Columbia June 2014

June 14 Covers E 5_14_Layout 1 5/14/14 7:30 PM Page 1

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

J UNE 2014

COLUMBIA

June Columbia Ad 3 Eng_Layout 1 5/15/14 10:23 AM Page 1

Introduc ing Y OUNG A DULT I NSURANCE : Affordable Protection for Knights Ages 18 to 29.

Visit kofc.org/youngadultins to learn more and request your quote today!

LIFE INSURANCE

DISABILITY INSURANCE

LONG-TERM CARE

RETIREMENT ANNUITIES

Find an agent at kofc.org or call 1-800-345-5632

June 14 E 5_14 FINAL_Mar E 12 5/14/14 6:43 PM Page 1

KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS june 2014 ♌ VOlume 94 ♌ numbeR 6

COLUMBIA

F E AT U R E S

8 ‘Under God’: Our American Legacy The Knights of Columbus celebrates the 60th anniversary of a historic amendment to the Pledge of Allegiance.

BY JUSTIN BELL

13 In the Footsteps of a Martyr Knight St. JosÊ María Robles’ courageous witness of faith inspired my mission to Mexico.

BY FATHER ’RICK LABRECQUE

16 ‘In All Things Love’ Service and compassion form a holy alliance between the Knights and the Servants of Charity at Michigan’s St. Louis Center.

BY JOSEPH O’BRIEN

20 Remembering Mr. Blue Myles Connolly, a former editor of Columbia, had a lasting impact on American culture through film, literature and personal witness.

BY ALTON J. PELOWSKI

24 Yukon Gold Canadian Knights cook up thousands of sourdough pancakes mixed with charity and good cheer.

BY ROXANNE LIVINGSTONE

Children stand to recite the Pledge of Allegiance in a U.S. classroom.

This year, Flag Day, June 14, will mark the 60th anniversary of the addition of the words “under God� to the Pledge.

D E PA RT M E N T S TOP RIGHT: Photo by Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images

3

Building a better world For St. John Paul II, the domestic church was the key to preserving the Gospel in society.

BY SUPREME KNIGHT CARL A. ANDERSON

4

Learning the faith, living the faith

6

Knights of Columbus News

27

Knights in Action

Knights Host Events to Celebrate Canonizations • Order Launches Young Adult Insurance Program • Knights Provide Prosthetic Upgrades for Boston Marathon Bombing Amputees • Father McGivney Documentary Now Available

The real joy of being a father lies more in giving than receiving.

BY SUPREME CHAPLAIN ARCHBISHOP WILLIAM E. LORI

PLUS: Catholic Man of the Month

JUNE 2014

♌ COLUMBIA ♌ 1

June 14 E 5_14 FINAL_Mar E 12 5/14/14 6:43 PM Page 2

Our History and Identity DURING the memorable opening song of Fiddler on the Roof, Tevye, a poor Jewish milkman, explains the importance of “Tradition.” It is “because of our traditions,” he says, that “every one of us knows who he is and what God expects of us.” The scene is comical, but the insight is profound — especially for Catholics, who believe that sacred tradition is a source of God’s revelation. Yet, as recent popes and others have observed, we have been experiencing for decades a loss of cultural memory, even to the point of disregarding the Christian roots of Western civilization. In his first encyclical, Lumen Fidei, Pope Francis spoke of “a massive amnesia in our contemporary world” (25). Modern man, he observed, often lacks awareness of transcendent truth and the fact that his identity is radically dependent on his relationship to God and others (cf. 38).

Many reasons could be given for this amnesia: a crisis of education; lack of catechesis in the Church; the breakdown of marriage and family; or the ever-present distractions of our modern technological era, which leave no room for contemplation or an appreciation of where we came from. Amid a cultural vacuum and selfcentered existence, much of the Western world is seeing what philosopher Martin Buber called “the eclipse of God.” It is hardly surprising, then, that some people believe that any mention of God in the public square constitutes an establishment of religion and violates the “separation of church and state.” This, after all, is the argument of those who advocate for the removal of the words “under God” from the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance.

The words “under God” were officially added to the Pledge 60 years ago this month, thanks in large part to the efforts of the Knights of Columbus (see page 8).

The history of the phrase, however, goes much deeper. President Abraham Lincoln used it in his famous Gettysburg Address, and it reflects a philosophy about limited government and the primacy of God that is present throughout the Founding Fathers’ writing — including the Declaration of Independence. Thankfully, in recent years, numerous court cases have been decided in favor of retaining the words “under God” in the Pledge — most recently on May 9 in Massachusetts.

An appreciation of our history, expressed especially through faith and family, is essential to preserving our cultural identity. For Knights of Columbus, this is true not only of the history of the Pledge of Allegiance, but also for countless stories of faith and charity. Father ’Rick LaBrecque understood this when he went on a missionary pilgrimage in the footsteps of St. José María Robles, a Mexican Knight martyred in 1927 (see page 13). Meanwhile, many councils throughout the Order have carried on longstanding traditions of charity and fraternity, from assisting programs that serve persons with intellectual disabilities (see page 16) to hosting community meals and events that people look forward to each year (see page 24). In each case, as we look to the future, it is essential to remain rooted in history — so that we might remember who we are and what God expects of us.♦ ALTON J. PELOWSKI EDITOR

Featured Book: Mr. Blue by Myles Connolly THIS JULY will mark the 50th anniversary of the death of Columbia’s most accomplished editor, Myles Connolly, who had a long and successful career in Hollywood (see page 20). Despite helping to write many acclaimed films, he is best known for his classic short novel, Mr. Blue, which was published in 1928 while he was working for the Supreme Council. The book, which has seen dozens of printings in multiple countries, has inspired generations of readers (Loyola Classics, ISBN: 978-0829421316).

2 ♦ COLUMBIA ♦

JUNE 2014

COLUMBIA PUBLISHER Knights of Columbus ________ SUPREME OFFICERS Carl A. Anderson SUPREME KNIGHT Most Rev. William E. Lori, S.T.D. SUPREME CHAPLAIN Logan T. Ludwig DEPUTY SUPREME KNIGHT Charles E. Maurer Jr. SUPREME SECRETARY Michael J. O’Connor SUPREME TREASURER John A. Marrella SUPREME ADVOCATE ________ EDITORIAL Alton J. Pelowski EDITOR Andrew J. Matt MANAGING EDITOR Patrick Scalisi SENIOR 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 203-752-4580 OTHER INQUIRIES 203-752-4398 FAX 203-752-4109 CUSTOMER SERVICE 1-800-380-9995 E-MAIL 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 © 2014 All rights reserved ________ ON THE COVER Above a photo of the Lincoln Memorial are highlighted the words “under God,” taken from a handwritten copy of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.

COVER: Lincoln Memorial image adapted from Thinkstock

E D I TO R I A L

June 14 E 5_14 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 5/14/14 5:59 PM Page 3

BUILDING A BETTER WORLD

The Family and Culture For St. John Paul II, the domestic church was the key to preserving the Gospel in society

by Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson

ON APRIL 27, Dorian and I were privileged to be in St. Peter’s Square to represent the families of the Knights of Columbus during the canonization of St. John XXIII and St. John Paul II. As Pope Francis reminded us, these saints refused to be overwhelmed by the terrible events of the 20th century.

For them, faith was more powerful.

They were not afraid to “open wide the doors to Christ” by opening the Second Vatican Council and by bringing its message throughout the world.

During the 26 years of St. John Paul II’s pontificate, our Order had unprecedented opportunities to cooperate with him in this task. One of our most enduring pastoral initiatives was the establishment in 1988 of the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family.

Therefore, it was heartening to hear Pope Francis say during the canonization Mass: “St. John Paul II was the pope of the family. He himself once said that he wanted to be remembered as the pope of the family.

I am particularly happy to point this out as we are in the process of journeying with families toward the synod on the family. It is surely a journey which, from his place in heaven, he guides and sustains.”

In 1975, writing in his apostolic exhortation on evangelization, Evangelii Nuntiandi, Pope Paul VI observed that the “the split between the Gospel and culture is without a doubt the drama of our time” (20).

Today, in no area is this separation more evident than in family life.

Cardinal Avery Dulles identified two views regarding this split during an important address that he delivered at the University of Notre Dame in 2004.

One view sees the Church in decline as a result of the so-called “fundamentalism” of the Church’s “official stances of sexual morality and the role of women.”

The other view attributes the confusion in the Church to “a massive loss of identity, disinterest in Catholic doctrine, and disrespect for ecclesial institutions.” This view sees “that excessive accommodation to modern American society has deprived the Church of (her) distinctive character.”

Recently, this debate has again surfaced with Pope Francis’ announcement of a synod of bishops on the family.

Cardinal Dulles offered another observation in his 2004 address: “The forces of unbelief, prevalent in many sectors of contemporary culture, are not simply external to the Church.

Like other Americans, Christians tend to see reality through the lens of the prevailing culture. The present struggle, consequently, is not simply between the Church and secular society, but to some extent within the Church, as she seeks to assimilate the sound elements in the culture and to prevent herself from being contaminated by what is unsound.”

But how do we discern between what is sound and unsound? Evangelii Nuntiandi offers us a starting point: “In the Second Vatican Council, the

family has well deserved the beautiful name of ‘domestic Church.’ This means that there should be found in every Christian family the various aspects of the entire Church” (71).

This way of proceeding was beautifully presented by John Paul II in his apostolic exhortation on the family, Familiaris Consortio, which has been described as the “magna carta” of the domestic Church.

On the day of John Paul II’s canonization, Pope Francis also sent a video message to the people of Poland, in which he quoted Pope Benedict XVI’s words about his predecessor: John Paul II “opened to Christ the society, the culture, the political and economic systems, intervening with the strength of a giant — strength that came to him from God — a tendency which could seem irreversible. With his witness of faith, of love and of apostolic courage, accompanied by a great human drive, this exemplary son of the Polish nation helped Christians worldwide not to be afraid to call themselves Christians, to belong to the Church, to speak of the Gospel. In a word, he helped us not to be afraid of the truth, because the truth is the guarantee of freedom.”

Those who wish to know why it is that the Knights of Columbus have always felt a special closeness to St. John Paul II need look no further than these words to find the answer.

Vivat Jesus!

JUNE 2014

♦ COLUMBIA ♦ 3

June 14 E 5_14 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 5/14/14 5:42 PM Page 4

LEARNING THE FAITH, LIVING THE FAITH

The Gift of Fatherhood The real joy of being a father lies more in giving than receiving

by Supreme Chaplain Archbishop William E. Lori

AS FATHER’S DAY approaches, fa- to know that they are loved. When a thers might be asking themselves father and mother love and respect what kind of gift they would like to each other, even in those inevitable to their wives and children. That receive. The answers will vary: a new times of tension and hardship, chil- means putting down the paper, shutset of golf clubs, home tickets to see dren tend to feel more secure. When ting off the television, and turning a favorite sports team, or a new grill dad and mom love each other, their off the smart phone, computer and on which to burn hamburgers to a children are more apt to believe that other electronic devices. Only in this crisp. Or maybe it’s time for another mom and dad love them. way can a husband and father really new necktie. Hardly.

One thing a father might ask him- interact with his family and show There are a lot of things that dad self about on Father’s Day is the them that he is deeply and personally might want on Father’s Day, but the quality of his loving partnership with interested in the ups and downs of question of what gift to get is family life — with what goes all wrong. As June 15 draws on at his children’s school, with near, fathers should be thinkthe challenges and opportuniing not about what gifts they ties his wife is experiencing at want to receive, but rather work, with the questions his A father has to be involved about the gifts they should be adolescent child may have. in all the activities of his family giving. After all, Father’s Day The list of fatherly responsiis a time for taking stock of bilities is endless. And that’s so as to bear witness to what is one’s fatherhood. just the point. Being a father does not fit into a job descriptruly good in God’s eyes.

GIVING FROM tion. Rather, the joy of being a THE HEART father can simply be summed What is it that fathers give to up by a loving smile toward his their families? It used to be child. that the father was the sole breadwin- his wife. What might he do to ner. That is still the case in some strengthen that fundamental rela- FATHERS OF FAITH AND JOY households, but in many, both hus- tionship of love? What gets in the A father’s involvement in the life of band and wife work outside the way of loving his wife and family? his family is essential, but it has to be home. Fathers should share with Are there serious problems that ur- the right kind of involvement. A boy their wives a keen sense of responsi- gently need to be addressed? Or is it is not helped when his dad is always bility to ensure that their family has simply a question of accumulated yelling at the Little League coach or the basic necessities of life. foibles that irritate the daylights out telling off a teacher who is doing his Of course, that’s just the begin- of one’s family? Addressing these or her best. A father has to be inning. It is not enough to provide a things honestly is one of the greatest volved in all the activities of his famdecent standard of living for one’s gifts a father can give his family. ily so as to bear witness to what is family. Rather, a husband shares with What else can fathers give their truly good in God’s eyes. A father his wife the responsibility of provid- families on Father’s Day? I suggest a should always be ready to help his ing a secure, loving home for their strengthened resolve to show a children find the way to achieve what children. It is important for children deeper interest in what is important is authentically good in every situa4 ♦ COLUMBIA ♦

JUNE 2014

June 14 E 5_14 FINAL_Mar E 12 5/14/14 6:54 PM Page 5

POPE FRANCIS: CNS photo/Alessandro Bianchi, Reuters — CHARLES LWANGA: “Communion of Saints” (detail) / Used with Permission, Copyright 2003, John Nava/The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels

LEARNING THE FAITH, LIVING THE FAITH

tion and help them grow in virtue amid the practicalities and stresses of daily life. He should also lead the way in helping them go beyond their personal desires by extending themselves in charity to those in need.

Still more is called for. Fathers play a crucial role in helping their children become men and women of faith. When dad goes to Mass every Sunday, leads the family in prayer before meals, and spends time each day praying and reading the Scriptures, he not only provides a good example, but also equips himself to be a better spouse and father. Prayer has consequences. All of them are good.

HOLY FATHER’S PRAYER INTENTIONS

Offered in Solidarity with Pope Francis GENERAL: That the unemployed may receive support and find the work they need to live in dignity.

MISSION: That Europe may rediscover its Christian roots through the witness of believers.

Venerable Michael McGivney founded the Knights of Columbus to help husbands and fathers provide for their families in the event of death. But he also wanted to help husbands and fathers grow in their relationship with Christ and the Church so that they could be good husbands and loving fathers. He recognized the need for an organization that would support men in taking their faith seriously and living it each day. Today, the Knights of Columbus continues this mission.

So, what happens when husbands and fathers approach Father’s Day with the question, “What should I be

giving to my family?” The Prayer of St. Francis tells us that “it is in giving that we receive.” In giving of themselves in love, husbands and fathers discover what gifts really matter. Yes, it might be nice to receive some extravagant gift, but truly valuable gifts don’t cost much money. I’m thinking of the joy of going to Sunday Mass with one’s family, of sitting down to a meal where everyone actually talks to each other, of receiving a card from a young child or grandchild drawn with crayons, or the promise of prayers from loved ones. Experiences like these reveal the true joys of fatherhood!♦

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

St. Charles Lwanga (1860-1886) BORN IN southern Uganda in 1860, little is known about Charles Lwanga’s early life other than the fact that he was a handsome boy who excelled at wrestling.

At age 20, Lwanga began to receive Catholic instruction. Four years later, he entered royal service and was put in charge of the royal pages, many of whom had become Catholic. When the king’s depraved son, Mwanga, ascended the throne, Lwanga was relied upon to instruct the pages and to protect them from the new king, who was a vain and vengeful pederast.

On Nov. 15, 1885, King Mwanga beheaded Lwanga’s immediate superior, a Catholic who had rebuked the king for a massacre of Anglican missionaries.

That same night, Lwanga went with four catechumens to the Catholic mission to be baptized. Lwanga himself later baptized five more pages.

The following May, furious to learn that one of the boys was being catechized, King Mwanga ordered all pages into his presence. Under pain of death, he asked whether the Christians were willing to keep their faith. In unison they

replied, “Until death!” Baffled by their solidarity and constancy, King Mwanga ordered them to be burned alive. During their 20-mile march to the execution site, Lwanga led the condemned in prayer and song.

On the feast of the Ascension, June 3, 1886, Lwanga was separated from the 25 others and wrapped in a reed mat while his feet were slowly burned. Promised freedom if he would renounce his faith, Lwanga replied, “You are burning me, but it is as if you are pouring water over my body.” Before dying by fire, he cried out, “Katonda!” — “My God!” Pope Paul VI canonized St. Charles Lwanga, together with 21 other Ugandan martyrs, in 1964. Their feast day is June 3.♦

JUNE 2014

♦ COLUMBIA ♦ 5

June 14 E 5_14 FINAL_Mar E 12 5/14/14 7:03 PM Page 6

KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS NEWS

Knights Host Events to Celebrate Canonizations

THE KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS celebrated the April 27 canonizations of Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II with a number of significant events.

“These two saints have each left very important legacies for the Church and important examples of holiness for all of us,” said Supreme Knight Carl Anderson. “Pope John XXIII led the Church into the Second Vatican Council, and Pope John Paul II served as its key interpreter, leaving the Church a profound legacy that continues to shape the third millennium of Christianity.”

In the days surrounding the canonizations on Divine Mercy Sunday, the Order opened two of its sports fields in Rome to host nearly 1,000 pilgrims, primarily from Poland.

Polish Knights volunteered to assist the pilgrims, which included groups of Scouts, parish-sponsored buses and dozens of young people who hitchhiked to Italy from throughout Poland. The K of C playgrounds provided the pilgrims with secure grounds on which to camp, facilities and many opportunities for communal prayer and worship.

In addition, the Order provided nearly $100,000 to support Vatican Television’s worldwide broadcast of the canonization Mass.

In Washington, D.C., the Blessed John Paul II Shrine, which is operated by the Knights of Columbus, was officially renamed the Saint John Paul II National Shrine. The facility’s new name was unveiled at the conclusion of two days of shrine events, which included an outdoor procession, eucharistic adoration, live music, a gathering of 6 ♦ COLUMBIA ♦

JUNE 2014

young people, midnight Mass for Divine Mercy Sunday and an early-morning live simulcast of the canonization ceremony from Rome.

“As the premier site dedicated to St. John Paul II in the United States, we are entrusted with the mission of developing and promoting popular devotion to him,” said Supreme Director Patrick E. Kelly, the shrine’s executive director. “Many will come here because of an enduring admiration for St. John Paul II; others will be introduced to him for the first time.”

Meanwhile, in the Order’s home city of New Haven, Conn., the Knights of Columbus Museum hosted a relic of St. John Paul II for veneration and events throughout the day. Taking place just hours after the canonization Mass, the New Haven event began with praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet at St. Stanislaus Church, a traditionally Polish parish, and a mile-long procession to the museum, accompanied by a Fourth Degree honor guard.

Finally, on the West Coast, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, with support from the Knights of Columbus, held a vigil April 26 to honor the life and pontificate of St. John Paul II. The vigil began with a rosary and testimonials from individuals whose lives have been changed by John Paul II, and included musical tributes by noted Catholic artists Danielle Rose, Miriam Solis and Tony Melendez.

“Pope John Paul II was a gift from God for our times,” said Archbishop José H. Gomez. “He was a man of the Eucharist and a true spiritual father for our world.”♦

Photo by Roberto Fiorina

Supreme Chaplain Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore and Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson (seated at center) join pilgrims at the Order’s Pope Benedict XV playground in the San Lorenzo district of Rome. Archbishop Lori celebrated Mass on the morning of Saturday, April 26, for many of the pilgrims staying at the field.

June 14 E 5_14 FINAL_Mar E 12 5/14/14 7:03 PM Page 7

KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS NEWS

Order Launches Young Adult Insurance Program RECOGNIZING the unique needs and budgets of its younger members and families, the Knights of Columbus now offers the new Young Adult Insurance Program.

As one of North America’s most highlyrated life insurers, the Knights will provide through the program annual renewable term insurance to members and their spouses ages 18-29.* “We recognize that, though our younger members have different needs and different priorities, they want to protect their families, too,” said Chief Insurance Officer Thomas P.

Smith Jr. “They want to get started now and build their financial portfolio while they’re young and while it’s extremely affordable. And we’re very excited to make that process easier for them through this new, custom program.”

For the first time, Knights will be able to obtain a personalized quote and request additional information online by visiting kofc.org/youngadultins.

Young Adult Insurance joins a top-quality portfolio of insurance products offered by the Knights of Columbus. Recently named a 2014

Knights Provide Prosthetic Upgrades for Boston Marathon Bombing Amputees ONE YEAR after the Boston marathon bombing in April 2013, the Knights of Columbus Stand With Boston Program continues to provide assistance to people who lost limbs in the tragic event.

The latest in a series of initiatives to help provide mobility to individuals in the United States and worldwide, the Boston program is designed to cover the cost of additional or higher-quality prosthesis in order to help amputees regain as much mobility as possible.

Currently, the Order is financially assisting three people who lost limbs in the bombing. For two of the amputees, the funding has helped pay for costs not covered by their health insurance. In the third case, the K of C is helping to pay for a prosthetic running leg to supplement the prosthetic leg that the recipient uses day to day.

Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson said, “Medical coverage often has its limits, but we are very happy that we are able to help bridge those limits with this charitable program designed to help those who lost a limb in the bombing recover even greater mobility.”

Boston Marathon bombing victim Heather Abbott learns how to use her running prosthesis at the Challenged Athletes Foundation running clinic Oct. 6, 2013.

In implementing the program and reviewing applications, the Order continues to consult with experts in the field of prosthetics and rehabilitation.

“By responding with care for those who were hurt,” Anderson added, “we can show that the power of love is stronger than hatred or evil, and that evil does not have the last word.”♦

World’s Most Ethical Company by the Ethisphere Institute, the Knights of Columbus is one of the largest life insurers in North America, with more than $93 billion of life insurance in force.

Eligibility for insurance will be based on age, medical condition and other factors. Members and their spouses (ages 18-29) can also apply through their Knights of Columbus Field Agent. Find your agent by visiting kofc.org/findagent. *As of Dec. 31, 2013, rated A++, Superior for financial strength from A.M. Best. Spouses eligible for insurance through the program cannot obtain a personalized quote online. Not yet available in CA, MA, MT, and NY.♦

Father McGivney Documentary Now Available A DOCUMENTARY on the life of the young Connecticut priest who founded the Knights of Columbus is now for sale on Amazon.com. Father Michael McGivney, produced by the Supreme Council, chronicles the life of the founder of the world’s largest Catholic family fraternal service organization.

Through archival footage and dramatic recreations, the gripping onehour film chronicles Father McGivney’s early life in a poor immigrant family, his efforts as young priest to serve his parishioners and to launch the Knights, and his untimely death from pneumonia at age 38.

From defending the persecuted Church to protecting widows and orphans, the documentary celebrates the triumphs and tribulations of a man who may one day become the first canonized American-born parish priest. In 2008, Pope Benedict XVI declared Father McGivney “venerable” in recognition of his “heroic virtue,” thus moving forward the cause for canonization.♦

JUNE 2014

♦ COLUMBIA ♦ 7

June 14 E 5_14 FINAL_Mar E 12 5/14/14 7:03 PM Page 8

‘Under God’ Our American Legacy The Knights of Columbus celebrates the 60th anniversary of a historic amendment to the Pledge of Allegiance

by Justin Bell

8 ♦ COLUMBIA ♦

JUNE 2014

June 14 E 5_14 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 5/14/14 5:43 PM Page 9

OPPOSITE PAGE: Thinkstock — KENNEDY: Knights of Columbus Multimedia Archives

O

n a wintry morning, Jan. 20, 1961, John F. Kennedy Known as the “Bliss Copy” of the Gettysburg Address — delivered his inaugural presidential address in which he the only manuscript Lincoln signed after delivering the actual famously challenged his fellow Americans to “ask not what address — he concludes his message this way: “… we here your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain — country.” that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom But much earlier in the oration, President Kennedy, a — and that government of the people, by the people, for the Fourth Degree Knight, drew attention to a theme that has people, shall not perish from the earth.” been threaded throughout American history from the outset.

Of course, the Declaration of the Independence was signed In the second paragraph, he reminded the nation that “the four score and seven years prior. In 1776, this foundational rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but document declared that human rights ultimately derive from from the hand of God.” God and not from governments: In other words, Kennedy underscored the idea of a nation “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are cre“under God.” For most of us who grew up in the United ated equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain States, we heard and said those unalienable Rights, that among words at the beginning of every these are Life, Liberty and the school day. pursuit of Happiness. That to seJune marks the 60th ancure these rights, Governments niversary of the addition of are instituted among Men, deriv“under God” to the Pledge of ing their just powers from the Allegiance. And the Knights of consent of the governed.”

Columbus, who played a pivAttorney Eric Rassbach from otal role in the addition of the Becket Fund for Religious those two words, continue Liberty, which has helped to today to defend and preserve defend the constitutionality of them from forces that seek to the words “under God,” remove them. pointed out that the roots of Less than three days before these principles stretch back Kennedy’s iconic speech, his even further. He noted that at predecessor, President Dwight the Harvard Law School LiD. Eisenhower, had likewise brary one can find the promiexpressed the primacy of God nently placed Latin phrase over government in his presiNON SVB HOMINE SED dential farewell address: “You SVB DEO ET LEGE, which Past Supreme Knight Luke E. Hart presents President John F. and I, my fellow citizens, need means, “Not under man, but Kennedy, a fellow Knight of Columbus, with a framed copy of to be strong in our faith that all under God and the law.” the Pledge of Allegiance Oct. 11, 1961. nations, under God, will reach Etched in stone above the the goal of peace with justice.” entrance, the phrase can be Eisenhower was fond of the traced back to the earliest phrase “under God,” for on Flag Day, June 14, 1954, he known compendium of English law, compiled in the 13th signed into law a resolution passed by Congress that amended century. the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance. Later that year, he wrote a letter to the Order thanking the Knights for their efforts in this VICTORY IN ’54 change.

The original Pledge of Allegiance was written in August 1892 by the Baptist minister Francis Bellamy. Published the next ORIGINS OF “UNDER GOD” month and recited in schools on Columbus Day, this Pledge Unlike Kennedy’s inaugural address and Eisenhower’s farewell initially did not contain a reference to God. address, there are no YouTube videos of President Abraham In 1942, Congress officially recognized the U.S. Pledge, Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address on Nov. 19, 1863. If there were, which had undergone some wording changes over the years, but it would be very interesting to hear Lincoln say “under God,” still omitted a reference to God. Louis A. Bowman, an attorney a seemingly spontaneous addition which is often cited as the from Illinois, is known for first adding the words “under God” major inspiration for the change in the Pledge of Allegiance. to the Pledge at a meeting of the Illinois Society of the Sons of Thomas J. Malone, writing in the September 1952 issue of the American Revolution six years later, in February 1948.

Columbia, noted that Lincoln had not originally included In New York City in April 1951, the Knights of Columbus “under God” in his written drafts of the speech, but spoke the Board of Directors voted to amend the recitation of the words during the oration and then preserved the phrase in Pledge at all Fourth Degree assembly meetings in the United subsequent copies of what became his most famous speech.

States by adding “under God” after the words “one nation.”

JUNE 2014

♦ COLUMBIA ♦ 9

June 14 E 5_14 FINAL_Mar E 12 5/14/14 6:54 PM Page 10

The concluding sentence of President Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address is seen above, with extra emphasis added to the words “under God.” Written in President Lincoln’s own hand, the text was taken from the “Bliss Copy” on display at the White House. The only draft that Lincoln signed, it is considered the most authoritative version of his famous speech.

In August 1952, the Supreme Council created a resolution that urged Congress to make this same addition. The Order sent copies of the resolution to the President, Vice President and the Speaker of the House. At the time, Supreme Knight Luke E. Hart was also president of the National Fraternal Congress of America, which adopted a similar resolution the following month.

One year later, the Supreme Council made a second appeal, but this time, also sent copies of the resolution to every member of the Senate and the House. In response to the generally positive feedback, Rep. Louis C. Rabaut of Michigan introduced one of 17 eventual congressional resolutions to officially add “under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance.

Significant support for the “under God” movement came on Feb. 7, 1954, when Rev. George M. Docherty, a Presbyterian minister, delivered a sermon. President Eisenhower was in attendance at the famous Washington, D.C., church that Lincoln had also attended.

“To omit the words ‘under God’ in the Pledge of Allegiance,” Docherty said, “is to omit the definitive character of the American way of life.”

Many years later, in a 2002 interview with the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, Docherty recounted hearing the Pledge for the first time from his second grade son. Being a native of Scotland, 10 ♦ C O L U M B I A ♦

JUNE 2014

Docherty did not grow up hearing it recited in school.

“It struck me that it didn’t mention God,” Docherty said.

REMAINING HUMBLE On June 14, 1954, President Eisenhower signed the congressional resolution that amended the Pledge. On the same day, Supreme Knight Hart wrote a column for Columbia about the addition to the Pledge and underscored the Order’s recognition of its previous deficiency.

“Although it [recitation of the Pledge] had become an established feature in connection with the opening of assemblies of every kind and character, it remained for the Knights of Columbus to call attention to the fact that it contained no reference to God or to our dependence upon Him,” Hart wrote.

In a letter dated Aug. 6 of the same year, President Eisenhower formally thanked the Order: “And this year we are particularly thankful to you for your part in the movement to have the words ‘under God’ added to our Pledge of Allegiance. These words will remind Americans that despite our great physical strength we must remain humble. They will help us to keep constantly in our minds and hearts the spiritual and moral principles which alone give dignity to man, and upon which our way of life is founded.”

Pope John XXIII, now a saint, in a private audience with Supreme Knight Hart and other Knights on April 14, 1961,

June 14 E 5_14 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 5/14/14 5:43 PM Page 11

Jules Schick/Knights of Columbus Multimedia Archives

Past Supreme Knight Hart leads delegates and visitors in the Pledge of Allegiance during the August 1955 Supreme Convention in Philadelphia.

expressed gratitude for the Order’s efforts to have the words “under God” added to the Pledge. Hart recalled that the pope was delighted to hear that “some 30 million children, at the beginning of each school day, acknowledged the existence of God and their dependence upon Divine Providence.”

While the Order could celebrate its role in helping to add “under God” to the Pledge, its mission in preserving these words was just beginning.

A decade prior to the 1954 victory, the Supreme Court had overturned an earlier ruling that had required public school students to say the Pledge of Allegiance. This 1943 decision is significant in relation to later court cases having to do with the “under God” addition.

In 2000, Dr. Michael Newdow, a prominent atheist, sued the Elk Grove Unified School District in California where his daughter was a student. In 2002, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that both “the 1954 Act adding the words ‘under God’ to the Pledge” and the “policy and practice of teacher-led recitation of the Pledge” violate the First Amendment.

This ruling, however, did not go into effect pending appeal to the Supreme Court. The Knights of Columbus, through the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, submitted an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief to the Supreme Court about the constitutionality of “under God” in the Pledge.

In a statement, Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson underscored the Order’s dedication to God and country, in the past and in the future: “If necessary, once again the Knights will do all we can to see that the Pledge of Allegiance remains as is.”

EVER VIGILANT The Supreme Court ultimately dismissed the lawsuit in 2004, citing that Newdow did not have custody of his daughter and therefore no legal standing.

However, in 2005, Newdow again tried to take on the Pledge in California and won in federal district court. But in March 2010, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed its earlier position and now ruled that “under God” was constitutional.

This decision was a victory for common sense, said Supreme Knight Anderson at the time. “Today, the court got it absolutely right: recitation of the Pledge is a patriotic exercise, not a religious prayer,” he said.

“Best of all,” Anderson continued, “the court said that the words ‘under God’ add a ‘note of importance which a Pledge to our Nation ought to have and which in our culture ceremonial references to God arouse.’”

In 2007 Newdow teamed with the Wisconsin-based Freedom from Religion Foundation to make yet another attempt, this time to stop optional recitation of the Pledge in the Hanover, N.H., public schools. They lost there, at the First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court rejected the case in November 2011. The Order had again been allowed to serve as “defendant-intervenor” in the case and was represented by the Becket Fund.

In recent years, the American Humanist Association (AHA) filed lawsuits against school districts in Massachusetts and New Jersey — taking the case against “under God” in the Pledge to the state level, on the claim that its daily recitation JUNE 2014

♦ C O L U M B I A ♦ 11

June 14 E 5_14 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 5/14/14 5:43 PM Page 12

THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The Pledge is recited today as it was on Flag Day, June 14, 1954:

I pledge allegiance to the flag of

in public schools goes against their state constitutions.

The Knights and those who favor the current Pledge were pleased to hear on May 9 that the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts turned down the latest attempt by the AHA to remove "under God." The AHA had lost their case in the lower court as well. As in previous cases, the Becket Fund represented interested families and the Knights of Columbus.

Roy Speckhardt, executive director of AHA, had said in a press release before the decision, “Patriotism has nothing to do with religion, but that’s the message Massachusetts is sending by mandating a daily, teacher-led, school-sponsored exercise that declares the nation to be ‘under God.’” The May 9 decision made the opposite claim: “Although the words 'under God' undeniably have a religious tinge, ... the pledge... is a fundamentally patriotic exercise, not a religious one.”

From the beginning, however, the Founding Fathers expressed their opinion that there is an integral relationship between religion and patriotism. In 1796, after two terms as the nation’s first president, George Washington offered these com-

pelling observations in his Farewell Address: “Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens. ... Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.”

Thus, while the legal challenges will no doubt continue, the Knights and others who understand the significance of the words “under God” will be stalwart in their defense — a defense firmly grounded in American history.♦

the United States of America,

and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under

God, indivisible, with liberty

12 ♦ C O L U M B I A ♦

JUNE 2014

JuSTIn Bell is a correspondent for the National Catholic Register, works for Boston Public Schools and at St. Mary of the Annunciation Parish in Danvers, Mass. He is a member of Denver Council 539.

Photo by Elyse Lewin/Getty Images

and justice for all.

June 14 E 5_14 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 5/14/14 5:44 PM Page 13

In the Footsteps of a Martyr Knight St. José María Robles’ courageous witness of faith inspired my mission to Mexico

by Father ’Rick LaBrecque

Knights of Columbus Multimedia Archives

W

ednesday, June 26, 2013, dawned dark and dreary in Tecolotlán, a small, five-century-old city in the state of Jalisco, Mexico. I joined a group of locals aboard a tired-looking bus, and we began to crawl our way uphill and out of town, through the woods. As we ascended the steep slope of Quila Mountain, protected from the elements in our cozy little bus, I recalled what took place this same day 86 years earlier.

Early in the morning of June 26, 1927, a far different cavalcade made the same ascent in the cold and rain. No one then traveled by bus or car; most were mounted on horses and carried guns. In their midst, 39-year-old Father José María Robles Hurtado, the parish priest of Tecolotlán, marched along on foot. The previous day, he had been taken prisoner by the agraristas, peasants armed by the anticlerical revolutionary Mexican government.

Father Robles had been condemned for treason for allegedly supporting the Cristero rebellion.

During my missionary experience in Tecolotlán June 21-July 9, I was invited to serve as a temporary chaplain for the Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a reli-

gious order founded by Father Robles, at their home for the aged. I likewise assisted Father José María Hernandez Alvarado, Father Robles’ present-day successor, with ministry to the local parish church and chapels. The residents, whose parents and grandparents were parishioners of the future saint and martyr, had many stories to recount.

RELIGIOUS FREEDOM AT RISK The 1920s and 30s was a complicated era in Mexican history, as the federal government worked to marginalize the Church and curb freedom of religion and worship. A new constitution implemented in 1917 forbade the Church from owning property and operating schools, and stripped priests of civil and political rights. In the name of Christ, Our Lady of Guadalupe and religious freedom, there emerged both nonviolent resistance and an armed rebellion called the Cristiada, its name taken from the rallying cry: “¡Viva Cristo Rey!” (“Long live Christ the King!”).

The resistance was concentrated in the west central area of the country and the Bajio, where Guadalajara is the principal city. José María Robles was ordained a

JUNE 2014

♦ C O L U M B I A ♦ 13

Clockwise from top left: The oak tree from which Father Robles was hanged on June 26, 1926, is seen above. • Father Robles’ Knights of Columbus membership form indicates that he was a member of Council 1979 in Guadalajara. • Father Robles is pictured with young parishioners during a celebration on the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus on June 15, 1917. priest there in 1913 at the age of 25, and he soon joined Knights of Columbus Council 1979.

When the Cristero rebellion began more than a decade later, the young priest was serving as pastor of the historic parish of St. Augustine in Tecolotlán. His was a dynamic, multi-faceted ministry, responding to the diverse challenges of his pastoral assignment. Just two years after his ordination, he founded a congregation of religious called the Victims of the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, known today as the Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. A prolific writer, he also published devotional and catechetical works, as well as religious poetry.

Father Robles’ enthusiasm and devotion were contagious; 14 ♦ C O L U M B I A ♦

JUNE 2014

religious education and lay groups began to thrive at his parish.

He continued to author religious pamphlets and newsletters to spread the Gospel and address controversial issues as they arose. He also traveled a great deal on horseback to outlying chapels in order to serve the communities on the parish’s peripheries; this included the small farming community in Quila, a nearby mountaintop village. At the turnoff from the Pacific Highway to Tecolotlán, Father Robles constructed a chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe, which served travelers as well as the surrounding residents.

On Jan. 11, 1923, the Mexican hierarchy and faithful proclaimed Jesus Christ as “Rey de la Nación” — “King of the

FORM: Knights of Columbus Supreme Council Archives — OTHER: Photos courtesy of the Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

June 14 E 5_14 FINAL_Mar E 12 5/15/14 10:04 AM Page 14

June 14 E 5_14 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 5/14/14 5:44 PM Page 15

Nation” — and dedicated an enormous statue of Jesus atop Realizing that Father Robles continued to minister to and Cubilete Mountain in the geographic center of the country. inspire the people, the authorities finally ordered a house-toThat same day, Father Robles assembled the faithful from his house search. On June 25, the feast of the Sacred Heart of and neighboring parishes at the highest point of Tecolotlán. Jesus, Father Robles was preparing to celebrate a private Mass There, around a huge cross he had erected, all swore fidelity when he heard a knock on his door. He opened it immediately, to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. identified himself and submitted to arrest. Marched through Meanwhile, the situation continued to deteriorate for the the streets to the agraristas’ barracks, he smiled and greeted Church in Mexico. For several years, Father Robles was not af- people along the way. He was given food, writing materials fected, as the civil officials of Tecolotlán were his friends and and left alone. He wrote a final prayer of dedication to the Sapracticing Catholics. However, on March 18, 1926, the Jalisco cred Heart and a letter to his mother, lovingly bidding her state government published a decree requiring all priests serving farewell and embracing God’s plan. in churches to be registered and authorized by civil authorities.

Around midnight, seven agraristas led Father Robles from Archbishop Francisco Orozco y Jiménez urged priests to stay the prison and began the cold, treacherous march up the in their parishes, but not to register. Father Robles complied mountain. Reaching the summit some four hours later, the and preached openly against this movemen led the priest to the foot of an ment of secularism. oak — “roble” in Spanish, a word also Three months later, Mexican Presiused to describe someone as a “pillar dent Plutarco Elías Calles issued strinof strength.” gent penalties and restrictions against An eyewitness to the execution reN EYEWITNESS TO THE the Church to take effect July 31. ported that Father Robles fell to his EXECUTION REPORTED THAT Among other anti-clerical provisions, knees, prayed quietly for a few mo“La Ley Calles” — the Calles Law — rements, pronounced a blessing on his FATHER ROBLES FELL TO HIS quired that all churches and priests regparish and pardoned his captors. After ister with the state and drastically kissing the ground, he then stood up.

KNEES, PRAYED QUIETLY FOR reduced the number of priests licensed One of the agraristas approached him to serve the Mexican people. with the rope that had been tied to the A FEW MOMENTS AND THEN The bishops responded with passive tree. Recognizing the man, Father PARDONED HIS CAPTORS. resistance and suspended all public Robles took the rope from his hands worship beginning the same day. Father and said, “Compadre, don’t soil your Robles distributed holy Communion at hands,” and placed the noose around midnight on July 30 to a large congrehis own neck. Then they hanged him. gation, which filled the church to overflowing; he then carried Once he had died, they cut down the martyr’s body and left it the Blessed Sacrament to his private residence. By order of the under the tree. People from the village later retrieved Father local government, Father Robles moved out of his rectory the Robles’ body for burial. next day. Finding refuge in the home of parishioners, he conAnd so, 86 years later to the day, our weary bus chugged to tinued shepherding his large flock by leading popular devo- a stop near the site where Father Robles had laid down his life tions and religious meetings, privately administering the for the faith in 1927. A few years ago, the Sisters of the Sacred sacraments, and caring for the sick and dying.

Heart of Jesus built a beautiful shrine there. Furnishings in the sanctuary were made from the oak tree from which Father PERSECUTION UNLEASHED Robles was hanged. Pilgrims come continuously to honor the On the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Dec. 12, 1926, the saint and martyr, whom Pope John Paul II canonized May 21, mayor sent word to Father Robles that an order had been is- 2000, together with 24 other Mexican martyrs. Including St. sued for his arrest and that he ought to go into hiding. He did José María Robles, six of them were Knights of Columbus. for a while, but he emerged briefly after the new year to lead The day of our visit, perhaps appropriately, continued to a rededication of the hilltop cross in Tecolotlán on the monu- be damp, but the fervor and enthusiasm of us pilgrims was ment’s one-year anniversary. Several men who were present at not. A beautiful Mass, picnic, and cultural presentation of the ceremony would go on to join the Cristero rebellion. Father music and dance united us in thanking God for this valiant Robles blessed them, gave them a banner of Our Lady of Knight, pastor, martyr and saint.♦ Guadalupe and encouraged them to be willing to give their lives for Christ in defense of the faith.

FATHER ’RICK LABRECQUE is a retired priest of the DioSix days later, a neighboring priest was taken by agraristas cese of Charleston, S.C., where he has worked to spread the to the cross and hanged from a tree. The blood of martyrs had Order among Hispanic parishioners. A native of Waterbury, begun to flow. Upon hearing this, Father Robles exclaimed, “I Conn., the birthplace of Venerable Michael McGivney, he is will be next!” From that moment on, he moved from one a member of Father William G. Kinney Jr. Council 14892 in house to another and celebrated Mass in secret. Many people Loris, S.C., and St. James the Younger Assembly 3166 in knew where he was, but the authorities never found him.

Conway.

A

JUNE 2014

♦ C O L U M B I A ♦ 15

June 14 E 5_14 FINAL_Mar E 12 5/15/14 9:23 AM Page 16

‘In All Things Love’ Service and compassion form a holy alliance between the Knights and the Servants of Charity at Michigan’s St. Louis Center

by Joseph O’Brien

S

t. Luigi Guanella (1842-1915) and Venerable Michael McGivney (1852-1890) were born a decade and an ocean apart, but these two priests of God founded lasting societies dedicated to charity and service.

In 1908, Father Guanella established the Servants of Charity, an Italian religious order whose charism is to aid those with special needs, especially people with intellectual disabilities.

This charism would likewise grow in significance for the Knights of Columbus, founded by Father McGivney as a lay organization some 26 years earlier.

Through an alliance now famous throughout Michigan, the Knights and Servants of Charity have faced the 21st-century challenges of funding and maintaining a Catholic nonprofit facility that houses 50 adults and children with special needs.

The St. Louis Center in rural Chelsea, Mich., began in 1960 as a diocesan-sponsored school run by the Servants of Charity for boys with mental impairments. It took its present form as a group home in the early 1970s, with the Servants of Charity continuing to provide administrative and spiritual support.

While the Michigan Knights of Columbus has been supporting the program since its inception, the Order has been particularly involved since the early 1990s, when the center began to experience some financial troubles. At that time, the Knights and other benefactors stepped up their aid to ensure that the center would not only survive, but also flourish in the years to come.

In addition to the Michigan State Council and councils throughout the state, St. Louis Guanella Council 3092 in Chelsea has been among the St. Louis Center’s most reliable allies and a mainstay of support.

SAINTED WORK Named for Father Luigi (Louis) Guanella, whom Pope Benedict XVI canonized in 2011 (see sidebar), the St. Louis Center was founded in 1960 to care for persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities, then referred to as the “mentally retarded.” Cardinal Edward Mooney, the first archbishop of Detroit, invited the Servants of Charity to found the St. Louis Center, and his successor, Cardinal John Dearden, saw the project to its completion.

With a maximum capacity for 93 residents, the St. Louis Center currently serves half that number to accommodate individuals who require single rooms. In the center’s family at16 ♦ C O L U M B I A ♦

JUNE 2014

mosphere, those with Down syndrome, autism and other intellectual disabilities receive educational, spiritual and professional formation.

The program “is perfectly in line” with St. Luigi’s vision for helping those with special needs, according to Servants of Charity Father Enzo Addari, administrator of the St. Louis Center and a member of Council 3092.

“It is a very small, particular thing we do here, but part of our faith is that God wants to have a family around himself,” he said. “People with disabilities are human beings made in the image and likeness of God, and the mystery of redemption is true for them as well.”

Servants of Charity Father Joseph Rinaldo, the community’s superior and faithful friar of Cardinal O’Hara Assembly 489 in Ann Arbor, further emphasized that the Holy Family of Nazareth inspired St. Luigi’s work. This same spirit and model, he added, sets the St. Louis Center apart as truly Catholic.

“You look around here and the children see the staff as their family,” he said. “They feel secure.”

With a full schedule of events and activities, the day program at the center offers residents opportunities for supervised social interaction such as arts and crafts, cooking, cleaning, and other life skills. Residents ages 8-18 attend local schools during the day, while adult residents, when possible, are employed off premises.

The St. Louis Center residents also participate in sports and exercise, while social workers and direct care workers provide one-on-one guidance and therapy. For basic health-care needs, the program also has two registered nurses on staff.

One of these nurses, Servants of Charity Father David Stawasz, said that his work with residents allows him to embrace his vocation both as a registered nurse and a priest.

“The majority of people who are here working want to be involved with the residents,” said Father Stawasz, a member of Council 3092. “It’s not a 9-to-5 job, but you can get to know each resident individually. We have a lot of activities so they’re not locked away from society.”

At the center’s gymnasium, for instance, residents are fond of putting their own spin on the traditional game of basketball.

“Usually we play local youth groups,” said program director Rick Visel, a member of Saline (Mich.) Council 6674. “They come out and we divide up — and it’s a pretty intense basketball game. We have about 15 players on each side … going back and forth, taking turns shooting.”

June 14 E 5_14 FINAL_Mar E 12 5/14/14 7:03 PM Page 17

TOP: Photo by Melanie Reyes — BOTTOM: Photo by Joseph O’Brien

Special Projects Assistant Kelly Flaherty visits with St. Louis Center resident Lisa as she works on her knitting project. • Residents Lee and Mike stand in front of a statue of St. Luigi Guanella in the main lobby of the St. Louis Center.

JUNE 2014

♦ C O L U M B I A ♦ 17

June 14 E 5_14 FINAL_Mar E 12 5/15/14 8:58 AM Page 18

Above: Father Enzo Addari, administrator of the St. Louis Center, chats with resident Ryan in the facility’s main lobby. • Left: Public Relations Director Joe Yekulis stands with maintenance worker Tom Turek (center) and Servant of Charity Father Joseph Rinaldo, the community’s religious superior. All three are members of St. Louis Guanella Council 3092 in Chelsea, Mich.

Mike, an adult resident at the center, is an avid fan of sports in general, and basketball especially. Possessing an athletic build and the steady blue eyes of a master free-thrower, Mike has an infectious enthusiasm for life. When he’s not working at a local phone company helping to package phone books, he volunteers at Meals on Wheels and serves at Mass, which is offered daily in the center’s chapel.

“I like helping Father Joseph and Father Enzo,” Mike said.

“At church, you get to see God.” Another adult resident, Lisa, is grateful that the center provides her with a place to live and helped her find work as a custodian at the Chelsea Courthouse.

“Working makes me feel warm and happy,” she said. Then, with a mixture of pride and gratitude, she confided in a lower 18 ♦ C O L U M B I A ♦

JUNE 2014

KNIGHTS AND SERVANTS Given St. Luigi’s mission to serve those with special needs, it seemed inevitable that the U.S. branch of the Servants of Charity would cross paths with the Knights of Columbus.

“The Knights have been involved with the St. Louis Center from day one,” Father Addari said. “The support they gave to us is not only financial, but also emotional and personal.

Every time we have a major need, we call the Knights and they show up.”

Past Grand Knight Tom Turek of Council 3092 is a maintenance worker at the St. Louis Center. He’s proud of the fact that the council’s support goes beyond giving out Tootsie Rolls and cutting checks, as important as those activities are.

“I realized at some point that most of the members in our council didn’t really have a clue about what goes on here at the St. Louis Center,” he said. “So at the time I was grand

TOP: Photo by Melanie Reyes — BOTTOM: Photo by Joseph O’Brien

voice, “Someone helped me get the job.”

But like anyone with a regular job, Lisa also looks forward to the weekends — and especially vacation time.

“My favorite time is Easter,” she said with a laugh. “I get to go home for spring break. I visit my folks.”

June 14 E 5_14 FINAL_Mar E 12 5/15/14 9:24 AM Page 19

Joe Yekulis, a past grand knight of Council 3092, works in his office at the St. Louis Center.

knight, I said that we as a council needed to have some more involvement.”

The Knights came up with the concept of an annual summer picnic and kickball game with the residents — an event that has grown in popularity each year.

Likewise, Past Grand Knight Joe Yekulis has been involved with the center since 2001 when he served as director of the center’s board of directors. In 2006, he was hired as its public relations director.

With the help of the center’s development director, Peggy Cole, Yekulis has also spearheaded the center’s ongoing $10 million Legacy Campaign. Through private donations from Knights, other organizations and individuals, the campaign has so far raised about one-third of the money needed to finance the renovation of the facility’s welcome center and underwrite the cost

of a modern playground on the center’s 180-acre property.

The campaign will also help expand and update one of its residential facilities, Guanella Hall. When funds become available, Yekulis said, the center will build a unique assisted-living community, Village at St. Louis, which will accommodate residents and their elderly family members.

Since working side-by-side with the Servants of Charity, Yekulis has come to better understand the true meaning of service and charity that is foundational to both the Servants of Charity and the Knights.

“Our residents are people who can’t take care of themselves, and charity is, after all, the first responsibility of the Knights and the Servants of Charity,” he said.

When St. Luigi was canonized on Oct. 23, 2011, in Rome, Yekulis said, the Knights of Columbus were well represented at the event. At the invitation of the Servants of Charity and before a crowd of 30,000 faithful, he read a prayer for the precanonization ceremony in St. Peter’s Square.

A visit to the saint’s birthplace in northern Italy then confirmed for Yekulis why the Servants of Charity and Knights share such a strong bond with the poor — and with each other.

“I can understand the humble place Father Guanella came from,” he said, “and how God can take a person like this and turn him into a saint whose impact can be felt worldwide. It says a lot about the human spirit and what we as individuals are capable of accomplishing if we put our minds to it.”♦ JOSEPH O’BRIEN is a staff writer for The Catholic Times in the Diocese of La Crosse, Wis.

TOP: Photo by Melanie Reyes — ST. LUIGI GUANELLA: CNS photo/Cause of Blessed Louis Guanella

THE LIFE AND MISSION OF ST. LUIGI GUANELLA LUIGI GUANELLA was born in 1842, the ninth of 13 children, raised in the northern Italian mountain village of Franciscio di Campodolcino. It was a time of great political upheaval in Italy that led to the neglect of the poor and especially those with special needs.

In seeking to alleviate the plight of his countrymen, St. Luigi formed the Daughters of St. Mary Providence (1890), the Servants of Charity (1908), and an organization of the faithful called the Pious Union of St. Joseph (1914) — which counted Pope Pius X as its first member.

Three years before his death, St. Luigi visited the United States and established his first American foothold in Chicago with a house for the Daughters in 1913. Today, the Servants of Charity also have a presence in Europe,

Africa, Asia, and North and South America, with more than 500 priests and brothers continuing St. Luigi’s vision as embodied by the order’s motto: In Omnibus Caritas (“In all things love”).

St. Luigi once wrote in a letter, “The poor and needy are all over the world. Wherever you may go, they are there waiting for you.

The whole world is your homeland.”

At the Mass for his canonization Oct. 23, 2011, Pope Benedict XVI called St. Luigi a special gift of grace for the whole Church.

“The love of God aroused in him the desire for the good of the people who were entrusted to him in the routine of daily life,” the pope said. “He paid caring attention to each one and respected the pace of their development.”

For more information, visit servantsofcharity.org.♦

JUNE 2014

♦ C O L U M B I A ♦ 19

June 14 E 5_14 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 5/14/14 5:45 PM Page 20

Remembering Mr. Blue Myles Connolly, a former editor of Columbia, had a lasting impact on American culture through film, literature and personal witness

by Alton J. Pelowski

n my office at the Supreme Council headquarters hangs a his senior year. After serving a year in the Navy, at the conframed copy of a November 1924 editorial — Myles Con- clusion of World War I, Connolly spent four years as a renolly’s inaugural column during his four years as editor of porter for the Boston Post. In that position, he became one of Columbia. Some nine decades later, the editorial staff still the few journalists who was ever granted an interview with finds inspiration in Connolly’s words as he boldly asks “Our President Calvin Coolidge.

Lady to keep Columbia under her wise and kindly protecWhile still in his 20s, Connolly moved to New Haven, tion” and affirms that the magazine’s Conn., to work as editor of the unique appeal and potential stems Knights’ magazine. Earlier that year, from its Catholicity. “It has all joy, Columbia had published an excerpt all beauty, all truth to command,” he from G. K. Chesterton’s most recent wrote, adding that the magazine is book, St. Francis of Assisi. The mag“broad in its conception, noble in its azine had previously featured several ideals.” articles by Chesterton and fellow Such nobility of principle was inBritish literary giant, Hillaire Belloc. dicative of Connolly’s magnanimous During Connolly’s editorship, both character, which complemented his authors contributed regularly to Cosix-foot-something frame. A passionlumbia, which featured five articles ate Catholic and self-described sentiby Chesterton and 10 by Belloc bementalist, he would go on to become tween 1925 and 1926. a successful and influential author At this time, the Church in Mexand screenwriter, making his mark on ico began to suffer violent persecuAmerican culture and innumerable tion as the result of anti-Catholic lives along the way. laws, and Columbia became an inSeveral months ago, I was concreasingly important mouthpiece for tacted by Mary Kay Williams, a the Order. K of C leadership spoke playwright from Richmond, Va. She out strongly against the Mexican invited me to attend a dramatic government and even criticized the adaptation of Connolly’s beloved silence of U.S. officials. When the classic novel, Mr. Blue, on the occacover of the November 1926 issue of Myles Connolly sion of the 50th anniversary of ConColumbia featured Knights carrying (1897-1964) nolly’s death. The experience offered the banner of “Liberty” and the me the opportunity to meet with one of Connolly’s two sur- words “The Red Peril of Mexico,” it was extensively discussed viving children, Mary Connolly Breiner, and to learn more by a meeting of the Mexican legislature, which subsequently about what an extraordinary man her father was. I share here banned the Order and the magazine throughout the country. a brief sketch of Connolly’s life and work, and the legacy he Still, such consequences did not quench Connolly’s boldness left behind. and zeal. He was a principled man who eschewed mediocrity, and by all accounts, he did nothing halfheartedly. In a March GREAT EXPECTATIONS 1925 letter to then-Supreme Advocate Luke E. Hart, Connolly Myles Connolly was born in Roxbury, Mass., a Boston sub- wrote, “I am growing more and more optimistic about the fuurb, in 1897 to a struggling Irish-American family. He at- ture of the magazine. … With a few more months of protended Boston Latin School and later Boston College, where grams, it should take its place with the great magazines of he was editor of the campus literary magazine, Stylus, during America.”

20 ♦ C O L U M B I A ♦

JUNE 2014

Photo by Ernest A. Bachrach / Courtesy of Bachrach

I

June 14 E 5_14 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 5/14/14 5:45 PM Page 21

Photo by Silver Screen Collection/Moviepix/Getty Images

Among the most notable films to which Myles Connolly contributed as a screenwriter was Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, starring Jimmy Stewart and directed by Frank Capra. Connolly played a part in crafting a number of Capra hits, but in many cases was left uncredited.

Many years later, in a 1951 interview with The Pilot, the newspaper of the Archdiocese of Boston, Connolly recalled that he wrote much of the magazine himself in the middle of the night, sometimes using pseudonyms for various articles.

Nonetheless, while working for the Knights of Columbus, Connolly found time to write a short novel titled Mr. Blue, which remains his most celebrated work. Published in early 1928, the book features an eccentric protagonist named J. Blue — a deeply religious young man with an almost overwhelming passion for life. Blue chooses to live atop a New York skyscraper to be closer to the heavens, gives away a large inheritance for love of poverty, and has a profound effect on the lives of those around him.

Often compared to a modern-day St. Francis, the character of Blue was no doubt inspired in part by Chesterton, whose biography of the saint had been published a few years earlier. In his introduction to the 2005 Loyola Classics edition of Mr. Blue, Jesuit Father John B. Breslin further observes that F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic, The Great Gatsby, was published in 1925. Both Jay Gatsby and J. Blue, he says, are larger than life, but “Gatsby stands for everything that Blue, three years later, rejects: the pursuit of great wealth, the willingness to do whatever it takes to win, the craving for status and acceptance.”

After nearly four years working for the Knights of Columbus, Connolly had grown weary of the job. Amid editorial disagreements with the Supreme Officers and Columbia’s general manager, whom he believed lacked appreciation for his work, Connolly longed for a break. “I have decided that it is time to move,” he wrote in his April 1928 resignation letter. “A change of air will do me good and I really believe others, also.”

SUCCESS IN HOLLYWOOD Joseph P. Kennedy, the patriarch of the Kennedy family, was among those familiar with Connolly and his work. He was starting a new Hollywood studio, RKO Pictures, and offered Connolly employment as a screenwriter. As the story goes, Connolly said he would move only on the condition that he could also be a producer and that, if he proved unsuccessful

in Hollywood, Kennedy would pay his way back to the East Coast and help him find work.

The backup plan proved unnecessary, however, for Connolly would soon embark on a long and successful career in the film industry — but not before marrying a young woman named Agnes Bevington, to whom he dedicated Mr. Blue. Raised in an affluent Catholic family in Nashville, Tenn., Bevington was an acclaimed concert pianist in New York City, playing in Carnegie Hall and on one occasion before the Prince of Wales. Connolly held beauty and excellence, as well as perseverance, in high esteem; he patiently courted Bevington for four years, and they were married May 29, 1929. The newlyweds left via train to California that same night.

Connolly needed no convincing about the power of film to transform culture. In one of Blue’s grandiloquent speeches, he put it this way: “It can create a new people, gracious and JUNE 2014

♦ C O L U M B I A ♦ 21

June 14 E 5_14 FINAL rev_Mar E 12 5/15/14 2:30 PM Page 22

The Connolly family is pictured at their Malibu beach home in 1948. Left to right: Myles Jr., Terrence, Mary, Agnes, Ann, Kevin and Myles. graceful, sensitive, kindly, religious, a people discovering in turn down your script,” and then proceeded to give concrete beauty the happiest revelation of God. No art has ever had advice on how to create more sympathetic and interesting the future motion picture has. If it fails, no art shall have had characters. “This was Connolly at his very best — a story editor,” Capra wrote. as great and lamentable a failure.”

Ultimately, It Happened One Night went on to win five It was not long after moving to Hollywood that Connolly met and befriended director Frank Capra, with whom he Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Writing. collaborated throughout his career. Capra, in his 1971 au- Capra later told Connolly, “Myles, you know that picture’s tobiography, The Name Above the Title, called Connolly “a an accident. I made the damn thing because everybody said it shouldn’t be made. Any credit for it hard-nosed, sentimental sophisticate belongs to you. You made the big who was to burn his lasting brand on story change.” Connolly’s name, howmy personal and professional hide.” ever, was not to be found among the In the book, Capra proceeded to O ME A BOOK IS credits, presumably because of the paint a caricature of Connolly, whom politics of studio contracts. he perceived as one of his greatest CATHOLIC IF IT TELLS IN Connolly’s family was acutely aware friends and fiercest critics. of this lack of screen credit for such It is commonly known that in addiCONCRETE TERMS MAN ’ S tion to writing lesser-known Capra films as Mr. Smith Goes to Washington films such as State of the Union (1939), among others, but it was not RELATION TO HIS G OD (1948), starring Spencer Tracy and something that his youngest daughter, AND TO HIS SOUL.” Katherine Hepburn, Connolly had no Mary, ever heard her father talk about. small part in writing and influencing During his two decades in Hollymany Capra blockbusters — for wood, Connolly had a hand in dozens which he was never formally credited. of films. His screenplay for Music for Capra himself relates in his autobiography how the screen- Millions (1944), a poignant wartime comedy starring Marplay of It Happened One Night (1934) was rewritten to in- garet O’Brien and Jimmy Durante, earned him an Academy clude essential changes suggested by Connolly. According to Award nomination. In 1952, he wrote My Son John with diCapra, Connolly said, “Frank, it’s easy to see why performers rector Leo McCarey, a friend and fellow Catholic known for 22 ♦ C O L U M B I A ♦

JUNE 2014

Photos courtesy of Mary Connolly Breiner

“T

June 14 E 5_14 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 5/14/14 5:59 PM Page 23

such films as Going My Way (1944) and The Bells of St. Mary’s (1945).

My Son John was produced at the height of the infamous McCarthy hearings and the Hollywood blacklist, which sought to purge the industry of communist influence, real or imagined. The film, starring Helen Hayes and Robert Walker, unfortunately came to be perceived as anti-communist propaganda and effectively ended Connolly’s Hollywood career.

‘THE ADVENTURE OF CATHOLICISM’ After more than 20 years in the film industry, Connolly once again turned to writing fiction. His second book was titled The Bump on Brannigan’s Head (1950), and, like the first, was dedicated to his beloved wife. He dedicated his third book, Dan England and the Noonday Devil (1951), to his three sons: Terrence, Myles Jr., and Kevin. The Reason for Ann (1953), a collection of short stories, was dedicated to his daughter Ann; and, finally, Three Who Ventured (1958) was dedicated to Mary.

In the 1951 Pilot interview, Connolly said, “My characters are mostly composites of people I’ve met. They are all, in a way, portraits.”

In fact, according to daughter Mary, her mother would say that the character of Mr. Blue was semi-autobiographical.

“It was his spirit, his thoughts,” Mary said, adding that, like Blue, her father had “a deep devotion to Our Lady” and “such a generous spirit — whether it was material or spiritual giving, it was to everyone. He really wanted to live his faith as deeply and wholeheartedly as it was possible.”

Dan England and the Noonday Devil, though out of print and much less known than Mr. Blue, was Connolly’s favorite personal work, according to Mary. Like Mr. Blue, the book features a Boston reporter as a skeptical narrator who learns about and befriends the impressive protagonist. A profoundly religious man known for his hospitality, Dan England is described by the narrator as “a combination of extraordinary wisdom and childlike innocence.” And like Blue decades earlier, England’s age and physical description roughly coincided with that of Connolly.

It might be said that J. Blue and Dan England, with all of their idealism and humility, exemplified how Connolly perceived the world and aspired to live.

Connolly’s life and work were defined by his Catholic faith.

While much of his writing and many of his characters were explicitly religious, he did not believe in piety for its own sake.

“To me a book is Catholic if it tells in concrete terms man’s relation to his God and to his soul,” he said in the 1951 interview. “Why can’t some of our writers talk more about the adventure of Catholicism?”

According to Connolly’s son, Kevin, a member of Stella Maris Council 3772 in San Clemente, Calif., his father influenced the faith of many colleagues in the film industry, including Capra. Connolly was godfather to Capra’s three children, and in ways both subtle and direct, urged Capra to rediscover his Catholic faith.

Finally, after several decades of poor health, Connolly was

Myles Connolly is pictured with his wife, Agnes, at the family’s Malibu home in 1948.

told by his doctors that he needed open-heart surgery. Four days before the surgery, Mary, then 20 years old, called and reiterated what she had written to him in a letter: “I don’t know what’s wrong with your heart. Your heart is perfect; it’s the most beautiful heart. Because of you, I understand God the Father’s love for me. I love you.”

Connolly died July 15, 1964, shortly after the surgery, at age 66. The subsequent decades brought with them the death of three of Connolly’s five children — Terrence, Myles Jr. and Ann — and his wife, who outlived him by some 23 years.

Still today, Kevin Connolly and Mary Connolly Breiner remember their father as a strong, loving man, always striving to be better, yet keenly aware of his own imperfections.

In 1928, in a final, unpublished Columbia column, Connolly wrote the following in the voice of Mr. Blue: “All of us tend to withdraw into ourselves. All of us incline to build these little walls of protection about ourselves. It is our own natural distrust of ourselves, our own hidden cowardice, our congenital selfishness, if you wish, that prompts this caution, that urges this smugness. It is only by effort, by gallant aspiration, by courage, that we can defeat these congealing, these contracting forces. And oh, we must oppose them!”

Wise beyond his years, young Connolly would go on to live by these words. He concluded, “Love should begin at home.

Truly. But it’s a small love and worth little that ends there. It is not always the fool that wears his heart on his sleeve. It may well be the saint.”♦ ALTON J. PELOWSKI is editor of Columbia magazine.

JUNE 2014

♦ C O L U M B I A ♦ 23

June 14 E 5_14 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 5/14/14 5:45 PM Page 24

Yukon G ld Canadian Knights cook up thousands of sourdough pancakes mixed with charity and good cheer

W

iry trapper Vic Sokalski poured sourdough batter from an old robin’s egg blue bucket onto a sizzling griddle.

The 73-year-old had left the pristine wilderness of his trapline in the Yukon to labor in a crowded basement kitchen for the weekend. Like early harbingers of spring, Sokalski and fellow Knights were busily preparing hot and savory fare for the annual Sourdough Pancake Breakfast in Whitehorse, Yukon, Feb. 22-23, 2014.

For 43 years, Bishop Coudert Council 6232 in Whitehorse has been feeding sourdough pancakes to hundreds of people during the February festival called the Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous. Celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, the Rendezvous revels in the history and costumes of the Yukon capital’s Klondike Gold Rush era, featuring events and competitions that have drawn thousands of visitors in recent years.

Many, however, consider the pancake breakfast the main event.

“We got this breakfast going in 1971,” Sokalski explained.

“Our instigator pinched his wife’s blue kitchen bucket for us to mix the first batter. We use it to this day. I tell the guys, ‘This is a talisman — we can’t lose it.’”

The batter is a secret recipe that has to be started 10 days before the pancakes are made. Then each day a Knight has to stir the batter. The tangy golden pancakes created from this recipe are a prospect northerners travel from miles around to savor.

“Are you going to the Knights’ pancake breakfast this year?” they ask each other as they come out from winter hibernation.

“Oh, I wouldn’t miss it for the world!” comes the frequent reply.

Hosted in the large basement hall of Sacred Heart Cathedral in downtown Whitehorse, the two-day Sourdough Pancake Breakfast feeds more than 1,000 hungry people each year. In addition, afternoon shifts are devoted to serving free meals to the homeless and needy.

24 ♦ C O L U M B I A ♦

JUNE 2014

A HISTORIC COMMUNITY MEAL During this year’s Rendezvous weekend, it was -36 degrees Celsius (-33 Fahrenheit) with the arctic breeze. Before the doors opened at 8 a.m. on Saturday, people were already waiting in their idling vehicles, eager to get a seat inside. Although the sun had not yet risen, they began to form a line, which snaked up the stairs and out onto the street.

Yukoners were donned in their winter finest. Some wore fur-trimmed parkas and beaded moose hide gloves. Others were buried beneath snow pants, heavy coats, scarves and toques. Children peeled off snowsuits and mittens to show their snowflake-patterned wool sweaters.

John Robbins was the first Knight to greet the multitudes.

For the past 16 years, he’s been selling tickets.

“I really enjoy meeting the people at the door as they come in. Everyone is hungry, in a good mood and eager to chat,” he said.

Robbins wore a traditional Rendezvous costume: a top hat and garter on his arm. He noted that tickets are usually $7 per person, but the price isn’t set in stone. “I might round down the price for a family in need,” he said. “If someone just can’t afford it, then the price is free.”

Damien Burns arrived with his family, all bundled in heavy winter clothing. He attended both the Saturday and Sunday breakfast.

“This is a historic community meal,” he raved. Burns attended the pancake breakfast as a child and now brings his own children. “I run into people I know but haven’t seen in a while,” he added. “We’re already texting other young families to see who is coming.”

Burns’ wife, Betty, agreed: “It’s our tradition to go to Mass before coming down here,” she said. “We smell the aroma of

PANCAKE: Thinkstock/iStock

by Roxanne Livingstone | photos by Ian M. Stewart

June 14 E 5_14 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 5/14/14 5:46 PM Page 25

A family enjoys the fare at the 2014 Sourdough Rendezvous Pancake Breakfast, hosted by Bishop Coudert Council 6232 in Whitehorse, Yukon. the pancakes during Mass and really anticipate it. We like this because we’re in the hall where we have church and community events. This place belongs to everybody.”

And that’s exactly who was there — everybody. A record number of people attended the pancake breakfast this year, perhaps because it was the 50th anniversary of the Rendezvous.

It has always been recognized that Yukoners have cabin fever by February and need to get out to meet and greet each other. The annual winter get-together in Whitehorse actually began in the mid-1940s, but under a different name: Yukon Carnival Week. The events were much like the ones enjoyed today, but back then they were held on the frozen Yukon River. There was the axe throw, log toss and one-dog pull to see whose dog could pull the heaviest sacks of flour. This year’s contests included snow carving, can-can dancing with snowshoes, chainsaw chucking and the “freezing hair” contest, among others.

Carnival Week foundered in the 1950s but was reborn on Main Street in 1964 as the Sourdough Rendezvous. In the last decade, it has grown so popular that it moved to Shipyards Park, where the paddle-wheelers were once built to send supplies and people down the Yukon River to the Klondike goldfields. Last year, close to 6,000 visitors attended; this year that number doubled.

While cheerfully handing change to a man in a beaver-fur hat, Robbins filled in further details. “I understand that from the very beginning our pancake breakfast became a Ren-

dezvous tradition,” he said. “Now many people either start their Rendezvous participation with the pancake breakfast or use the breakfast as a meeting place. The fact that it’s kidfriendly is very attractive as well.”

FRATERNITY AND CHARITY IN ACTION Fiddlers played old-time tunes in the background while Rudy Couture moved about greeting people and bussing tables. A Knight for more than four decades, Couture noted that the event is getting more popular every year.

“At the moment we are the only pancake makers,” he said, “so we get all the community. My favorite part is the brotherhood of getting all our brothers together in action. We need action.”

These sentiments were echoed by Grand Knight Cannaan Khoza, who was rapidly flipping pancakes off the grill and onto paper plates.

“This is the one annual event where all of us Knights are together,” he said amid the kitchen clatter.

According to Khoza, the profits from the breakfast are returned to the community.

“We run the soup kitchen right here one day a week, and we give to the Food Bank and to other people who come looking for help,” Khoza added. “After reviewing what they want to see if it is in order with our Catholic faith, we then try to help out.”

State Deputy Edward J. Sawchuk, who oversees K of C units JUNE 2014

♦ C O L U M B I A ♦ 25

June 14 E 5_14 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 5/14/14 5:46 PM Page 26

Top: Clayton Berriman flips a sourdough pancake while fellow Knights Don Inverarity, Vic Sokalski and Joe Hanrath help prepare food in the basement kitchen of Sacred Heart Cathedral in Whitehorse. • Left: British Columbia and Yukon State Deputy Edward J. Shawchuk mans the pancake grill while District Deputy Edgardo R. Panes of British Columbia and Yukon District #23 stands ready with a plate in hand. Grand Knight Cannaan Khoza and member Bob Ehman keep the food flowing in the background.

in British Columbia and the Yukon, was piling sausages onto pancake-laden plates. He was working nonstop, supporting his brother Knights for the 50th year of the Rendezvous.

“The beauty of the Knights is we really enjoy feeding people,” he said. “In this case, we feed the community, but the local council has donated three moose and a caribou to the local soup kitchen as well.”

While he spoke, requests for “More sausages!” “More ham!” and “More pancakes!” rang out across the hectic kitchen.

With a smile, Sawchuk added, “We try to fund as many charities as we can in the community.”

The breakfast continued until 1 p.m. Then the Knights sat down for a bite to eat of their own. Ten minutes later, they 26 ♦ C O L U M B I A ♦

JUNE 2014

were up and preparing to feed poor members of the community for free for a couple more hours.

At the end of the day, they had put in 12 hours of work.

Five years ago, the two-day weekend event raised $6,000.

This year, the Knights netted close to $10,000, which will be given back to the community.

The Whitehorse Knights didn’t see any of the Rendezvous events that weekend. They didn’t see the sunlight that everyone was raving about. They missed out seeing Canada win gold in hockey at the Sochi Olympics.

But they didn’t mind. They were pursuing golden opportunities of their own by putting fraternity and charity into action.

By the time the sun set shortly after 6 p.m. on Sunday, the sourdough pancake breakfast filled the tummies of more than 1,500 people, rich and poor alike. But more importantly it had filled souls starved for community connection amid a long, dark Yukon winter.♦ ROXANNE LIVINGSTONE is a freelance journalist who lives in Whitehorse, Canada.

KIA 06_2014 5_13 FINAL.qxp_Layout 1 5/14/14 7:57 PM Page 27

KN IGHTS IN ACTION

REPORTS FROM COUNCILS, ASSEMBLIES AND COLUMBIAN SQUIRES CIRCLES

to pick up the students for 10 a.m. Mass, despite planning a charity pancake breakfast at the same time.

HOOPS REJUVENATED

Dale Gavin, Allen Coyle and Ken Croat of Pope John Paul I Council 10150 in St. Mary’s, Iowa, level an old gravestone at St. Mary’s Cemetery. Knights conducted a cemetery cleanup day, working with members of the community to level headstones and repair ones that had fallen from their bases.

CEMETERY PURCHASE

Father Charles C. Reid Assembly in Jackson, Tenn., donated $1,000 to the West Tennessee Veterans Cemetery Steering Committee to help purchase land for a veterans cemetery in Parker’s Crossroads.

TREASURE HUNTERS

Father John F. Farrell Council 7918 in Emmett, Mich., held its annual “antique, treasure

and junque sale” at Our Lady of Carmel Church. Knights volunteered 1,500 hours to fill the church’s 4,800-squarefoot hall with goods for sale.

The event generated $26,000 to help repave the church parking lot.

THE AMAZING RALLY

Richmond (Quebec) Council 1950 hosted an Amazing Race-style rally in which participants navigated their way through a set course to solve riddles and answer questions.

About 150 people attended the event, which was followed by a spaghetti dinner.

The top four teams also received prize plaques.

Bishop Pinten Council 2931 in Ontonagon, Mich., replaced the equipment on two basketball hoops in the parking lot of Holy Family Church. Worried that people would stop using the court because of its poor appearance, Knights replaced the backboards, hoops and nets.

SCHOLARSHIP DEVELOPMENT

St. Cecilia Council 12613 in Pawtucket, R.I., hosted a clam cake and chowder dinner that raised $1,200 to help develop a new scholarship for St. Cecilia School, which recently celebrated its 100th anniversary of providing quality Catholic education to local children.

Members of Father Charles Peterman Council 12314 in Bartow, Fla., stand with some of the shoes they collected for area elementary school students. Knights held a drive to collect new and gently used shoes for needy students at three local schools.

RIVERSIDE MASS

Members of General de Lafayette Assembly in Lafayette, Ind., and their families gathered for the assembly’s annual Mass along the Tippecanoe River. The Mass was followed by a barbecue picnic for all those in attendance.

PACKAGES FOR SOLDIERS

Immaculate Conception Council 11637 in Dublin, Ga., assembled more than 3,000 entertainment and personal care items for soldiers serving with the 2nd Calvary Regiment in Afghanistan.

The request for the care packages came from a local family with six members serving in the armed forces.

BREAKFAST AND BAKE SALE

Blessed Sacrament / Msgr.

Newman Flanagan Council 11038 in Sioux City, Iowa, donated the proceeds from a benefit breakfast, bake sale and silent auction to help council member Pat Conway. The event generated more than $21,000 to assist with Conway’s medical bills related to his treatment for renal cancer.

GETTING TO CHURCH

Father Ken W. Bayer Council 12000 in Norcross, Ga., helped Catholic members of Florida State University’s marching band attend Mass when the band was in town to support the university football team. With no transportation options available from their hotel, the band members had no way to get to church. Knights arranged

the community to go to confession, receive Communion, pray the rosary and meditate on the mysteries of the rosary.

FATIMA DEVOTIONS

St. Ignatius Council 15247 in Mobile, Ala., has joined the Sister Servants of the Eternal Word in promoting “First Saturday Fatima Devotions.” By publicizing the devotions in its parish bulletin and in the Catholic Week, the newspaper of the Archdiocese of Mobile, the council encouraged parishioners and

Anthony Reale and Angelo Andriani of Mary Immaculate Council 12769 in Secaucus, N.J., participate in the annual Walk to End Alzheimer’s in Jersey City. In addition to participating in and raising $1,000 for the event, Knights provided volunteer support by working at the hospitality booth and collecting water and snacks for walkers. The council also celebrated Respect Life Sunday by hosting a life chain in the community.

JUNE 2014

♦ C O L U M B I A ♦ 27

KIA 06_2014 5_13 FINAL.qxp_Layout 1 5/14/14 7:57 PM Page 28

KNIGHTS IN ACTION

for the donation came from multiple fundraisers over several years. Knights throughout the region have supported the center since 1981.

THEOLOGICAL TALK

Members of St. Joseph Council 15304 in Spirit Lake, Idaho, cut firewood for needy families in their area. Knights spearhead an ongoing firewood project that provides fuel to needy families who cook with wood year round or who use firewood to heat their homes in winter.

ENTREPRENEURSHIP SEMINAR

Realizing that a key to breaking the cycle of poverty involves undertaking productive work, Diego Silang Council 7656 in Quezon City, Luzon, sponsored an entrepreneurship seminar at Our Lady of Fatima Church.

Twenty-nine people participated in the seminar, which was sponsored by a certified public accountant firm. The

event made recommendations on identifying opportunities, starting one’s own business and avoiding pitfalls.

As a follow-up to the program, the council hosted a mat-weaving training session that instructed participants on how to use water lilies, recycled straw and rice sacks, and other indigenous materials to create a saleable product that can provide an additional source of income.

SHOPPING BAG BOUNTY

Marcus Lawrence of Joseph C. Carroll Council 5390 in Marion, Iowa, replaces a steel cross at Mount Calvary Cemetery. Knights undertook a project to remove and repaint 301 cast steel crosses at the cemetery, each of which marks the grave of a Sister of Mercy.

28 ♦ C O L U M B I A ♦

JUNE 2014

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Council 11143 in Carnegie, Pa., hosted a food drive to benefit the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. Knights handed out shopping bags at its parish, along with a list of requested items. The following week, the council netted 3,600 pounds of food and $1,062 in cash donations.

GLENNON CENTER EXPANSION

De Andreis Council 800 in St. Louis donated $7,500 to help build one of the observation rooms at the Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital Developmental Center. Funds

Father Thomas F. Price Council 2546 in Raleigh, N.C., hosted a talk on St. Paul of the Cross and the Passionist Order. Father Justin Kerber, rector of Sacred Heart Cathedral, delivered the presentation to Knights, their families and parishioners.

SECURITY CAMERAS

Bishop Roger Kaffer Council 10944 in Romeoville, Ill., held several fundraisers to purchase and install security cameras at its church and rectory.

MONSTRANCE CABINET

Msgr. Tjebbe Bekema Council 12060 in Thibodaux, La., constructed a monstrance cabinet for the adoration chapel at St. Charles Borromeo Church. A parishioner donated $700 in materials for the cabinet, which is made of Spanish cedar.

CAR WASH COUPONS

Bishop Daniel J. Curley Council 3717 in Syracuse, N.Y., sold car wash coupons at St. Rose of Lima Church, raising $1,500. The funds were donated to St. Rose of Lima School to assist with tuition grants for needy students.

MISSION CHALICES

Bishop William J. Hafey Assembly in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., donated four chalices and patens to the Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity. Donated in memory of deceased Knights, the chalices will go to mission parishes in Puerto Rico, Mexico, Colombia and Costa Rica.

John Koscierzynski of St. Kieran Council 13983 in Shelby Township, Mich., lays new wooden flooring at a facility operated by Abigayle Ministries, an organization that provides support to pregnant women and their children. After learning that the carpet in one of the facility’s guest bedrooms was beyond repair, Knights pulled up the old flooring and replaced it with interlocking hardwood. The council also donated nearly $600 to Abigayle Ministries to assist with the organization’s work.

STORAGE ADDITION

Fathers Rudy & Clem Council 13035 in Muskegon, Mich., built a 30-foot by 32foot storage addition to the garage at St. Thomas the Apostle Church. After determining that the church needed more storage space to free up room for religious education classes, Knights volunteered to guide the process. Council members served as contractors for the project, providing tools and equipment.

PROMOTING THE CAUSE

Our Lady of Grace Council 5617 in Grace Park, Luzon, promotes the cause for canonization of the Order’s founder, Venerable Michael McGivney, by regularly distributing posters and prayer cards to parishioners.

KIA 06_2014 5_13 FINAL.qxp_Layout 1 5/14/14 7:57 PM Page 29

KNIGHTS IN ACTION STATIONS RESTORED

Regina Mundi Council 4052 in Trevose Heights, Pa., donated $3,000 to Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church to assist with the restoration of the church’s Stations of the Cross. The painted stations had become faded with time and difficult to read. The funds will help pay the artist who restored the 40-year-old stations to their original condition.

Members of Dawson Creek (British Columbia) Council 4680, Fort St. John Council 4866 and Tumbler Ridge Council 10429 in Chetwynd use a log splitter to cut fallen trees at Camp Emile, a diocesan-owned camp in Moberly Lake. Knights from the three councils spent a day cleaning dead and fallen trees from the camp, making it safer for all visitors.

FESTIVAL LATINO

Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe Council 13145 in Baton Rouge, La., sponsored an imported beer booth at its parish’s Festival Latino. The booth raised $13,000 for the parish’s Spanish apostolate. In addition to running the booth, council members parked an estimated 1,700 cars at the festival.

ORGAN REPAIRS

EUCHRE TOURNAMENT

Father James W. Cotter Council 1874 in Warren, Mich., hosted a euchre tournament to benefit seminarian Craig Marion. The event raised $2,300 to assist with Marion’s ongoing education at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit.

Coxsackie (N.Y.) Council 548 donated $500 to help repair the pipe organ at St. Mary’s Church after the church was struck by lightning in 2012. The funds aided in bringing the organ up to code for wiring and was the first major repair made to the instrument since it was rebuilt in 1972.

KNIGHTS RESPOND TO WASHINGTON MUDSLIDE Frederick Harrington Council 7863 in Marysville, Wash., hosted a special fundraising breakfast to benefit victims of the March 22 mudslide in Oso. The event raised more than $3,400 for Immaculate Conception Parish is Arlington, where disaster relief efforts for survivors have been centered.

St. Barbara Council 11736 in Black Diamond, Wash., donated $1,550 to a group of local women who traveled to Oso to provide assistance immediately following the devastating mudslide there. The funds helped support the women, who served 6,600 meals to first responders and victims for 16 days.

Members of St. Jude of Marion Oaks Council 15644 in Ocala, Fla., set posts in the ground during a construction project at their church. Knights dug post holes and set the leveled the posts while building a barrier at their church to protect the playground from cars in the parking lot.

FILM DONATED

St. Martin of Tours Council 14660 in Los Angeles donated 95 copies of the prolife animated film Skiff and AJ’s Fantastic Voyage to students in grades K-3 at St. Martin of Tours School.

Three years ago, the council provided financial backing to help get the film made.

BLANKETS AND COATS

Cranston (R.I.) Council 1738 hosted a blanket drive to benefit Crossroads Rhode Island, a homeless shelter.

Knights collected 125 blankets to be given to homeless individuals who stay at the shelter. The council also held a coat drive to benefit the Rhode Island Coat Bank.

The drive netted 100 coats for needy individuals.

HELPING CHILDREN

Santa Rosa (Calif.) Council 1324 conducted its yearly fundraiser for The Children’s Village, a foster home in Santa Rosa. The breakfast raised $500 for the organization, coupled with another $250 donation from the council.

BLESSING FIRST RESPONDERS

Cohoes (N.Y.) Council 192 and Cohoes Assembly cosponsored a day honoring local first responders. The afternoon included lunch for about 50 employees of the Cohoes Fire and Police departments and the Cohoes Ambulance Corps, as well as a blessing for new personnel and their vehicles.

Members of St. Anne-Oratory Council 6756 and St. Martin de Porres Council 15611, both in Rock Hill, S.C., along with the youth group from St. Anne Church, construct a wheelchair ramp at the home of council member Jim Powers and his wife, Judy. Knights built the ramp to give the family easier access to their home.

JUNE 2014

♦ C O L U M B I A ♦ 29

KIA 06_2014 5_13 FINAL.qxp_Layout 1 5/14/14 7:57 PM Page 30

KNIGHTS IN ACTION

rounded off the night with a silent auction, supper and country dance. The event raised $20,000 for two local hospitals, Wes for Youth Online and a scholarship in McGlynn’s name.

RIDING THE ‘BIG BIKE’

ADDITION PAINTED

Nick Polito, Brett Ford, Sean Palmer and Lenard Morris of St. Mary of the Assumption Circle 5444 in Glenshaw, Pa., join a U.S. Marine in saluting the Tomb of the Unknowns after participating in a wreath-laying ceremony there. Squires took a fraternal trip to Washington, D.C., to visit museums, monuments and the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. The circle also participated in the ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknowns, which took more than a year to arrange.

At a clergy appreciation night sponsored by Michigan District #23, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Council 7623 in Whittemore-Hale presented a check for $8,000 to the Diocese of Gaylord to support the diocese’s 16 seminarians. Funds for the donation were raised through the council’s monthly pancake breakfasts.

Our Lady of Guadalupe from the California State Council and oversaw its permanent enshrinement at St. Philip the Apostle Church in Bakersfield. Following the enshrinement Mass, the Knights of Columbus Kern-Inyo Chapter held its “Support Our Seminarians Benefit Dinner.”

At the event, Knights presented Bishop Ochoa with $18,000 for the diocese’s seminarian endowment fund.

Members of St. Cyprian Council 14714 in Perry, Ohio, painted the interior of a new elevator addition at their parish. This three-level addition makes it possible for every parishioner, especially those with physical disabilities, to gain access to the church, parking lot and lower-level hall. By doing the work themselves, Knights saved the parish a substantial amount of money.

VETERANS’ BREAKFAST

MIKE MCGLYNN MEMORIAL EVENT

CARING FOR SISTERS

Holy Ghost Council 10325 in Wood Dale, Ill., donated $1,200 to help repair the wheelchair of a 12-year-old boy with cerebral palsy. The boy’s parents could not afford the co-pay to purchase 11 new parts and custom fittings for the chair.

Msgr. Peter B. O’Connor Assembly in North Arlington, N.J., held its annual veterans’ breakfast to thank those who have served in the armed forces. Veterans received free admission to the event, while all others paid $10 for an allyou-can-eat buffet. The event raised $2,700 to assist veterans living in nursing homes throughout the state.

Father Paquette Council 7569 in Wingham, Ontario, held a memorial event in honor of council member Mike McGlynn, who was killed in a logging accident five days before Christmas in 2012. Knights brought together a bunch of activities that McGlynn enjoyed to create an event for all ages.

The day included a giant log contest with logs donated by local sawmills, a pie-eating competition, a dunk tank, and exhibits on forestry and woodcarving. Knights

Carroll Council 504 in Wheeling, W.Va., held a spaghetti dinner to benefit retired sisters of the Congregation of St. Joseph. For the event, Knights cooked 250 pounds of sausage, 260 pounds of spaghetti, 204 gallons of sauce and 3,000 hand-rolled meatballs. Volunteers served meals to approximately 1,300 diners, including take-out orders.

The food, coupled with donations, a 50-50 raffle and crafts sold by the sisters, raised $35,000 to care for the

St. Gianna Molla Assembly in Alpharetta, Ga., collected old cell phones that can be converted into calling card minutes for military personnel serving overseas. Knights gathered old phones from friends, colleagues and acquaintances and placed a collection box at St. Thomas Aquinas Church. In total, Knights collected enough phones to convert them into more than 37,000 minutes of free calling time for troops.

SUPPORTING SEMINARIANS

MARY, ENSHRINED

Bishop Armando X. Ochoa of Fresno, Calif., received a Marian Prayer Program image of 30 ♦ C O L U M B I A ♦

JUNE 2014

retired sisters who live at the congregation’s motherhouse.

WHEELCHAIR REPAIR

IN A MINUTE

CAMERA: Getty images via Thinkstock

Volunteers, including members of St. Thomas Council 15154 in Homosassa, Fla., stand with the gazebo at the Father Ron Marekci Meditation Garden that the council helped design and build. Knights and parishioners established the garden in honor of Father Marekci, the pastor of St. Thomas Church. The garden features benches, devotional pathways and lighted statues. Parishioners contributed $30,000 to build the garden, and Knights volunteered 1,200 hours on construction.

Des Grands Lacs Council 7999 and Precious Blood Council 11608, both in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, formed a team to ride the Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation’s “Big Bike.” The 29-seat bike offers participating groups and businesses an opportunity to raise money for the foundation by riding around their communities. Knights raised $500 by working together to pilot the mega-bike.

KNIGHTS IN ACTION

homeless shelter for unwed mothers, by painting a nursery there. Knights have supported the facility since 2009.

In the past, council members have performed yard work and laid down tile.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

FROZEN ASSETS Charles Lombardi of Pinta Council 5 in Wallingford, Conn., District Deputy Joseph Perrelli of Connecticut District #5 and Joseph Banack of Christopher Columbus Assembly display the “Christopher Columbus Memorial Highway” sign that the council lobbied to have placed on Route 68. At the urging of local Knights, state Rep. Mary Fritz helped get the designation made as part of a major bill naming roads, bridges and highways. After the bill was passed, Knights had a dedication ceremony near the road.

KEEPING SCORE

St. Bernard Council 14269 in Brooklyn, N.Y., donated $5,000 to purchase a new scoreboard for the auditorium at St. Bernard School.

In addition to funding the new scoreboard for the school’s athletics program, Knights also installed it.

After learning that a local food bank was without a freezer, St. Elizabeth of Hungary Council 14632 in Raeford, N.C., decided to help.

Knights immediately donated a chest freezer for the food bank’s interim use and held two pancake breakfasts to raise money for a new upright freezer.

SCOOTER FOR INDIA

St. Isidore Council 4323 in Blooming Prairie, Minn., raised $1,500 to purchase a scooter for a priest in India.

Priests in India are often assigned to several parishes and have to walk the distance between them. The new scooter will help a priest in the Diocese of Cuddapah better tend to his flock.

MALTA HOUSE MEN

Columbia June 1939 cover painting by William Luberoff

St. Matthew Council 14360 in Norwalk, Conn., volunteered at Malta House, a

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

CORRECTIONS In the May 2014 issue of Columbia, the column on page 5 erroneously states that St. John Paul II was elected in 1979. John Paul II was elected in 1978.

The April 2014 Catholic Man of the Month column featuring Blessed Zenon Kovalyk mistakenly identified Ukraine as the region that was invaded by the Soviet Union in 1939. At the time of the Soviet invasion, the region was part of Poland.

June 1939

FEATURE ARTICLE In “Mankind Alone is Wealth,” author Constantine E. McGuire argues that Catholic young people must resist the “sectaries of Birth Prevention,” as he calls purveyors of birth control and abortion. He writes that “[T]he Catholic youth of this country are challenged to show that ... it is not today’s ‘prosperity’ that establishes the security of tomorrow, but the assurance of uninterrupted growth in the future.”

FROM THE SUPREME COUNCIL In a full-page advertorial on page 1 of the issue, the Supreme Council gives an update on the final membership push before the end of the 1938-39 fraternal year: “The amazing number of membership applications arriving daily at the Supreme Council Office raise the most optimistic expectations regarding the final successful outcome of the ‘Enlist for Christian Justice’ program now rapidly drawing to its close.” Membership at the end of the month stood at 427,344 members.

WHAT KNIGHTS ARE DOING A precursor to the “Knights in Action” section reported: “Lexington, Massachusetts, Council No. 94 has had a most successful year. ... During the past few months the Council has sponsored card parties for charity, lectures, movies, Communion breakfasts, and a memorial Mass. The study club is a popular feature of the Council’s program.”

OLD-FASHIONED ADVERTISING Readers of the June issue were offered a look at the 1939 Graham 4-Door Sedan, which was offered for $965 (approximately $16,000 today). The car boasted 25.77 miles per gallon and a choice of taupe or two-tone upholstery. Graham, unfortunately, suspended operation one year later.

JUNE 2014

♦ C O L U M B I A ♦ 31

KIA 06_2014 5_13 FINAL.qxp_Layout 1 5/14/14 7:58 PM Page 32

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

FOURTH DEGREE K OF C SUPPLIES

A Spring of Charity

IN THE UNITED STATES THE ENGLISH COMPANY INC. Official council and Fourth Degree equipment 1-800-444-5632 • www.kofcsupplies.com

West Virginia Knights deliver clean water in the wake of crippling chemical spill

LYNCH AND KELLY INC. Official council and Fourth Degree equipment and officer robes 1-888-548-3890 • www.lynchkelly.com

by Kaitlyn Landgraf

IN CANADA ROGER SAUVÉ INC. Official council and Fourth Degree equipment and officer robes 1-888-266-1211 • www.roger-sauve.com

JOIN THE FATHER MCGIVNEY GUILD

!

06/14

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 JUNE 1, 2014: 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 © 2014 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 ♦

JUNE 2014

WHEN 7,500 GALLONS of toxic chemicals contaminated the drinking water in and around Charleston, W.Va., Jan. 9, local Knights of Columbus quickly mobilized to bring clean water to residents in need.

The emergency occurred when a coal-processing chemical leaked from a storage tank into the Elk River, which flows into the local water treatment center. For days, 300,000 residents were ordered not to drink the tainted water, or use it to cook or even bathe. Most impacted were the elderly and the poor, who lacked the mobility or resources to obtain clean water.

Before federal relief agencies arrived with large quantities of bottled water, West Virginia Knights were already purchasing and delivering some 6,000 bottles to local councils and parishes for distribution to the hardest-hit residents. State Deputy Michael J. McDougle said that store shelves were raided in a matter of hours and added that “there was an immediate need” in the days before FEMA arrived.

In response to the situation, McDougle and Dave Walters of Parkersburg Council 594 hitched McDougle’s trailer to the back of his truck and drove 90 minutes northeast to Clarksburg, the nearest location with bottled water in quantity. There they met West Virginia State Treasurer Gerald Somazee, who purchased the water on behalf of the state council.

“We bought three pallets of water, which was all they would sell us,” said McDougle. “It was very difficult even to get that.”

From Clarksburg, McDougle and Walters then drove back through heavy storms and unloaded the pallets in St. Albans and Charleston.

Coordinating with grand knights in the affected areas, District Deputy Joseph P. King of West Virginia District #3 organized distribution points. Local councils then stepped forward to deliver the water to their parishioners and to the communities’ most vulnerable populations.

“We realized that the real people who needed [the water] were the shut-ins,” said King. “At Blessed Sacrament Church in South Charleston, extraordinary ministers of the Eucharistic took the water with them when they made the rounds to give out Communion.”

The Knights’ response to the emergency met an immediate need. According to McDougle, “By the time the water we had distributed was gone, FEMA had arrived. So we did enough to hold [residents] over for three days.”

King added, “It was probably the quickest response that we could have had. …

Everybody really pitched in.”

Fallout from the spill is expected to last for years. The ban on drinking water was lifted Jan. 18, but pregnant women are being advised to drink bottled water for the immediate future. Federal legislation is pending regarding a 10-year study into the effects of the spill, along with increased scrutiny from the Centers for Disease Control.

For the Knights involved in the immediate response, though, recognizing an opportunity to help was natural.

“When our churches and folks are in need, we’re there to help,” McDougle said.

“In times of crisis we need to be there as well. And I think we did that.”

KAITLYN LANDGRAF is a manager in training for the Supreme Council, contributing to Columbia as an editorial assistant.

June 14 Covers E 5_14_Layout 1 5/14/14 7:31 PM Page 33

K N I G H T S O F C O L UM B U S

Building a better world one council at a time 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.

TO

BE FEATURED HERE , SEND YOUR COUNCIL’ S

Members of Mary, Cause of Our Joy Council 8447 in Soldiers Hill, Luzon, organize corrugated metal sheets to use as roofing materials in the wake of a fire in Muntinlupa City. Knights assisted the fire victims by helping to construct temporary shelters for the 300 families affected by the blaze. The council also donated relief goods and clothing.

“K NIGHTS IN A CTION ” C OLUMBIA , 1 C OLUMBUS P LAZA , N EW H AVEN , CT 06510-3326

PHOTO AS WELL AS ITS DESCRIPTION TO : OR E - MAIL : COLUMBIA @ KOFC . ORG .

JUNE 2014

♦ C O L U M B I A ♦ 33

June 14 Covers E 5_14_Layout 1 5/14/14 7:31 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 F A IT H A L I V E

‘OUR LADY HELPED ME ACCEPT MY VOCATION WITHOUT FEAR’

FATHER JIM MCCORMACK Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception Washington, D.C.

Photo by Ed Pfueller

Life was good. I had grown up in a comfortable home with loving parents who sent me to the best schools. I had a job with HewlettPackard and was engaged to a great Catholic girl. It seemed perfect. Yet, there was one little “problem” — the call.

During graduate school, I experienced a deepening in my faith. One day, at a talk on celibacy, I remember thinking to myself: This is a great topic for these other guys, but what about me? In that moment I heard a little voice in the back of my head: “What about you?”

Thus began a six-year struggle with God. I tried living life my way, but the call wouldn’t go away. Because of this and other tensions, my fiancée called off our engagement, and I decided to make a pilgrimage in Italy. At the Holy House of Loreto, Our Lady helped me receive the grace to accept my vocation without fear and to fully embrace what the Lord wanted for my life.

After four years as a priest, I can say more than ever before that life is good now that I am following God’s call.