxp__Layout 1 3/15/19 11:07 AM Page 28

K N I G H T S I N AC T I O N

COMMUNITY

COLORADO CARES

1+.2/*6%3-)3# 626$5$)5/63&6 014"6 2, 24+.5#20 6%3(0+1-6 6,#55!,64.561+562464.56 01'.4,63&6%3-($)(,6 42456%(/-10'6 30,!15-62464.56 014"6%(/-10'6%-() 6 /'201 5*6)"6%3(0+1 620*6+3 +.21/5*6)"6%3-)3# 64.565 5046*/5#6 01'.4,6&3/626#55 50*63&6&214. 6&5--3#,.1!620* 24.-541+6+.2--50'56436+5-5)/24564.56 4.62001 5/,2/"63&6 24.5/6 .53*3/56 +.#55/,6 ,,5$)-" 6106 014" 6

HELPING A BROTHER

Field Agent Rocky Rizzo of Council 9295 in Thunder Bay, Ontario, worked with Darren Lillington of Leo Council 1130, also in Thunder Bay, and local businesses to support Gerry Gagnon, a member with physical disabilities. Their combined donations included a power wheelchair, a new cell phone and gift certificates.

WELLSPRING OF HOPE

Holy Spirit Council 8157 in Duncanville, Texas, financed the construction of a well in the Nigerian village of Umuonyiuka, providing clean water to approximately 1,000 people. The well was constructed as a tribute to Joachim Edozie Okoli, a native of the village who died of hepatitis at 25.

He was the nephew of Father Eugene Okoli, a member of Council 8157 and 28 ♌ C O L U M B I A ♌

APRIL 2019

parochial vicar of Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Duncanville. After Council 8157 voted to cover the construction costs, a parishioner anonymously donated half the funds.

St. John the Baptist Council 14898 in Longmont, Colo., and Longmont Council 1313 collected 3,375 pounds of food and $470 in donations for the 9Cares Colorado Shares food drive, a community initiative to collect food and toiletry donations for needy families.

The Knights collected the food at area grocery stores and presented the donations to the St. John the Baptist Food Bank.

headband sales to replace wornout books in the school library. Assembly 307 donated an additional $250 toward new copies of beloved stories to help students develop literacy and enjoy reading.

SOCK HOP SHOE DRIVE

Resurrection Council 11189 in Winter Garden, Fla., partnered with the local St. Vincent de Paul Society to hold a 1950s and 60s themed Sock Hop Shoe Drive. The event included a classic car show, a “diner� open for service and a band assembled just for the evening. Volunteers collected more than 150 pairs of shoes for children.

NEW CHAPTERS

Bishop Flaget Assembly 307 in Covington, Ky., learned that two young students at St. Paul School had raised more than $400 through

RECYCLING RESULTS

Bishop William R. Johnson Council 9487 in Lake Forest, Calif., has sponsored a recycling program for more than 25 years, earning nearly half a million dollars since its inception. Most recyclable items are donated by parishioners at a daily drop-off spot and during a big collection every month. Council 9487 donates funds raised through the program to the parish and to charity organizations such as the Food Outreach Program and Mary’s Shelter, a home for women who are pregnant or have just given birth.

5,-5"6 /03-* 626$5$)5/63& 24/1+ 6 3#5/6%3(0+1-6 106 1 5/$3/5 6%2-1& 6!/5,504, 26 +5/41&1+2456 436 -5 20*5/ 2/4105 6 #1005/6 3&6 4.56 2'5 6 *1 1,1306 246 26 01'.4,6 3& %3-($)(,6 /556 ./3# %.2$!130,.1!6.3,45*6)"64.5 +3(0+1- 6 5-*6 246 1 5/$3/5 1'.6 +.33- 6 4.56 5 504 )/3('.4643'54.5/6"3(0'624.

-545,6 &/3$6 ,5 5/2-6 2'5 '/3(!, 652+.6#1005/6/5+51 5* 26 6 3&6 %6 )2, 54)2--6 4/3!."

20*62* 20+5*64364.56*1,4/1+4 +3$!54141306106 -52,20430 6

APRIL 19 E KIA 3_15 FINAL.qxp__Layout 1 3/15/19 12:30 PM Page 29

K N I G H T S I N AC T I O N ANGEL DONORS

John J. Cempre Council 6328 in Culpeper, Va., joined its associated women’s group to host the council’s third annual charity golf tournament held in honor of deceased Knight J.J. Quinn, who strongly supported Angel Flight Mid-Atlantic. The tournament raised more than $18,000 for the organization, which enlists local pilots to transport people who need specialized medical treatment.

OLDIES NIGHT

Arthur U. Joyal Council 4225 in Dracut, Mass., held its first “oldies� dance at the Lowell Veterans of Foreign Wars hall, which drew more than 300 people and raised over $2,700 for council-supported programs and charities. During the dance a winner was drawn in the council’s raffle; the prize was a week at a vacation home in Florida, generously donated by a member.

( ("!)% ) ") ' )% )$ () (') % & # ) )#&) ) "(( ( ) ' ) #!#$) $ ) &&() #!!#%&)'& $ ()! ""% & #& ) ' ' %) '$#%&) % &#$ )#&) ' ($% ) "# ) () &# $!)! (&$)') (( ) ' #& "( '#"!)$%)$ () " )'& )!( ("' ) % ' ) % (! ) ( )' !%)#&!$' ( ) (& #& ) %") '" )'&# ' ! ) ( % & # ) ( ("!)'& )$ () ' ' %) (% ()$ (&) "( '"( ) %% ) %")(' )%$ (")'& )'$$(& ( ) '!! $% ($ (" ) ("()$ () &# $!)' !%)"( (# ( )')$"' #$#%&' ) ' ' %) (!!#& )

REVVING THE ENGINES

St. Louis de Montfort Council 11137 in Santa Maria, Calif., held its seventh annual car show to support Catholic schools and youth programs — and in a bonus this year, a member of the council won a red Corvette during the fundraiser. The last six fundraisers raised more than $23,000 for scholarships.

Harry Mackey of Holy Family Council 6099 in Chattanooga, Tenn., grills hamburgers and hot dogs for the St. Stephen Catholic Church Fall Family Picnic. The Knights volunteer every year for the event, serving some 400 parishioners.

SUPPLYING STAPLES

Bishop Eldon B. Schuster Council 1493 in Great Falls, Mont., collaborated with the St. Vincent de Paul Society to deliver more than 2,000 pounds of supplies to two food pantries in Browning, which had suffered

from its worst weather in 15 years. Father Timothy Werner Council 2860 in Cut Bank helped distribute the food staples to the Browning pantry as well as the food pantry of Little Flower Parish, which serves the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in northwestern Montana.

The council’s donation funded a 15-passenger van and a septic system for the home, after the previous van was wrecked and a septic system failure took all but one restroom out of commission. Council 12107 previously donated some $6,000 to the ministry.

LOVING HOME

HELP TO HEAL

St. Norbert Council 12107 in Paoli, Pa., raised $49,000 for St. Joseph’s House, a ministry in East Fallowfield to provide a loving home for children of drug-addicted parent, as well as those who have been in foster placement for years, have histories of abuse or are suffering from attachment disorders.

St. Mary’s Council 14010 in Altus, Ark., held a lunch fundraiser to defray medical costs for the father of a local family, who had suffered an accident that left him paralyzed. Thanks to door donations and money collected from a raffle and auctions, the Knights presented the family with $14,000.

APRIL 2019

♌ COLUMBIA ♌ 29

APRIL 19 E KIA 3_15 FINAL.qxp__Layout 1 3/15/19 11:08 AM Page 30

K N I G H T S I N AC T I O N

LIFE years, the council’s campaign has raised some $30,000 for the school.

SPECIAL SUPPORT

)(./*&-'/ /#.)#%. /,'!%"$,' /'" .()"+/ ', &*+/-'$/*&.,(/ - ,%,.+ /#-(*,!,#-*.$/,'/*&. / -% / )(/ , ./ .+*/ )-+*/,'/ -'/ (-'!,+!) / ) ./ / . .(+/)( -', .$/ "+.+/-'$ #-(,+&/ ()"#+ /#() ,$.$/-'/&)')(/ "-($/-*/*&./ -% / )(/ , ./ .+*/ )-+*/ -++ /.+!)(*.$/ ,+& )#+/-'$/-++,+*.$/,'/ -(,)"+/)*&.(/ - + //

VIGIL FOR LIFE

Members of Father Cleo Jaillet Council 6752 in LaMoure, N.D., and parishioners of Most Holy Rosary Catholic Church gathered for a vigil outside an abortion facility in Fargo. Council 6752 organized the hour-long pro-life prayer service.

HELPING SISTERS SERVE

St. John Paul II Council 10821 in Douglasville, Ga., donated more than $14,000 raised at their annual golf tournament to Our Lady of Perpetual Help Home, which serves people suffering from incurable cancer.

3-D ULTRASOUND

Father William W. Finley Council 4374 in Maplewood, Minn., raised $16,400 toward the purchase of a new 3D ultrasound machine for Options for Women East, a pregnancy resource center, through the Knights of 30 ♌ C O L U M B I A ♌

APRIL 2019

Columbus Ultrasound Initiative. The old machine, still fully operational, was donated to the Foundation for Philippine Medical Missions for use by a free clinic.

HELPING AN AMPUTEE

Bishop Fox Council 2836 in Shawano, Wis., donated $2,000 to Sacred Heart Catholic Church parishioner Scott Reinke to purchase hand controls for his vehicle. Reinke lost both feet two years ago and applied to Council 2836 for assistance.

GIVING SHELTER

Members of St. Susanna Council 10272 in Mason, Ohio, presented $6,000 to St. Joseph Home of Cincinnati, a nonprofit ministry offering a home to adults and children with developmental disabilities. The council raised the funds at its third annual Classic Car & Truck Show.

BENEFIT FOR BABIES

More than a dozen councils collaborated to put on an annual benefit dinner for InnerVisions HealthCare in West Des Moines, Iowa. The most recent dinner raised more than $25,000 to support the clinic’s life-affirming ministry and medical care for people facing unplanned pregnancies or sexually transmitted diseases.

Vincent T. Lombardi Council 6552 in Leonardo, N.J., established a monthly support group meeting to help caregivers and family members of people with special needs. The meetings include quarterly seminars on topics such as guardianship, 529A savings plans and education law changes. The first meeting drew so many people the Knights had to seek a larger space in the parish to host everyone.

BOUNTIFUL BLOOD

Trinity Council 4580 in Franklin, Wis., hosts an ongoing blood donor program with drives scheduled every eight weeks into 2020.

BUCKETS-FULL OF AID

St. Dominic Council 3729 in New Orleans raised $2,400 for St. Michael’s Special School, a Catholic school for children with intellectual and developmental disabilities, through its annual “Shake the Bucket� program. Over the last 10

)&'/ ,! ,' /-/ . .(/) * / -*&-(,'./ (. .%/ )"'!,% / ,'/ -#./ )(-% / %- $.%, .(+/-/#%"+&/$-!&+&"'$ *)/-/#-*,.'*/-*/ ../ . )(,-% .-%*&/ +*. +/ &,%$(.' + )+#,*-%/,'/ )(*/ .(+ / &. !)"'!,%/ ,+,*.$/ *&./ &)+#,*-% *)/$,+*(, "*./+*" .$/-', -%+ *)/ !&,%$(.'/ -!,' / &.-%*& #() %. +

APRIL 19 E KIA 3_15 FINAL.qxp__Layout 1 3/15/19 11:08 AM Page 31

K N I G H T S I N AC T I O N

PATRIOTISM BRINGING THEM HOME

Our Lady of La Salette Assembly 3115 in Shallotte, N.C., hosted a fundraising dinner for Homes for Our Troops, a charity that builds specially donates and adapted custom homes for severely injured veterans.

Council members created and marketed the event, set up the meal, and cleaned up afterward, while its associated women’s group served the food. Attendees were invited to donate personal hygiene items for residents of the Fayetteville VA Medical Center. The dinner netted more than $2,000.

Robert Keeling of Pope John Paul II Assembly 3293 (left) and Past Grand Knight Kevin Loughney of St. Joseph Council 10627, both in High Bridge, N.J., stand on a bridge over Interstate 78 with a newly replaced American flag. Council 10627 has flown flags on the interstate since the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Assembly 3293, Our Lady of Lourdes Council 6930 and St. Catherine of Siena Council 15703 partner with St. Joseph Council to fund and maintain the flags.

Knights from across northern Virginia clean the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. In collaboration with the National Park Service, 52 Knights, plus family and friends, washed the Memorial Mural Wall and its surrounding walkway and cleaned the 19 stainless steel statues representing an ethnic cross-section of America and all the branches of the military.

WOUNDED WARRIORS

VETERAN’S LUNCHEON

Rock Creek Council 2797 in Bethesda, Md., collected items for wounded service members and veterans at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. In conjunction with the American Red Cross, council members conducted the drive for more than a month, gathering used books, snacks, toiletries, toys, clothing and gift cards.

Bishop Charles P. Greco Assembly 2147 in South Plainfield, N.J., held its annual luncheon and bingo game at the Menlo Park Veterans Memorial Home.

More than 20 former servicemen of World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War enjoyed a gourmet menu and prizes donated by Knights.

LIBRARY FLAG

Members of Assumption Council 5252 in East Islip, N.Y., put in more than 900 hours of work organizing a 5K run/walk, which raised $25,000 to benefit Long Island veterans.

BENEFITING VETS

Mrs. Ellen Lonneman, librarian at St. Therese School in Southgate, Ky., accepted a flag from Faithful Navigator Bill Kopp and Former Master Carl Biery of Bishop Flaget Assembly 307 in Covington, Ky. The assembly donated a flag for display in the school library as a sign of patriotism.

MEANING OF THE FLAG

Msgr. Richard C. Madden Assembly 1900 in Summerville, S.C., conducted its annual essay contest,

open to students from local schools. The winning contestants, who wrote on the theme “What the American Flag Means to Me,” received cash prizes totaling $200 and flag kits containing American flags and the materials for installing them at home. After the award presentation, the winning students participated in a flag disposal ceremony conducted by the Assembly 1900 officers.

kofc.org exclusive See more “Knights in Action” reports and photos at www.kofc.org/ knightsinaction

APRIL 2019

♦ C O L U M B I A ♦ 31

APRIL 19 E KIA 3_15 FINAL.qxp__Layout 1 3/15/19 11:08 AM Page 32

K N I G H T S I N AC T I O N

K OF C ITEMS OFFICIAL SUPPLIERS

Charity on Wheels California Knights bring the gift of mobility to hundreds in Mexico

IN THE UNITED STATES THE ENGLISH COMPANY INC.

Official council and Fourth Degree equipment

F

1-800-444-5632 www.kofcsupplies.com IN CANADA ROGER SAUVÉ INC.

Official council and Fourth Degree equipment and officer robes 1-888-266-1211 www.roger-sauve.com

J O I N T H E FAT H E R MCGIVNEY GUILD

!

Please enroll me in the Father McGivney Guild: NAME ADDRESS CITY STATE/PROVINCE ZIP/POSTAL CODE Complete this coupon and mail to: The Father McGivney Guild, 1 Columbus Plaza, New Haven, CT 06510-3326 or enroll online at: www.fathermcgivney.org

OFFICIAL APRIL 1, 2019: To owners of Knights of Columbus insurance policies and persons responsible for payment of premiums on such policies: Notice is hereby given that in accordance with the provisions of Section 84 of the Laws of the Order, payment of insurance premiums due on a monthly basis to the Knights of Columbus by check made payable to Knights of Columbus and mailed to same at PO Box 1492, NEW HAVEN, CT 06506-1492, before the expiration of the grace period set forth in the policy. In Canada: Knights of Columbus, Place d’Armes Station, P.O. Box 220, Montreal, QC H2Y 3G7 ALL MANUSCRIPTS, PHOTOS, ARTWORK, EDITORIAL MATTER, AND ADVERTISING INQUIRIES SHOULD BE MAILED TO: COLUMBIA, PO BOX 1670, NEW HAVEN, CT 06507-0901. REJECTED MATERIAL WILL BE RETURNED IF ACCOMPANIED BY A SELF-ADDRESSED ENVELOPE AND RETURN POSTAGE. PURCHASED MATERIAL WILL NOT BE RETURNED. OPINIONS BY WRITERS ARE THEIR OWN AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT THE VIEWS OF THE KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS. SUBSCRIPTION RATES — IN THE U.S.: 1 YEAR, $6; 2 YEARS, $11; 3 YEARS, $15. FOR OTHER COUNTRIES ADD $2 PER YEAR. EXCEPT FOR CANADIAN SUBSCRIPTIONS, PAYMENT IN U.S. CURRENCY ONLY. SEND ORDERS AND CHECKS TO: ACCOUNTING DEPARTMENT, PO BOX 1670, NEW HAVEN, CT 06507-0901.

COLUMBIA (ISSN 0010-1869/USPS #123-740) IS PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS, 1 COLUMBUS PLAZA, NEW HAVEN, CT 06510-3326. PHONE: 203-752-4000, www.kofc.org. PRODUCED IN USA. COPYRIGHT Š 2019 BY KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART WITHOUT PERMISSION IS PROHIBITED. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT NEW HAVEN, CT AND ADDITIONAL MAILING OFFICES. POSTMASTER: SEND ADDRESS CHANGES TO COLUMBIA, MEMBERSHIP DEPARTMENT, PO BOX 1670, NEW HAVEN, CT 06507-0901.

CANADIAN POSTMASTER — PUBLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT NO. 1473549. RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO: KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS, 50 MACINTOSH BOULEVARD, CONCORD, ONTARIO L4K 4P3.

PHILIPPINES — FOR PHILIPPINES SECOND-CLASS MAIL AT THE MANILA CENTRAL POST OFFICE. SEND RETURN COPIES TO KCFAPI, FRATERNAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT, PO BOX 1511, MANILA.

32 ♌ C O L U M B I A ♌

APRIL 2019

rancia is moving with greater ease and independence after a Feb. 15 visit from a group of Knights of Columbus to her home in SahagĂşn, Mexico.

A delegation from the California State Council presented a new wheelchair to the teenage girl and her grandmother, who cares for Francia while battling cancer. It was one of 560 chairs that California councils recently donated to rehabilitation patients in Mexico through the Order’s partnership with the American Wheelchair Mission.

The California Knights personally delivered chairs to three children at their homes in small towns north of Mexico City. “They just were so happy that we were there, that we thought about them,� said California State Deputy Joseph Salaiz.

Bishop Kevin Vann of the Diocese of Orange accompanied the California Knights and their wives on the trip. “It was really a blessing that he was with us,� said Salaiz. “Everywhere we went in Mexico, people were coming up to him asking for blessings.�

The Knights also distributed several dozen chairs at the rehabilitation center CRIT Hidalgo; the Centro de RehabilitaciĂłn e InclusiĂłn Infantil TeletĂłn provides care for children and adolescents with physical disabilities through a model centered on the family. Most of the donated wheelchairs were given to the Hidalgo center and to another CRIT location in Guadalajara.

The Order has worked with the American Wheelchair Mission, as well as the Canadian Wheelchair Foundation, since 2009.

" !" !" ! " " " ! " ! " ! " " " ! " " !" " ! " ! ! " " " " ! " ! " !!

The American Wheelchair Mission’s founder, Chris Lewis, calls the organizations’ partnership with the Knights a “collaboration of deep-rooted goodness.� “People want to do good in the world,� said Lewis, who is the son of comedian Jerry Lewis and a member of St. Angela Merici Council 5210 in Pacific Grove, Calif. “We’re giving them the means to touch people in a way that they’ve never been able to do before. Doing that as a group of Knights is really amazing.�

The delegation of California Knights experienced this firsthand.

Salaiz said, “I don’t know how many times we were told, ‘We can’t thank the Knights of Columbus enough for what you’re doing.’� — reported by Andrew Butler, a content producer for the Knights of Columbus Corporate Communications Department

APRIL 19 E COVERS FINAL.qxp_Layout 1 3/14/19 4:10 PM Page 33

K N I G H T S O F C O LU M BU S

Knights of Charity Every day, Knights all over the world are given opportunities to make a difference — whether through community service, raising money or prayer. We celebrate each and every Knight for his strength, his compassion and his dedication to building a better world.

Members of Our Lady of Fatima Council 9636 in Las Piñas, Manila, Philippines, and their families join the Our Lady of Fatima parish youth group at the annual Luzon South Walk for Life in Parañaque City. Council Life Director Toti Valdez and Family Director Michael Villanueva led the young people in marching to protest violence to the unborn and drug-related extrajudicial killings.

TO BE FEATURED HERE , SEND YOUR COUNCIL’ S “K NIGHTS IN A CTION ” PHOTO AS WELL AS ITS DESCRIPTION TO : C OLUMBIA , 1 C OLUMBUS P LAZA , N EW H AVEN , CT 06510-3326 OR EMAIL : KNIGHTSINACTION @ KOFC . ORG .

APRIL 2019

♦ COLUMBIA ♦ 33

APRIL 19 E COVERS FINAL.qxp_Layout 1 3/14/19 4:12 PM Page 34

PLEASE, DO ALL YOU CAN TO ENCOURAGE PRIESTLY AND RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS. YOUR PRAYERS AND SUPPORT MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

K E E P T H E FA I T H A L I V E

‘GOD’S DREAM FOR ME CAME TRUE.’

SISTER CHIARA ROSE FEDELE Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal Atlantic FATHER City, CHRISN.J. LEMIEUX Director, Office of Vocations, Archdiocese of Toronto Toronto Council 1388

I was raised in a loving Catholic family, yet it wasn’t until I joined the local parish youth group that my faith came alive. Led by our youth minister to pray before the Blessed Sacrament, I encountered a God who knew and loved me intimately, and I dreamed about becoming his bride and serving him in the poor.

In high school, my life was filled with studies, sports and friends. After graduating from Villanova University, I worked as an oncology nurse while also dating a man I could see myself marrying. I seemed to have it all, but I couldn’t forget what God had placed deep in my heart as a 15-year-old.

The immense joy and peace I experienced contemplating a religious vocation led me to leave everything and follow in our Lord’s footsteps. My first convent visit was with the Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal, whose charism is to evangelize and to serve the poor. My heart was captured. God’s dream for me came true on June 6, 2016, when I professed my final vows and became a bride of Christ forever!