Columbia March 2020

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

M ARCH 2020

COLUMBIA

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

COLUMBIA F E AT U R E S

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The ‘King of the Sea’ and Father McGivney Left for dead by unknown gunmen, a Filipino fisherman prayed to the Knights’ founder for help.

BY BRIAN CAULFIELD

12 Forming Our Founder Father McGivney’s seminary formation in Baltimore helped him to respond to the needs of his time.

BY ANDREW J. MATT AND PAUL MCMULLEN

16 ‘The Gospel of Life Is for Everyone’ After 25 years, St. John Paul II’s encyclical Evangelium Vitae remains a prophetic testament for our times.

BY COLUMBIA STAFF

20 Life Empowers A historic March for Life affirms rights of women and the unborn while celebrating legislative gains.

BY CECILIA HADLEY

23 Investing With Faith Supreme Director Anthony Minopoli, chief investment officer, discusses the mission and growth of Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors.

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BY COLUMBIA STAFF

“Him whom countless kings and prophets had desired to see, Joseph not only saw but conversed with, and embraced in paternal affection, and kissed,� wrote Pope Pius IX in his declaration of St. Joseph as patron of the universal Church. The Solemnity of St. Joseph is celebrated March 19.

D E PA RT M E N T S 3

Building a better world The Knights of Columbus is answering the call to evangelize, beginning in the Catholic family.

BY SUPREME KNIGHT CARL A. ANDERSON

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Learning the faith, living the faith This Lenten season, let us counter the culture of toxic anger by cultivating a forgiving heart.

BY SUPREME CHAPLAIN ARCHBISHOP WILLIAM E. LORI

PLUS: Catholic Man of the Month

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Knights of Columbus News Order Launches Into the Breach Video Series

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Fathers for Good Today, more than ever, we need the patron saint of fathers and of the Church.

BY FATHER DONALD H. CALLOWAY, MIC

26 Knights in Action

MARCH 2020

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What’s in a Name?

PATRICK AND MARY McGivney had their first child in 1852. They each had emigrated to the United States from Ireland just three years earlier, and they no doubt had many hopes and dreams for their son, whom they named Michael Joseph. Yet they could not have imagined how their decision to entrust him to the patronage of Sts. Michael and Joseph would grow in significance in the years to come.

On Dec. 8, 1870, Pope Pius IX solemnly declared St. Joseph to be patron of the universal Church, citing his role as spouse of the Virgin Mary and guardian of Jesus. Michael Joseph, who was 18 years old and taking a break from seminary at the time, was certainly aware of the papal proclamation, written “when in these most troublesome times the Church is beset by enemies on every side.�

McGivney went on to study at seminaries in Niagara Falls, N.Y., Montreal and Baltimore (see page 12) before his ordination in 1877. Notably, all three seminaries, as well as the New Haven church where he was first assigned, were dedicated to Our Lady. One might say that Father McGivney’s vision and apostolic zeal, which led to the founding of the Knights of Columbus in March 1882, had grown out of his years of study and contemplation — that is, from the heart of Mary.

Just four years after the Order’s founding, Pope Leo XIII added a prayer to St. Michael the Archangel to a set of prayers recited after Mass. The now familiar prayer, which entreats

St. Michael to “defend us in battle� and “be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil,� was prayed universally until 1965.

The prayer remains a favorite of Pope Francis, and in recent years many dioceses and parishes have renewed the practice of reciting it after Mass.

It is remarkable, in retrospect, how closely Father McGivney’s dual patronage aligned with the mission of the Order he founded — to build up Catholic men, protect their families and, united in charity, serve the Church and society. Likewise, Father McGivney’s Marian formation is reflected in the rosary with which every Knight is invested and in the consecration of the Order to Mary under her title Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Walking with Mary this month on our Lenten journey, we also celebrate the Solemnities of St. Joseph (March 19) and the Annunciation (March 25), as well as Knights of Columbus Founder’s Day (March 29). During this time, the Supreme Council is rolling out a new video series as part of the Faith in Action Into the Breach program (see pages 3 and 6), which aims to strengthen Catholic men in their vocation as faithful protectors of the family and the Church. In answering this call, we turn to St. Joseph and St. Michael as models and intercessors — and also to their namesake. Venerable Michael Joseph McGivney, pray for us!♌ ALTON J. PELOWSKI EDITOR

Featured Documentary: Father Michael McGivney Through archival footage and dramatic recreations, Father Michael McGivney chronicles the life and times of the young parish priest who founded the Knights of Columbus. Learn about how Father McGivney’s faith, practical spirituality and innovative vision have touched the lives of millions throughout the world. The hour-long docudrama, which aired nationwide on public television, is now available via online streaming with Amazon Prime video or on DVD for purchase at knightsgear.com.

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

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

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

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Copyright Š 2020 All rights reserved ________ ON THE COVER Michael McGivney is pictured circa 1877, during his formative years at St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore.

E D I TO R I A L

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

Passing on Our Faith The Knights of Columbus is answering the call to evangelize, beginning in the Catholic family

by Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson I SUSPECT ALL OF US have heard Tragically, for too many children, this a friend say something like, “I sent journey has led to a spiritual dead end. my kids to Catholic schools; I took Transmitting the faith to our chilthem to church; they received all dren is more than reading a textbook their sacraments — but now they do and requiring participation in the sacranot practice their faith, and my ments. Good catechesis and sacramen- — what the early Church fathers grandchildren are not even baptized. tal practice are absolutely necessary — called “the church of the home.” Our What happened?” but they are not sufficient. There must domestic church program, The Family Recent polling indicates that ap- also be, as Pope Francis reminds us, “a Fully Alive, sees in the daily activities proximately 4 out of every 10 “born vital, personal, authentic and solid re- of family life the opportunity to follow Jesus Christ more closely and in and raised” Catholics in the United lationship with Christ.”

States no longer identify as Catholic, For our children, this means that this way transmit a living faith to our and, in the future, fewer than 1 in 10 there must be a lived Christian life at children and grandchildren.

Catholics now under the age of 21 the center of their family.

We must have not only a Church will continue to practice the that evangelizes. We must faith as an adult. have a “church of the home” This trend does not affect that evangelizes.

We have the responsibility only Catholics. The Pew ReIn what Pope Francis might to show our children, search Center found that call a “pilgrimage of the while 76% of baby boomers home,” fathers must take up by our personal witness, identify as Christian, only their own irreplaceable role.

49% of millennials do; and This is why on Ash what it means to live in Christ. that while 49% of baby Wednesday, we made availboomers attend religious able to all our members — services at least once a month, only St. John Paul II wrote in his encycli- and every parish — our new 12-part 35% of millennials do. cal Redemptoris Missio (Mission of the video series on men’s spirituality titled These numbers reveal an immense Redeemer), “There cannot be two par- Into the Breach (see page 6). This series crisis for our families and our allel lives in (our) existence: on the is an important part of our Faith in Church, a crisis in the transmission one hand, the so-called ‘spiritual’ life, Action initiative. I urge every council of the Christian faith from one gen- with its values and demands; and on to promote it fully. eration to the next. the other, the so-called ‘secular’ life, We have not only the responsibility It is a crisis of evangelization — or that is, life in a family, at work, in so- to teach our children the truths of our rather a failure to evangelize. In par- cial relationships, in the responsibili- Catholic faith. We have the responsiticular, there has been an unprece- ties of public life and in culture” (59). bility to show our children, by our In other words, we have the respon- personal witness, what it means to live dented failure to evangelize the Catholic family and to evangelize sibility to show our children what it in Christ. means to be a disciple of Christ by This crisis calls for Knights. We all within the Catholic family.

Pope Francis has said that the how we live — and not only one hour have a responsibility — and united as Knights we have tremendous re“Christian life is actually a journey, a a week, but 24/7.

This is the purpose of our Knights sources. What is needed now is our pilgrimage” in which we are called to “a vital, personal, authentic and solid of Columbus program promoting the determination to move forward. relationship with Christ.”

Catholic family as a domestic church Vivat Jesus!

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

Forgive Us Our Trespasses This Lenten season, let us counter the culture of toxic anger by cultivating a forgiving heart

by Supreme Chaplain Archbishop William E. Lori HAVE YOU EVER NOTICED how asking for the grace to forgive those quickly we sometimes pray the Our who have harmed us in public or in Father? So quickly, in fact, that we private, whether by malicious and may even fail to consider what we’re false speech, by treachery and beasking. Take, for example, the words, trayal, or by another form of inhu- money and possessions. But it’s even “Forgive us our trespasses as we for- mane behavior. harder, I think, to forgive those who give those who trespass against us.”

In making this request of our heav- have betrayed our friendship, acted Many of us are eager to be forgiven enly Father, we are on good ground. unethically in a professional relationbut less eager to forgive others — and Did not Jesus say to us, “Love your ship, or spread lies and half-truths this shouldn’t surprise us. We live in enemies and pray for those who per- about us — in a word, those who a culture that’s often cynical, angry secute you” (Mt 5:44)? St. Paul echoes have reached into the interior of our and lacking compassion. As the late the Lord’s words: “If your enemy is lives to do us harm. archbishop of Chicago, Cardinal hungry, feed him; if your enemy is Yet perhaps those “who trespass Francis George, once aptly obagainst us” are doing us a favor served, contemporary culture by giving us a glimpse of how “permits everything and forour own sinfulness offends Unless we forgive those who gives nothing.”

God. When we sin, especially It’s all too easy for us to be have offended us, we are in grave when we sin seriously, we are swept up into this culture of spurning and betraying his danger of taking for granted finger-pointing, defamation friendship and giving others and retaliation. What’s more, scandal — that is, excuses for God’s forgiveness. such attitudes are not reserved also betraying the Lord’s for public figures but can easfriendship. Sin is a wound in ily infect our personal and profes- thirsty, give him something to drink” the heart of an all-loving God. This sional relationships. And it doesn’t (Rom 12:20). should bring home to us the immentake a scientific survey to see that our Jesus also tells us to forgive repeat- sity and preciousness of God’s gift of culture of anger and unforgiveness edly and without limits: “For as you mercy. But unless we forgive those contributes to increased anxiety, lone- judge, so will you be judged, and the who have offended us, we are in grave liness and isolation. After all, each of measure with which you measure will danger of taking for granted God’s us is one tweet away from public de- be measured out to you” (Mt 7:2). forgiveness — his mercy that is so nunciation and loss of reputation.

Indeed, forgiveness is a big part of readily available in the sacrament of When we pray, “Forgive us our loving our neighbors as ourselves. If reconciliation. trespasses as we forgive those who we wish to prepare our hearts to reAs we continue through this Lenten trespass against us,” we are asking — ceive God’s mercy for the sins we journey in preparation for Holy Week among other things — to be deliv- have committed, then we must strive and Easter, let us take inventory. ered from this culture of comeup- to forgive those who have sinned Whom do we need to forgive? And where will we find the capacity to forpance. We are not necessarily asking against us.

Who of us doesn’t find this teach- give from our hearts? Only in the One God to protect us from it, but praying for the grace not to engage in it ing difficult? It’s hard enough to for- who loves us and laid down his life to ourselves. And more than that, we are give someone who has taken our save us from our sins.♦ 4 ♦ COLUMBIA ♦

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SUPREME CHAPLAIN’S CHALLENGE

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A monthly reflection and practical challenge from Supreme Chaplain Archbishop William E. Lori: When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who had come with her weeping, he became perturbed and deeply troubled, and said, “Where have you laid him?� They said to him, “Sir, come and see.�

And Jesus wept. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him.�

(Gospel for March 29, Jn 11:33-36) One of the shortest verses in the Bible — “And Jesus wept.� — is among the most powerful. The Son of God who became man mourns the loss of his friend. And he weeps,

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

just as you or I would. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted,� Jesus said. Here he models his own teaching. In our busy day-to-day lives, we may be in danger of skipping this beatitude. And though many of the psalms are laments, we can be good at skimming them. Instead, may we follow Jesus by praying these psalms and mourning the losses we and others have suffered.

Challenge by Supreme Chaplain Archbishop William E. Lori: This month, I challenge you to request a Mass for the repose of the soul of a recently deceased person. Second, I challenge you to support those who mourn by participating in the Faith in Action Christian Refugee Relief program or individually offering prayer or other aid for those who have suffered persecution for their faith.♌

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

Venerable Giuseppe Ambrosoli (1923-1987)

We pray that the Church in China may persevere in its faithfulness to the Gospel and grow in unity.

L I T U RG I C A L C A L E N DA R March 3 St. Katharine Drexel, Virgin (USA) March 4 St. Casimir

March 7 Sts. Perpetua and Felicity, Martyrs

March 9 St. Frances of Rome, Religious

March 17 St. Patrick, Bishop

March 18 St. Cyril of Jerusalem,

Bishop and Doctor of the Church

March 19 St. Joseph, Spouse of

the Blessed Virgin Mary

March 23 St. Turibius of Mogrovejo

March 25 The Annunciation of the Lord

“Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses.� When St. Paul VI wrote these words in 1975, he might have had in mind a man he ordained 20 years earlier — a man who walked away from a promising medical career to dedicate his life to the poor in Uganda.

The seventh son of a wealthy honey manufacturer, Giuseppe Ambrosoli grew up in northern Italy and as a teenager was active in the local Catholic Action group. He entered medical school at the University of Milan, but had to postpone his studies during World War II. He joined the underground resistance and risked his life bringing persecuted Jews to Switzerland.

After earning his medical degree in 1949, he stopped at the house of the Comboni Missionaries on his return home and told the superior, “I would like to go to Africa to care for those most in need.�

Ambrosoli then studied tropical medicine in London and, in a letter, announced his missionary vocation to his

family: “God is love, and I am his servant for those who suffer.� He joined the Comboni Missionaries in 1951 and was ordained a priest four years later in Milan by Archbishop Giovanni Montini, the future Pope Paul VI. In 1956, Father Ambrosoli arrived in northern Uganda, where he revolutionized the care of leprosy patients.

Despite guerrilla warfare and civil strife, he transformed a primitive dispensary into a 350-bed modern hospital and also established a school of obstetrics. He was deeply influenced by the writings of Blessed Charles de Foucauld and saw the sick and suffering as living icons of Christ crucified.

Known as the “doctor of charity,â€? Father Ambrosoli died March 27, 1987, and will be beatified later this year.♌

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

Order Launches Into the Breach Video Series

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Supreme Knight Carl Anderson addresses the Diocese of Phoenix’s 2020 Men’s Conference Feb. 1. The theme of this year’s event was “Men of Christ.â€? have been a lot easier. ‌ These times can seem very bewildering, and the task is beyond our strength — without Christ.â€?

Speaking later at the conference, Supreme Knight Carl Anderson thanked Bishop Olmsted for his leadership and echoed the bishop’s charge. “The crisis we face today as a Church cannot be adequately responded to without the action of faithful Catholic men — especially husbands and fathers,� the supreme knight said. “We must become again a Church that evangelizes — a Church that evangelizes its children and families and at the same time reaches out to those who do not know Christ, who is ‘the way, the truth and the life.’�

The Into the Breach video series features the witness of Knights and other

Catholic men, using personal stories to illustrate the themes of Bishop Olmsted’s exhortation. For example, in the episode on prayer, Army veteran Robert Feeney explains how he learned to pray in the midst of the Vietnam war; in the episode on fatherhood, former professional baseball player Mike Sweeney reflects on his own dad’s example and his responsibilities as a father to his six kids.

In addition, a host of Catholic leaders and authors — including Bishop Olmsted, theologian Scott Hahn, Father Mike Schmitz and many others — develop and comment on each topic.

Knights are encouraged to share the videos with friends and family, and councils are encouraged to show the videos in small group settings, before parish gatherings of men and their families, or as part of a day of reflection or retreat.

New program materials for group discussion of the series will be available during the next fraternal year.♌

“Men, do not hesitate to engage in the battle that is raging around you,� urged Bishop Thomas Olmsted of Phoenix in his 2016 apostolic exhortation to Catholic men, “Into the Breach.� In response to the decline of faith and other challenges in the modern world, Bishop Olmsted called upon men to live out their authentic masculine vocation and identity in Christ.

After its publication, the Knights of Columbus reprinted the document with a study guide and adopted “Into the Breach� as a spiritual formation program, which became an official part of the Faith in Action initiative in 2018. Now, the Supreme Council has enhanced the program and given it a megaphone — producing a 12part Into the Breach video series, which complements and expands upon Bishop Olmsted’s letter.

Each episode, approximately 12 minutes long, addresses a different aspect of men’s spirituality, such as fatherhood, brotherhood, leadership, prayer and spiritual warfare. The first video was released Ash Wednesday, Feb. 26, and all 12 episodes will be made available online for free at kofc.org/intothebreach.

At the Diocese of Phoenix’s annual Men’s Conference on Feb. 1, Bishop Olmsted encouraged men not to shy away from the challenges of the day. “I wrote my apostolic exhortation for men to clarify the identity of a Catholic man and the mission of a Catholic man, and the way that [God] calls us precisely in these times to be his,� the bishop said. “The devil wants us to think that if we’d had been born in another time, it would

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

Go to Joseph Today, more than ever, we need the patron saint of fathers and of the Church

by Father Donald H. Calloway, MIC

H

ow well do you know St. Joseph? Do you understand his greatness and seek his aid in your vocation as a Catholic man? Given the state of the world and the specific problems we face, I am convinced that God wants to direct our hearts, families, parishes and the entire Church to St. Joseph today in a clear and devoted way.

There are at least two reasons why I believe now is the time of this powerful patron of the universal Church.

First, we need the spiritual fatherhood of St. Joseph to protect marriage and the family.

Many people no longer know what it means to be a man or a woman, let alone what constitutes a marriage and a family.

Many countries have gone so far as to legally redefine marriage and family. Servant of God Sister Lucia dos Santos, the longestlived visionary of the FĂĄtima apparitions, once wrote that the final battle between God and Satan will be waged over marriage and the family. To conquer Satan’s deceptions, we should invoke the powerful intercession of St. Joseph, who is head of the Holy Family and known as the “terror of demons.â€?

Second, the world needs to be re-evangelized — including a vast majority of baptized Christians. St. Joseph was given the extraordinary mission to protect and provide for the Word of God from the time Jesus was conceived in Mary’s womb. Today, he desires to blaze a trail for the Gospel to be brought to the world anew. Many nations and cultures that were previously Christian have fallen away from their roots, and some are overrun by ideologies and organizations that seek to strip society of all that is sacred. Without a major conversion, civilization itself is at risk.

In his apostolic exhortation Redemptoris Custos (Guardian of the Redeemer), St. John Paul II wrote about this necessity of turning to St. Joseph in the work of spread-

ing the Gospel today: “This patronage [of St. Joseph] must be invoked as ever necessary for the Church, not only as a defense against all dangers, but also, and indeed primarily, as an impetus for her renewed commitment to evangelization in the world and to re-evangelization in those lands and nations where religion and the Christian life were formerly flourishing and are now put to a hard test� (29).

To defend marriage and the family, elevate morals, uncover lost Christian roots and win souls for Christ, we need to bring St. Joseph onto the battlefield. With his powerful spiritual fatherhood, incredible love for his spiritual children and constant intercession, we can engage in the spiritual warfare that is needed for a renewal of the Church.

If you are convinced that the need is great, consider consecrating yourself to St. Joseph, which involves a formal act of filial entrustment to him. It calls for you to accept him as your spiritual father and as a worthy example, and to entrust yourself entirely to his paternal care so that he can lovingly help you acquire his virtues and strive for holiness.

In short, the person who consecrates himself to St. Joseph wants to be as close to his spiritual father as possible, to the point of resembling him in virtue and holiness. St. Joseph, in turn, will give those consecrated to him his loving attention, protection, strength and guidance, leading them to Christ. Go to him; he will not fail you.

Welcome, men, to the battlefield. St. Joseph, pray for us!♌ FATHER DONALD H. CALLOWAY, MIC, is a member of Father Peter Paul Maher Council 6793 in Silver Spring, Md. This column is adapted from his book Consecration to St. Joseph: The Wonders of Our Spiritual Father (Marian Press, 2020).

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

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The ‘King of the Sea’ and Father McGivney Left for dead by unknown gunmen, a Filipino fisherman prayed to the Knights’ founder for help

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s he lay bleeding with 13 bullet wounds, Jeffrey Rentegrado clutched the Knights of Columbus rosary that hung around his neck and heard an interior voice tell him to pray. He called on Father Michael McGivney’s intercession. “I said to him, ‘Please help me,’� Jeffrey recalled. “‘Help me so I can help those who need your guidance in our parish and also help those who can help me.’�

Jeffrey was 35 years old at the time two gunmen arrived at his house and opened fire. A successful fisherman, he lived with his wife, Ginalyn, and their two children in Davila, a small village in the northwest Philippines, along the

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sparkling shore of the South China Sea. Though the gunmen’s motive is still not known for certain, it was likely related to fishing rights in an area that relies almost solely on the sea for sustenance.

Despite his critical injuries and a delay in receiving medical care, Jeffrey lived, and eventually returned to his work as a fisherman. More than a decade later, he has long forgiven the assailants and is content to put the incident behind him.

But he will never cease to be grateful for his remarkable recovery, which he attributes to the intercession of the Knights’ venerable founder. “I feel that he provided for me and granted my prayers,� Jeffrey said. “And so I survived.�

by Brian Caulfield

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Jeffrey Rentegrado, a member of Davila Council 14302 in Pasuquin, Luzon, navigates fishing grounds off the northwest coast of the Philippines.

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A SURPRISE ATTACK On May 27, 2009, Jeffrey and his wife returned home from a local festival just past 9:30 p.m. Ginalyn began preparing a late dinner, and Jeffrey was sitting at a table just outside their house when shots suddenly rang out from two directions.

Jeffrey felt stinging pain all over his body as bullets broke his right femur, struck his chest and abdomen and passed through his neck, severing his esophagus. His 10-year-old son, John Reggie, ran to help his father and was hit in the back by a bullet; it missed his spine by a hair’s breadth. Ginalyn’s screams from the kitchen were met with a hail of bullets, as she crouched behind the sink, praying that her husband and son were alive.

Leaving Jeffrey for dead, the gunmen ran into the dark, firing stray shots to ward off witnesses.

Ginalyn emerged to find Jeffrey curled in a fetal position behind a coconut tree. She had studied nursing but never had seen so much blood. Noticing the rosary in his hand, she whispered, “Stay strong and pray,� and then screamed for help.

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of Dr. Marissa Onilla, and began pounding on her gate. She hesitated, unsure whether gunmen were still outside, but then decided, “I have to open the gate. Someone may be hurt.�

Jeffrey lay in the street, surrounded by neighbors who were trying desperately to stop the bleeding. The hale young fisherman whom she had nicknamed “King of the Sea� for his large catches now was pale and unresponsive. “I thought that he was dead already,� recalled Dr. Onilla, who knew right away that she could not treat him in her small clinic.

After examining the neck wound and finding a weak pulse, she saw Jeffrey slowly open his eyes and turn toward her with a pleading look. “Oh, no, what have they done?� she thought. “Not the King of the Sea!� She told the men to take both Jeffrey and John Reggie to the regional hospital in Laoag City, more than 20 miles away over narrow roads. “I thought that he wouldn’t make it, but I said ‘just go,’ because it would be unfair not to try,� Dr. Onilla said. “I said they had to bring him to the hospital as fast as possible because he might still have a chance.�

Holding an image of Father Michael J. McGivney, Rentegrado stands with fellow members of Council 14302, including Past Grand Knight Almer Ratuita (in blue shirt). • Opposite page: Scars on Rentegrado’s neck show where an attacker’s bullet passed through his esophagus in 2009.

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THE RACE TO SURVIVE Jeffrey was placed in the backseat of a neighbor’s car with Ginalyn beside him. The driver, Almer Ratuita, knew Jeffrey well. As grand knight of Davila Council 14302 in Pasuquin, Luzon, Almer had recruited Jeffrey to join the Order the previous year.

When Jeffrey tried to speak, blood bubbled from his mouth and oozed out of the wounds on either side of his neck. Almer reached back from the driver’s seat to take his hand, yelling, “Don’t die! Don’t die!”

He felt something in Jeffrey’s palm. It was the rosary he had received when becoming a Knight. Jeffrey had not attended Mass regularly before joining the Order, but afterward he went to Mass every Sunday with his family and wore the rosary around his neck as a sign of his commitment to the Catholic faith.

Almer prayed with passion as he drove. “I challenged the Lord at that time,” he recounted. “I told him, ‘If this man lives, I will surely believe. Show me a miracle!’”

They reached the emergency room in Laoag City by 10:15 p.m. The regional hospital had only one operating table, and the doctors decided to send Jeffrey in an ambulance to a larger medical center in Batac, 8 miles away, while they treated John Reggie. Ginalyn’s brother stayed behind with his nephew and she continued on with Jeffrey, who was drifting in and out of consciousness.

“When we got to Batac, two doctors attended him but were shaking their heads, saying, ‘This is a hopeless case,’” Ginalyn said. “Jeffrey was gasping for air because he was really very weak with the blood loss, yet I told him, ‘Just have faith, fight it out, you’re strong, think of your children — pray.’ He then replied, ‘Yes.’” She went to the hospital chapel and began praying to Father McGivney “because I know he helps the poor, gives blessings to the poor.”

She also prayed that their pastor from Davila, Father Lester Leonor, would come to be with them — not realizing that Knights from Jeffrey’s council had notified the priest about what had happened.

“Suddenly, Father Lester was there, just like that,” Ginalyn said.

The pastor administered the anointing of the sick just before Jeffrey was taken for X-rays and surgery, and stayed to comfort and pray with Ginalyn.

He recalled, “After he joined the Knights, I noticed [Jeffrey] was so in love with this organization — helping the church, and inspiring other young men to join. I had to be there for him and his family.”

Over the next five hours, Jeffrey underwent three surgeries to repair his torn esophagus, insert a tracheostomy tube, assess his neck wounds and remove bullet fragments from throughout his body. In the morning, a surgeon told Ginalyn that it was “a big miracle” that her husband survived.

A metal rod was then placed in Jeffrey’s leg to support his broken femur, and after more than a month in the hospital, he spent about a year recovering at home.

NEW LIFE “When I found that my father had survived, I was so happy,” recalled John Reggie, who also made a full recovery. “I realized it was not only me who was given a new life by the Lord.

When I saw him at the time, he was all smiles and in tears.”

Shortly after the shooting, while Jeffrey was still in the hospital, police arrested two suspects, yet Jeffrey declined to identify them or press charges. He and his wife believed the gunmen were hired by someone in another village who was jealous of his success at fishing. Not wanting to escalate tensions in the area, Jeffrey let the case drop, saying that there is no room for anger in a heart filled with gratitude.

With Jeffrey unable to ply the seas during his long recovery, his family suffered financially. Knights from his council visited, prayed with him and helped provide food and other necessities. In time, he was strong enough to bring his boat and nets to his familiar fishing grounds, 12 miles offshore, and reclaim the nickname “King of the Sea.” Today, at age 46, he is strong and healthy, and active in his parish and council. Jeffrey served two years as his council’s grand knight (2013-15), and he and his wife pray regularly in front of a large image of Father McGivney in their home.

He also still has the Knights of Columbus rosary that he held that night for dear life.

“My husband is always reminding our children to go to Mass,” Ginalyn said. “He is so active and devoted to the church, and when they need people to work, he’s always there.”

Although there is not enough medical evidence to prove that Jeffrey’s survival was indeed miraculous, he has no doubt that God spared his life thanks to the intercession of Father McGivney.

“I just want to say that I survived because of Father McGivney,” he said. “And now that I have a second chance to live, I hope to help others as well.”♦ BRIAN CAULFIELD is editor of Fathers for Good and vice postulator for the canonization cause of Venerable Father Michael McGivney.

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The chapel at St. Mary’s Seminary is pictured in the late 19th or early 20th century. Its wooden steeple is now gone, but the chapel still stands. • Opposite page: Michael McGivney is pictured during his seminary days in Baltimore. The photo was included in a photo album of Father Alphonse Magnien, a long-time professor who became superior at the seminary in 1878.

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FORMING OUR

FOUNDER Father McGivney’s seminary formation in Baltimore helped him to respond to the needs of his time

by Andrew J. Matt and Paul McMullen

M

ichael McGivney was preparing for final exams at a Jesuit-run seminary in Montreal when he heard the tragic news. His father, Patrick, had died suddenly at age 48. In June 1873, 20-year-old Michael promptly packed his bags and headed home to Waterbury, Conn., where his mother and six younger siblings were reeling from the loss.

A few months later, after ensuring his family’s financial security, McGivney received support from his bishop to continue his priestly formation. He did not, however, return to Sainte-Marie College in Montreal. Instead, in what proved to be a decisive

turning point in his vocational journey, he began studies at a different St. Mary’s — a Sulpician-run seminary in the bustling port city of Baltimore.

Father Joseph G. Daley, a priest who knew McGivney, later described the Sulpician fathers’ impact on Father McGivney in a June 1900 article in The Columbiad. “To them he unfolded his mind anew; and they ‌ diverted him entirely from the thought of joining the Jesuits,â€? Father Daley wrote. “Humanity, and not the humanities, should engage henceforth his most devoted study; sympathy for human woes was a property more intrinsic MARCH 2020

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than knowledge: to store up knowledge was good, they admitted; but to save souls was incomparably better.”

Father McGivney received this formation over a period of four years in Baltimore, where he was ordained in 1877 by Archbishop (later Cardinal) James Gibbons. He was assigned to St. Mary’s Church in New Haven, Conn., and his passion for healing human woes and saving souls was immediately put into action. Several years later, this same passion, kindled during his studies in Baltimore, would inspire his founding vision for the Knights of Columbus.

“He was the sort of Christian gentleman he wanted Knights to be,” said Supreme Chaplain Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore. “He was naturally that way, but I think his priestly formation strengthened those qualities within him.”

“The only time the seminarians went outside the walls during the scholastic year, besides their annual picnic and two other holidays, was for the weekly walk,” James H. Dowdy wrote in a Sulpician alumni magazine. “Two by two, they marched through the city, in frock coats and beaver top hats.”

Of course, the seminarians were not completely isolated from social realities and national events. For example, when anti-immigrant sentiment erupted during the Great Railroad Strike of 1877, Maryland National Guard troops clashed with protestors a mile south of St. Mary’s Seminary. At least 10 people were killed.

McGivney was sensitive to the plight of immigrants (both of his parents were born in Ireland), but his mission in the seminary was to be “in the world, but not of it.” For now, he was to focus on his studies and religious duties, such as taking care of the liturgical vestments, vessels and books.

“His taste for order was indeed remarkable,” Father Daley recounted. “During his stay at Baltimore, the Sulpicians would not be content with anyone else for the post of sacristan.”

LIFE INSIDE THE WALLS Founded in 1791, on a hill above Baltimore’s harbor, St. Mary’s was the oldest seminary in the United States. It drew students from throughout the country, and Cardinal Gibbons, who graduated from St. Mary’s in 1861, proudly proclaimed that alumni included “Irish, A PASTOR’S HEART REVEALED HE ARENA OF STIRRING Germans, Poles, Scandinavians, Puerto A seminary classmate from New York Ricans, Cubans, and representatives of later recalled that, in addition to his TOILERS RATHER THAN THAT almost every nation of Europe.” orderliness, McGivney was known for This international student body re“his depth of piety and his fund of OF PLACID THINKERS WAS flected the city of Baltimore, which was good humor” — qualities that were no teeming with immigrants in the late doubt cultivated by one of the semiTHE SPHERE BEST ADAPTED 19th century. Only New York City’s nary’s most brilliant and ebullient proTO QUALITIES AND ENERGIES Ellis Island was a busier port of entry. fessors, Sulpician Father Alphonse McGivney would have felt at ease in Magnien.

SUCH AS WERE HIS.” such an environment, for he had alA native of southern France, Father ready gained broad cultural and eduMagnien was a mentor to generations cational experience. He studied for of seminarians and had a profound imtwo years at Saint-Hyacinthe Seminary pact upon the Church in America. in Québec, with the intention of serving French Canadian Cardinal Gibbons penned a moving tribute after Father Magimmigrants in New England. He then studied for two years nien’s death in 1902, capturing his warm and trusting relaat Our Lady of the Angels Seminary in Niagara Falls, N.Y., tionships with students. before his year of priestly formation in Montreal.

“As time rolls by, I miss more and more his beaming and joyBishop Francis McFarland of Hartford, aware of the Jesuits’ ous countenance and his cheering voice as he entered my room. influence on the academically minded McGivney, was not He seemed to diffuse around him and to communicate to oththrilled with the possibility of one of his seminarians leaving ers, the benevolence of his ingenuous soul,” Cardinal Gibbons to join a religious order. So, after Patrick McGivney’s death, wrote. “It was this candor and frankness that made him so magthe Sulpician-trained bishop arranged for Michael to enroll netic and attached to him so closely his former pupils.” at St. Mary’s.

Among the 13 extant letters of Father McGivney, two of The Sulpician order’s primary mission, since its founding them were written to Father Magnien, and they reflect both in France more than two centuries earlier, was the formation reverence and affection for his mentor. Writing Oct. 21, of future priests. The Sulpician fathers, renowned for their 1878, Father McGivney congratulated him for being named piety and rigorous academics, placed a special emphasis on superior of the seminary. prayer and immersion in Scripture.

“I was exceedingly glad to hear of your appointment & “Life at St. Mary’s in those days was pretty austere,” Arch- knowing that I’m not given to flattery you will believe me bishop Lori explained. “You had no amenities to speak of. You when I say that I expected your appointment as Superior,” Fawere up early, worked hard and prayed hard.” ther McGivney wrote. “Wishing you and the dear fathers of The students spent most of their time within the seminary’s St. Mary’s all manner of blessings I remain as ever a fond and 12-foot-tall walls. loving son of my Alma Mater.”

“T

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Seminarians representing various dioceses and Knights of Columbus councils are pictured with a bust of Father McGivney at St. Mary’s Seminary & University in Baltimore, where McGivney was educated, 1873-1877. From left to right: Nicholas Mwai, Michael Boris, Brendan Foley (seated), James Gebhart and Javier Fuentes.

In the same letter, Father McGivney apologized for not writing sooner, noting that he had been alone that summer, with the whole work of St. Mary’s Parish on his shoulders.

The pastor, Father Murphy, was on a sabbatical due to health issues.

Though less than a year into his priesthood, Father McGivney was already plunged deep into the practical arena for which the Sulpicians had prepared him.

As Father Daley later explained, McGivney was convinced through his seminary formation that “the arena of stirring toilers rather than that of placid thinkers was the sphere best adapted to qualities and energies such as were his.�

Ultimately, these same “qualities and energiesâ€? were also reflected in his vision for a new Order of Catholic men — a group of “stirring toilersâ€? joined in unity and charity, sympathetic to human suffering and intent upon the good of souls.♌ ANDREW J. MATT is managing editor of Columbia and a member of Father Kuster Council 3037 in Chester, Conn.

PAUL McMULLEN is managing editor of The Catholic Review, the newspaper of the Archdiocese of Baltimore. He is a member of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Council 2452 in Essex, Md.

A LEGACY REMEMBERED Father McGivney continues to be honored by new generations of seminarians in Baltimore ST. MARY’S SEMINARY moved five miles north from its downtown location in 1929. The Paca Street site where Father McGivney lived and studied is now St. Mary’s Spiritual Center & Historic Site. The only structure still standing from Father McGivney’s days in Baltimore is the historic chapel where he prayed.

If he visited today, Father McGivney would not recognize much — but he would be recognized.

Deacon Vito Piazza, the center’s director and a member of Fulton J. Sheen Council 7612 in Sykesville, Md., calls Father McGivney “a consummate priest.� “The reason he died at age 38 was because he was constantly giving,�

Deacon Piazza said. “He pretty much died from exhaustion. He was constantly with the people and had an extraordinarily empathetic heart.�

Father McGivney and his legacy are also commemorated at his alma mater. A bust of Father McGivney, commissioned by a group of seminarians, was dedicated at St. Mary’s Seminary & University in 2010, during the Year for Priests.

In gratitude for the Order’s support of priestly vocations, the seminarians contributed the bulk of the $10,000 cost from their own funds. Father Andrew Nelson, now pastor of St. Ignatius and St. Mary Parishes in Manchester, N.H., helped to lead the effort. “Most of us were Knights, myself included, and were most grateful to the Knights of Columbus councils for their support,� Father Nelson said. “We thought the seminary should do something for one of the important figures in the life of the American Church.� — Reported by Paul McMullen MARCH 2020

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‘The Gospel of Life Is for Everyone’ After 25 years, St. John Paul II’s encyclical Evangelium Vitae remains a prophetic testament for our times n September 1939, 19-year-old university student Karol WojtyĹ‚a saw his homeland become a battlefield. Germany invaded Poland from the west and the Soviet Union from the east — each fueled by totalitarian ideologies that would cost millions of innocent lives in the years that followed.

Amid the brutality of World War II, Wojtyła joined the underground seminary and resolved to serve and defend human dignity as a priest. Eventually, he was elected pope in 1978, and played a pivotal role in the collapse of Soviet communism. Pope John Paul II understood, however, that while the gas chambers and gulags of the 20th century were gone, the philosophies that inspired them were not. In 1991, he convened a consistory of cardinals at the Vatican to discuss contemporary threats to human life.

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the future Pope Benedict XVI, spoke at the meeting of the roots of the Nazi regime in his native Germany. He also noted a contradiction in modern democratic culture, which both affirms universal human rights and “disposes of the life of its weakest members, from an unborn baby to an elderly person, in the name of a public usefulness which is really only the interest of a few.�

The cardinals unanimously asked Pope John Paul II to reaffirm, in a magisterial document, the value of all human life. After consulting with bishops around the world, the pope issued the encyclical Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life) on March 25, 1995, the feast day of the Annunciation.

In the encyclical, Pope John Paul II not only affirmed the dignity of human life in all its stages, while clearly stating that practices like abortion, infanticide and euthanasia are violations of social justice. He also proclaimed that the Church’s perennial teachings on the sanctity of life are inseparable from the Gospel itself: “The Gospel of God’s love for man, the Gospel of the dignity of the person and the Gospel of life are a single and indivisible Gospel� (2).

What follows are excerpts from this landmark document, in commemoration of its 25th anniversary.

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Pope John Paul II blesses a baby in Ars, France, Oct. 6, 1986.

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CALLING FOR A NEW CULTURE OF LIFE The Gospel of life is at the heart of Jesus’ message (1). …

Today this proclamation is especially pressing because of the extraordinary increase and gravity of threats to the life of individuals and peoples, especially where life is weak and defenseless (3). …

To all the members of the Church, the people of life and for life, I make this most urgent appeal, that together we may offer this world of ours new signs of hope, and work to ensure that justice and solidarity will increase and that a new culture of human life will be affirmed, for the building of an authentic civilization of truth and love (6).

Here though we shall concentrate particular attention on another category of attacks, affecting life in its earliest and in its final stages…. It is not only that in generalized opinion these attacks tend no longer to be considered as “crimes”; paradoxically they assume the nature of “rights,” to the point that the state is called upon to give them legal recognition and to make them available through the free services of health-care personnel.

Such attacks strike human life at the time of its greatest frailty, when it lacks any means of self-defense (11). …

This reality is characterized by the emergence of a culture which denies solidarity and in many cases takes the form of a veritable “culture of death” (12).

RIGHTS, TRUTH AND FREEDOM On the one hand, the various declarations of human rights and the many initiatives inspired by these declarations show that at the global level there is a growing moral sensitivity, more alert to acknowledging the value and dignity of every individual as a human being, without any distinction of race, nationality, religion, political opinion or social class. On the other hand, these noble proclamations are unfortunately contradicted by a tragic repudiation of them in practice. ... How can we reconcile these declarations with the refusal to accept those who are weak and needy, or elderly, or those who have just been conceived? (18) …

What are the roots of this remarkable contradiction? We can find them in an overall assessment of a cultural and moral nature, beginning with the mentality which carries the concept of subjectivity to an extreme and even distorts it…. Freedom negates and destroys itself, and becomes a factor leading to the destruction of others, when it no longer recognizes and respects its essential link with the truth (19). …

In this way, any reference to common values and to a truth absolutely binding on everyone is lost, and social life ventures on to the shifting sands of complete relativism. At that point, everything is negotiable, everything is open to bargaining: even the first of the fundamental rights, the right to life. … To claim the right to abortion, infanticide and euthanasia, and to recognize that right in law, means to attribute to human freedom a perverse and evil significance: that of an absolute power over others and against others. This is the death of true freedom (20).

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THE ‘ECLIPSE’ OF GOD AND MAN We have to go to the heart of the tragedy being experienced by modern man: the eclipse of the sense of God and of man, typical of a social and cultural climate dominated by secularism… (21).

Once all reference to God has been removed, it is not surprising that the meaning of everything else becomes profoundly distorted. Nature itself, from being “mater” (mother), is now reduced to being “matter,” and is subjected to every kind of manipulation. … By living “as if God did not exist,” man not only loses sight of the mystery of God, but also of the mystery of the world and the mystery of his own being (22). …

The so-called “quality of life” is interpreted primarily or exclusively as economic efficiency, inordinate consumerism, physical beauty and pleasure, to the neglect of the more profound dimensions — interpersonal, spiritual and religious — of existence. … The criterion of personal dignity — which demands respect, generosity and service — is replaced by the criterion of efficiency, functionality and usefulness: others are considered not for what they “are,” but for what they “have, do and produce.” This is the supremacy of the strong over the weak (23).

THE GOOD NEWS The blood of Christ, while it reveals the grandeur of the Father’s love, shows how precious man is in God’s eyes and how priceless the value of his life. … Precisely by contemplating the precious blood of Christ, the sign of his self-giving love (cf. Jn 13:1), the believer learns to recognize and appreciate the almost divine dignity of every human being…. It is from the blood of Christ that all draw the strength to commit themselves to promoting life. It is precisely this blood that is the most powerful source of hope, indeed it is the foundation of the absolute certitude that in God’s plan life will be victorious (25). …

[H]ow many initiatives of help and support for people who are weak and defenseless have sprung up and continue to spring up in the Christian community and in civil society, at the local, national and international level, through the efforts of individuals, groups, movements and organizations of various kinds!

There are still many married couples who, with a generous sense of responsibility, are ready to accept children as “the supreme gift of marriage.” Nor is there a lack of families which, over and above their everyday service to life, are willing to accept abandoned children, boys and girls and teenagers in difficulty, handicapped persons, elderly men and women who have been left alone (26).

CLEAR TEACHING “Human life is sacred because from its beginning it involves ‘the creative action of God,’ and it remains forever in a special relationship with the Creator, who is its sole end. God alone is the Lord of life from its beginning until its end: no one can, in any circumstance, claim for himself the right to destroy directly an innocent human being” (Donum Vitae, 5). (53) …

Faced with the progressive weakening in individual consciences and in society of the sense of the absolute and grave

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moral illicitness of the direct taking of all innocent human life, especially at its beginning and at its end, the Church’s Magisterium has spoken out with increasing frequency in defense of the sacredness and inviolability of human life (57). ‌ Among all the crimes which can be committed against life, procured abortion has characteristics making it particularly serious and deplorable. The Second Vatican Council defines abortion, together with infanticide, as an “unspeakable crimeâ€? (58). ‌ I [also] confirm that euthanasia is a grave violation of the law of God, since it is the deliberate and morally unacceptable killing of a human person (65).

the service of charity, which finds expression in personal witness, various forms of volunteer work, social activity and political commitment. ‌ To this end, appropriate and effective programs of support for new life must be implemented, with special closeness to mothers who, even without the help of the father, are not afraid to bring their child into the world and to raise it (87). ‌ Within the “people of life and the people for life,â€? the family has a decisive responsibility. This responsibility flows from its very nature as a community of life and love, founded upon marriage, and from its mission to “guard, reveal and communicate love.â€? ‌ As the domestic church, the family is summoned to proclaim, celebrate and serve the Gospel of life. This is a responsibility which first concerns married couples, called to be givers of life, on the basis of an ever greater awareness of the meaning of procreation as a unique event which clearly reveals that human life is a gift received in order then to be given as a gift (92). ‌ In order to fulfill its vocation as the “sanctuary of life,â€? as the cell of a society which loves and welcomes life, the family urgently needs to be helped and supported (94).

LAW AND LIFE The value of democracy stands or falls with the values which it embodies and promotes. Of course, values such as the dignity of every human person, respect for inviolable and inalienable human rights, and the adoption of the “common good� as the end and criterion regulating political life are certainly fundamental and not to be ignored.

The basis of these values cannot be provisional and changeable “majorityâ€? opinions, but only the acknowledgment of an objective moral law which, as the “natural lawâ€? written in the human heart, is the obligaAN EDUCATION OF LOVE Pope John Paul II visits a patient at the Figlie di San Camillo tory point of reference for [T]here is a need for educaHospital in Rome. civil law itself (70). ‌ tion about the value of life Abortion and euthanasia are from its very origins. It is an ilthus crimes which no human lusion to think that we can law can claim to legitimize. There is no obligation in con- build a true culture of human life if we do not help the young science to obey such laws; instead there is a grave and clear ob- to accept and experience sexuality and love and the whole of ligation to oppose them by conscientious objection. ‌ In the case life according to their true meaning and in their close interof an intrinsically unjust law, such as a law permitting abor- connection. Sexuality, which enriches the whole person, tion or euthanasia, it is therefore never licit to obey it, or to “manifests its inmost meaning in leading the person to the “take part in a propaganda campaign in favor of such a law, gift of self in love.â€? The trivialization of sexuality is among or vote for itâ€? (73). ‌ the principal factors which have led to contempt for new life.

To refuse to take part in committing an injustice is not Only a true love is able to protect life. (97). ‌ only a moral duty; it is also a basic human right. ‌ In this In a word, we can say that the cultural change which we are sense, the opportunity to refuse to take part in the phases of calling for demands from everyone the courage to adopt a new consultation, preparation and execution of these acts against lifestyle, consisting in making practical choices — at the perlife should be guaranteed to physicians [and] health-care sonal, family, social and international level — on the basis of a correct scale of values: the primacy of being over having, of personnel ‌ (74). the person over things (98). ‌ The Gospel of life is not for believers alone: it is for everyone.

SUPPORTING MOTHERS AND FAMILIES By virtue of our sharing in Christ’s royal mission, our support ‌ To be actively pro-life is to contribute to the renewal of society and promotion of human life must be accomplished through through the promotion of the common good (101).♌ MARCH 2020

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LIFE EMPOWERS A historic March for Life affirms rights of women and the unborn while celebrating legislative gains

H

undreds of thousands of pro-life advocates gathered Jan. 24 for the 47th March for Life in Washington, D.C., drawing inspiration from another hard-fought struggle for justice.

The theme of this year’s march — “Life Empowers: ProLife is Pro-Woman� — honored the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which established women’s right to vote, and challenged thinking that equates women’s rights with access to abortion.

Jeanne Mancini, president of the March for Life Education and Defense Fund, cited leaders of the suffragist movement such as Susan B. Anthony and Alice Paul, who referred to abortion as “the ultimate exploitation of women.� “We remember and honor the early suffragists — those courageous female leaders who recognized both the inherent dignity of women and the unborn,� Mancini said at the pre-march rally on the National Mall. “We recognize, as the suffragists did, that a woman’s capacity to have a child is amazing and is inherent to who she is as a person — it’s not a liability, it’s a gift.�

Of particular significance, this year marked the first time in the March for Life’s nearly 50-year history that a U.S. president addressed the event in person.

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“Every child is a precious and sacred gift from God,� said President Donald Trump, addressing the tens of thousands who were gathered on the Mall. “Together, we must protect, cherish, and defend the dignity and the sanctity of every human life.�

The president also highlighted the centennial of the 19th Amendment: “Today, millions of extraordinary women across America are using the power of their votes to fight for ‌ the right to life. To all the women here today: Your devotion and your leadership uplifts our entire nation, and we thank you.â€?

Vice President Mike Pence, who was in Rome to meet with Pope Francis, sent a message to marchers by video. Other speakers included Rep. Chris Smith from New Jersey; Elisa Martinez, founder of the New Mexico Alliance for Life and co-chair of Native Americans for Life; and Melissa Ohden, an abortion survivor and pro-life activist.

Louisiana State Sen. Katrina Jackson, a pro-life Democrat, emphasized that abortion does not need to be a partisan issue. “In Louisiana, the majority of Democrats who are elected are pro-lifers,� said Jackson, who helped write a law requiring doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges

by Cecilia Hadley

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Walking With Moms in Need: A Year of Service

From top: President Donald Trump speaks at the March for Life rally, the first president to do so in person. • Deputy Grand Knight Luis MartĂ­nez of St. Mary’s Landover Hills Council 10046 in Hyattsville, Md., and Mike Lynch of St. Rose of Lima Council 14297 in Gaithersburg, Md., hand out K of C signs to people gathering for the march. • Jeanne Mancini, president of the March for Life Education and Defense Fund, welcomes pro-life advocates to the rally on the National Mall. • Louisiana State Sen. Katrina Jackson addresses the crowd. • Supreme Knight Carl Anderson meets pro-life activist and performer Tony Melendez on Constitution Avenue. Melendez, a singer and songwriter who was born without arms, plays the guitar with his feet. • A young girl holds a Knights of Columbus “Love Life, Choose Lifeâ€? sign.

A RECENT SURVEY by the U.S. bishops’ Pro-Life Committee found that more than a half-million pregnant women receive assistance each year through a network of more than 2,700 pregnancy help centers.

Many of these centers are supported by local Knights of Columbus councils; Knights donated $3.7 million to pregnancy support organizations and served more than 515,000 volunteer hours last year alone. Since 2009, the Knights of Columbus Ultrasound Initiative has provided more than 1,200 ultrasound machines nationwide.

This past fall, the U.S. bishops announced a special initiative to commemorate the 25th anniversary of St. John Paul II’s encyclical Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life): “Walking With Moms in Need: A Year of Service.�

From March 25, 2020, to March 25, 2021, dioceses and parishes are invited to participate in this special year of service, which seeks to assess and expand resources to pregnant moms and families. Knights of Columbus councils are likewise encouraged to work with their pastors and parish pro-life coordinators to identify needs, and redouble their efforts to assist mothers and the unborn through Faith in Action Life programs.♌ MARCH 2020

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at a nearby hospital. The state law, which passed in 2014 but was blocked by a federal judge in 2017, will be considered by the Supreme Court this month. “Every day that I walk into the state capitol, I am greeted by pro-lifers, regardless if they’re black, white, Republican, Democrat, male or female, because we know that in unity we must fight for life,� she said. “In unity we must fight like we’ve never fought before.�

Supreme Knight Carl Anderson made a similar argument in a Wall Street Journal op-ed published the day of the march.

The most recent Marist poll commissioned by the Order shows that 70% of Americans support restricting abortion after the first three months of pregnancy — including 47%

of those who identify as pro-choice. “As the new poll shows, Democratic leaders are leaving their voters behind,� Supreme Knight Anderson wrote. “Abortion always has been a moral issue. It never should have become a partisan one. Now it deserves to become postpartisan.�

The supreme knight and other Supreme Officers joined numerous Knights and their families from around the country who attended the march. After the rally, the crowd of several hundred thousand — many carrying colorful K of C banners and waving “Love Life, Choose Lifeâ€? signs — walked the march’s route up Constitution Avenue to the Supreme Court building.♌ CECILIA HADLEY is senior editor of Columbia.

Native Americans March for Life

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Supreme Warden Graydon Nicholas (center), former lieutenant governor of New Brunswick and a member of the Maliseet First Nation, marches with members of the Native American pro-life group Life is Sacred.

After the march, the Life is Sacred group visited the Saint John Paul II National Shrine, where Father Sands celebrated Mass. The pilgrims were welcomed by Supreme Knight Carl Anderson, who last year announced a new K of C initiative to serve Native American communities in the United States

and First Nation communities throughout Canada. “Native Americans are our brothers and sisters in Christ, and they are so often forgotten by the culture at large,â€? the supreme knight said. “Together we march as people of faith, standing up for the rights of every human life.â€?♌

HUNDREDS OF MEMBERS of Life is Sacred, a new Native American prolife group, traveled to Washington from around the country for the March for Life on Jan. 24.

Supreme Warden Graydon Nicholas of New Brunswick and Supreme Director Patrick Mason of New Mexico are both founding board members of the organization. Father Maurice Henry Sands, executive director of the Black and Indian Mission Office in Washington, D.C., serves as the group’s chaplain. “As a native I am taught by my culture to stand for the most vulnerable,� said Mason, who is a member of the Osage Nation. “And as a Knight of Columbus, it is my solemn duty to protect those who cannot protect themselves.�

The group’s pro-life advocacy is inspired, in part, by Native Americans’ experiences of injustice. Native and indigenous peoples did not have legal recognition as “persons� in the United States until 1924, explained board member Daniel Berg. “Today the unborn are not recognized as persons under the laws of the United States, and every day they’re killed by the thousands,� said Berg, a member of the Navajo Nation. “So we stand to defend the lives of all peoples, born and unborn, in order to create a culture of love and a civilization of life.�

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INVESTING WITH

FAITH Supreme Director Anthony Minopoli, chief investment officer, discusses the mission and growth of Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors

by Columbia staff

P

ope Francis has observed, “At the base of economic and financial crises there is always a conception of life that places profit first, and not the person.” Ethical investing that places people first not only upholds human dignity and the common good — it is also good business.

Since its founding in 1882, the Knights of Columbus has helped to protect the financial future of members and their families. It has grown to become a Fortune 1000 company with a top-rated insurance program and billions of dollars in assets under management — all while screening investments for Catholic compliance and donating profits to charities that serve the community and strengthen the Church.

Leveraging its investment team’s decades of experience and history of strong performance, the Order established Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC, an SEC-registered investment advisor subsidiary, in 2015.

“K of C Asset Advisors,” Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson explained, “will be in a unique position to provide a high-quality service to institutions that seek security, stability and Catholicscreened investment options.”

Five years later, Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors serves hundreds of shareholders, helping to strengthen and support Catholic communities through Anthony V. Minopoli ethical, faith-based investment Chief Investment Officer strategies. Supreme Director Anthony V. Minopoli, chief investment officer and president of Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors, recently spoke with Columbia about the initiative.

For more information, visit kofcassetadvisors.org.

C OLUMBIA: Why was Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors created?

ANTHONY MINOPOLI: Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors was created to make the Order’s Catholic investment experience, built over more than a century, available to Catholic investors. We have been providing first mortgage loan financing to churches since 1896. Many of those borrowers asked if we could also manage their assets, given our understanding of church finances. That experience, coupled with feedback from a Catholic investment conference we hosted in 2011, convinced us of the need for a fully Catholic firm with demonstrated investment capabilities.

COLUMBIA: How do funds managed by KoCAA differ from standard investments?

M INOPOLI: Our investments strictly adhere to Catholic teachings, following guidelines on socially responsible investing that were first published by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2003. Practically speaking, this means that we exclude from our portfolios companies that fund things that are contrary to Catholic teaching, such as abortion, pornography and embryonic stem-cell research. It has not been difficult for us to apply these principles because Catholic teaching has informed our investment practices for many decades, long before the bishops’ guidelines. It really is part of our DNA. COLUMBIA: How does KoCAA fit into the Order’s mission and Father McGivney’s founding vision?

MINOPOLI: KoCAA very much fits into Father McGivney’s vision to improve the financial security of Catholic families as well as the Knights’ mission to support of the Church. We seek to help Catholics grow their assets so they can care for their families and communities. In stark contrast to many Wall Street firms, our profits — as a wholly owned subsidiary MARCH 2020

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COLUMBIA: Are KoCAA investments available to individuals as well as institutions?

MINOPOLI: Investments are currently available to institutions, including dioceses, parishes, schools, religious orders and hospitals.

Later this year, we plan to begin COLUMBIA: Over the past five offering our mutual funds to indiyears, how has KoCAA grown and vidual Knights, their families and — Mother Agnes Mary Donovan, developed? other investors through the Order’s General Superior of the Sisters of Life MINOPOLI: We began trading six well-established field force. mutual funds in 2015 with seed We firmly believe that our mucapital from the General Account tual fund family can complement and some of the Knights of the excellent annuity program that Columbus charitable entities. By the Knights has had for many the end of 2019, we had grown to nearly $800 million across years. For example, a member will be able to meet with his nine strategies, including active and passive equity, fixed in- field agent to talk about life insurance and long-term care, come, global real estate, and long/short equity funds. With and also discuss other retirement investment needs. A blend the acquisition of the institutional business of Boston Advi- of guaranteed income from our fixed annuities can meld well sors, our equity subadvisor, in late 2019, new products and with the potential growth of our mutual funds as the member relationships have added $1.6 billion in assets to KoCAA. ages through retirement.

We have more than 300 discrete shareholders in the mutual The Knights of Columbus remains first a protection comfunds, and about 60 more in other strategies. We are honored pany focused on life insurance, long-term care, disability and to have been entrusted with assets from more than two dozen annuity needs for our members and families. However, we dioceses, roughly 15 religious orders, and perhaps most proudly, also recognize the need for investment vehicles and hope to more than 100 state and local Knights of Columbus councils. make Catholic investments available to all. of the Knights of Columbus — enhance the charitable mission of the Order. We seek to provide not only strong performance and competitive fees, but also compliance with Catholic teachings and support for charitable causes and the Church.

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“John Cardinal O’Connor founded the Sisters of Life nearly 30 years ago to protect and enhance the sacredness of human life. As our community grows, Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors ensures that we do not invest in companies that advance a culture of death, so that we can focus on our mission to build a new culture of life.�

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COLUMBIA: What investbefore distribution. The ment options are available value can grow tax-free, and to clients? the entire amount is availM INOPOLI: When the able to support charities. program began, we offered Before gifts are distributed, two fixed-income funds — Knights of Columbus a Limited Duration Fund Charitable Fund reviews and a Core Bond Fund. In prospective charities in simple terms, a limited duorder to protect donors ration fund and core bond from inadvertently supportfund differ in what bonds ing anything that is conthey invest in, based on how trary to Church teaching. far away they are from maturity. On the equity side, COLUMBIA: Can you tell we started with large-cap us about any other future growth, large-cap value, plans or goals for KoCAA? small-cap core and internaM INOPOLI : With the team and processes we tional equity. With these “Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors have built, the success of original six funds, we could our five-year track record, create asset allocation stratehelps us to be faithful and responsible and the early trust that gies to meet the risk tolerstewards as we serve the pastoral we’ve earned from hunances of investors from very dreds of shareholders, we are well conservative to aggressive clients. needs of men and women in uniform positioned for growth.

In late 2019, we launched three and our veterans — work that would We’re comfortable with the diadditional funds to offer investors versity and breadth of our product even more diversification and not be possible without the generosity line, so we do not expect to add flexibility. of our chaplains and benefactors, many new products in the foreseeOur new Long/Short Equity able future. Instead, we are focusFund seeks to reduce volatility and including the longtime support of the ing on managing our current, equity risk by both owning stocks Order.� high-quality products, attracting we like (the “long positions�) and new investors and working more selling stocks that we don’t (the — Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, closely with our dedicated Knights “short positions�). Essentially, the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA of Columbus field agents to prostrategy seeks to profit from both vide strong Catholic investment sothose stocks that increase as well as lutions for our members and the those stocks that decrease in value. broader Catholic community.

We also created a Global Real We are excited about where we have been, but we are more Estate Fund that invests in stocks of global companies that are engaged as real estate operators — providing an opportu- excited about where we are going. It is truly a privilege to parnity to profit from both the growth of real estate securities ticipate in the mission of the Order and to continue growing Father McGivney’s legacy.♌ and strong dividends.

Lastly, we created the Knights of Columbus U.S. All Cap Index Fund, which allows clients to invest in securities of the Mutual fund investing involves risk. Consider the funds’ investment objectives, risks, charges 3,000 largest companies in the United States after eliminating and expenses carefully before investing. This and other information can be found in the funds’ full or summary prospectuses, which can be obtained by calling 1-844-KC-FUNDS or by visthose that don’t adhere to Catholic teaching. iting www.kofcassetadvisors.org. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing.

C OLUMBIA: The Knights of Columbus Charitable Fund was established last year. How does that initiative fit in with KoCAA? M INOPOLI: The Knights of Columbus Charitable Fund allows charitable givers to create a personal donor-advised fund.

Contributors may be eligible to receive a tax deduction immediately on the full value of their gift, and may then direct donations over time to charities that do not violate Catholic teaching. The assets are invested in our family of mutual funds

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC, an SEC-registered investment advisor, serves as the investment advisor to each of the Knights of Columbus Funds. The Knights of Columbus Funds are distributed by SEI Investments Distribution Co. (1 Freedom Valley Dr., Oaks, PA 19456), which is not affiliated with Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors or any of its affiliates.

Knights of Columbus Charitable Fund (“KCCF�) is an independent, nonprofit, public charity with a donor advised fund program. Various entities affiliated with Knights of Columbus provide certain investment management and administrative services to KCCF. KoCAA serves as the investment manager of KCCF and the assets are invested in funds managed by KoCAA. The value of an invested donation will fluctuate over time and may gain or lose money. Investing involves risk.

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KNIGHTS IN ACTION

REPORTS FROM COUNCILS & ASSEMBLIES

FAITH RELIC OFFERING

Mother Seton Council 3376 in Cincinnati donated its first-class relic of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, which it had kept in the council meeting place, to Seton High School. The council also paid for materials for a relic case, which a member built and installed in the school chapel.

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KNIGHTS ON DECK

Past Grand Knight Hank Montoya of St. Louis de Montfort Council 14553 in Oak Lawn, Ill., installed a deck area for grilling at the rectory of St. Barnabas Church in Chicago. Montoya, a master carpenter, completed the deck and repaired the front and back stairs with help from fellow Knights.

SEMINARIAN SEND-OFF

The Nevada State Council raised more than $13,900 for seminarian education in the Diocese of Las Vegas.

State Deputy Antonio F. Pascua presented the donation to Bishop George Leo Thomas of Las Vegas during the “Annual Mass of 26 ♌ C O L U M B I A ♌

MARCH 2020

Sending Forth of Seminarians� at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Henderson.

VOCATION BALL

The Nassau (N.Y.) Chapter raised $41,000 for priestly vocations at its annual charity ball, organized this year in honor of Father Joe Fitzgerald. Father Fitzgerald, a Fourth Degree Knight, is pastor of St. William the Abbot Catholic Church in Seaford and former director of vocations for the Diocese of Rockville Centre.

HONORING ALTAR SERVERS

St. Anne/Oratory Council 6756 in Rock Hill, S.C., presented specially designed crosses and certificates to

more than 80 altar servers at St. Anne’s Catholic Church during the parish’s annual international festival. Father Joe Pearce, pastor and council chaplain, blessed the gifts during the ceremony.

CASHING OUT AND MOVING IN

Members of Bishop John T. Kidd Council 4924 in Windsor, Ontario, presented a check for $85,000 to Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish. The funds, proceeds from the sale of the council’s home corporation building, will be used to construct a new church hall and parking lot.

TANZANIA OUTREACH

Father Joseph O’Conner Hunt IC Council 556 in Galesburg, Ill., and Galesburg Assembly 212 financially supported the efforts of Father Deus-Dedit Byabato, a member of the assembly, to build Catholic churches and schools in his native Tanzania. Through council fundraisers and direct donations, the Knights helped raise more than $26,000 to support Father Byabato’s projects.

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

FAMILY MARRIED FOR LIFE

Continuing an annual tradition of more than 20 years, West Volusia Council 6274 in Deland, Fla., sponsored an event to honor widowers of the council as well as the widows of deceased members. A corporate Communion at St. Peter’s Catholic Church was followed by a breakfast and a ceremony during which Grand Knight Michael Graves recognized each widow and widower.

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YOUTH SOCCER CHALLENGE

St. Frances Cabrini Council 4322 in Lakewood, Wash., held a Knights of Columbus Soccer Challenge competition for boys and girls ages 9 to 13. All participants were recognized with certificates, and the winners received prizes. +(,.+$,1 -#1 -% " +/1 ,/,0 ;/.'0)1 +$*-%/(1 *+0%'( 1/ "0" 0.1-#1 , 1 -*)1 / %166 - )$+%1 :7 1 9-+)(1 *+( (-) 1 */.%+0 1+)1.0(,-.+)&1/) - ,'--.1 ,/,+-)( -#1 ,*0 .-((1 /,1 /%%-,,+)01 0"+ )/. 1 /,1 .00)1 +%%1 +)1 ;0(, /,,( +%%0 14' 1 *01(0. +$0 !.-90$,1 /(1/1$-" +)0'10# #-.,1 -#1 - )$+%1 :7 1 - ,-"/$1 - )$+%18 1/)'1 *0 /,*-%+$12)+ 0.(+, 1-#1 "0 .+$/1 - )$+%1 5 83 1 /%%1 +) ;/(*+)&,-) 1

HOLY FAMILY ICON

Allouez Council 658 in Rock Island, Ill., dedicated a Holy Family icon in the reconciliation room of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in honor of the late Father John-Joseph DePorres Logan, a Knight dedicated to the culture of life and the Holy Family.

GIRLS’ HOCKEY OUTING

Members of Father Sebastian Rasle Assembly 337 in Portland, Maine, organized

a trip for the Cheverus High School girls hockey team to watch the University of Maine hockey team take on (and defeat) Yale University.

CATHOLIC CLASSROOMS

Havre (Mont.) Council 1644 donated more than $3,600 to help St. Jude Thaddeus Catholic School buy new classroom furniture for its preschool. A breakfast fundraiser at St. Jude’s Parish hall yielded $900, which was augmented by three matching donations from council members.

COATS IN THE CATHEDRAL

The New Jersey State Council provided more than 350 coats to children in the religious education program at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Patterson.

State Deputy Vincent P. Tavormina, State Advocate James Sweeney and Msgr.

Geno Sylva, rector of the cathedral, were among those who personally distributed the coats, which were donated by several area councils participating in the Knights of Columbus Coats for KidsÂŽ program.

NEW BEGINNINGS BARBECUE

St. Joseph of Arimathea Council 14025 in Lakeway, Texas, sponsored a barbecue for a family visiting day at Giddings State School, a juvenile correctional facility operated by the Texas Juvenile Justice Department.

Members cooked and served more than 500 meals for family, staff and students. Some of the students had never before experienced a barbecue.

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

COMMUNITY CHARITABLE CYCLISTS

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PRODUCE FROM THE PARISH

FAT TUESDAY FUNDRAISER

HELP AFTER HARDSHIP

Southwest Council 3910 in Houston and other local councils helped St. Thomas More Church parishioners distribute hundreds of pounds of fresh fruit and vegetables to families in need at a food and health fair. The event was organized by St. Thomas More Parish Food Pantry and the Houston Food Bank.

St. Stanislaus Council 7875 in Pleasant Valley, N.Y., hosted a Mardi Gras dinner and dance to raise funds to restore the local library, which had been heavily damaged by a fire. More than 100 people attended the event, which featured a raffle, a silent auction and food donated by local businesses, and raised more than $3,400.

Siskiyou Council 2454 in Montague, Calif., donated $4,600 from their annual dinner dance toward the purchase of a wheelchair-accessible van for a parishioner of St. Mary’s Church in Etna with quadriplegia.

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MARCH 2020

HOUSE CALL

Members of St. Kieran Council 13983 in Shelby Township, Mich., helped refurbish the home of a disabled, widowed parishioner of St. Kieran Catholic Church. The Knights power-washed, scraped and painted the deck, handicap ramp and front door, and installed a new doorknob and deadbolt.

DAY OF UNITY

Notre Dame Council 8549 in Oshawa, Ontario, and its chaplain, Father Jorge Lopez, hosted a “day of unityâ€? with École Secondaire Catholique Saint Charles Garnier in Whitby. The day began with Mass celebrated by Father Lopez; a student choir led by member Jean-Claude Legault provided music. More than 700 students then participated in the Terry Fox 5K Walk for Cancer Research, and the day ended with a celebratory barbecue.

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DECKED OUT

Frank Guest, a member of Springfield (Va.) Council 6153, led a team of parishioners from the Diocese of Arlington in a council- and diocese-sponsored service project. The team worked for four days to reconstruct an entry deck and staircase for a neighbor with limited mobility. They also took time for periods of spiritual reflection.

Bellmore (N.Y.) Council 3689 sponsored its sixth annual charity bike ride, raising more than $17,000 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Knights recruited riders and sponsors, and sold raffle tickets for prizes donated by local merchants.

Participants chose routes spanning 25 to 100 miles, and after the ride all were invited for a barbecue and celebration. Nearly $70,000 has been raised in the six years the council has organized the event.

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K N I G H T S I N AC T I O N BLESS THIS BRISKET

Msgr. Vitus Graffeo Council 5211in Corsicana, Texas, held a smoked brisket sale to raise funds for James L. Collins Catholic School.

BREAKFAST FOR YOUTH MINISTRY

Norfolk (Va.) Council 367 sponsored a breakfast fundraiser that raised more than $300 for the Sacred Heart Catholic Church youth ministry.

EARLY RISERS

Members of St. Helena Council 10911 in Amite City, La., gathered at 4 a.m. to fire up the barbecue pits for a chicken dinner held that evening. Wives and friends provided side dishes and served the meal.

Funds raised supported St. Helena Church and other K of C charities.

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RAILING REPAIR

FOR THOSE WHO MOURN

Bob Chase, a member of St. Augustine Council 10557 in Providence, R.I., noticed rusted railings at the Seminary of Our Lady of Providence during his morning walk and volunteered to restore them. He and several fellow council members sanded, primed and repainted them.

For years, Rev. I.N. Dumont Council 7188 in Saint-François-de-Madawaska, New Brunswick, has contributed to the improvement of the cemetery at Sa i n t - Fr a n ç o i s - d’ A s s i s e Parish. Most recently, the council funded the construction of an arch at the cemetery’s entrance. Member Maurice Chouinard designed the structure and built it with the assistance of his wife, Lucie, and fellow Knights.

CATHOLIC CARNIVAL

St. George Council 3928 in Guilford, Conn., presented a check for more than $20,000 to Father Stephen Sledesky, pastor of St. George Catholic Church and a member of the council. The money, raised through the council’s annual carnival, will be used for parish programs.

FEEDING THE CHILDREN

Members of Christ the King Council 7112 in North Cotabato, Mindanao, served a meal to about 180 children at Lower Paatan Elementary School.

SUCCESS IS SWEET

Father Hugh MacKinnon Council 8192 in Elmira, Ontario, served up maple burgers and other tasty morsels at a booth at the annual Elmira Maple Syrup Festival. More than a third of council members helped, raising more than $6,000 for charities and community projects.

SWINGING INTO RETIREMENT

Bishop Hafey Council 4507 in High Point, N.C., organized its annual golf tournament to benefit the retirement fund of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales. Close to 100 golfers participated in the Captain’s Choice Tournament, raising $10,000 and bringing the 23-year total to nearly $150,000.

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K N I G H T S I N AC T I O N MAKING A SPLASH

Members of Bishop Ernest J. Primeau Council 10896 in Merrimack, N.H., braved bone-chilling temperatures to splash into the Atlantic Ocean at the annual Penguin Plunge fundraiser for Special Olympics New Hampshire. Since 2014, Council 10896 has raised more than $15,000 for the organization at the yearly winter plunge.

HISTORIC CENTER

Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Council 8902 in Temperance, Mich., collected a truckload of baby supplies from parishioners at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish for Heartbeat of Monroe, a Christian pregnancy resource center founded in 1973, just two months after Roe v. Wade.

LIFE PRO-LIFE FORUM

Our Lady of the Rosary Council 16175 in San Diego sponsored a pro-life forum, “Life is a Natural Gift from God,� at Our Lady of the Rosary Church.

Four Knights moderated a panel of speakers that included legal and medical experts, as well as postabortion counselor Leslie Brunolli, who described her regret after abortion and the forgiveness and healing she found in the Church.

SAFE HAVEN

MIRACLE LEAGUE

Father Arnold Kosco Council 12808 in West Bloomfield, Mich., provides financial and other support to The Miracle League, a nonprofit that offers training and special baseball fields for children and adults with physical and mental disabilities.

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MARCH 2020

WEB OF LIFE

St. Veronica Council 12579 in Chantilly, Va., and Mount Vernon Council 5998 in Alexandria donated $2,000 to the Diocese of Arlington to commission a website offering a schedule of prayerful demonstrations outside abortion facilities, as well as other pro-life resources.

FIRST ULTRASOUND

Msgr. Charles Dubois Wood Council 5194 in Florence, S.C., donated and dedicated an ultrasound machine to A Choice 2 M8K, a pro-life pregnancy resource center. The council raised the funds for the machine — the center’s first — over nine months.

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3/.3 0,-)3 ,%.* /+ !3 !3 /*/-*3 /-)313"0%.#3#%2*-31-)23 $2+/1(3 0 (!313$1,-"3&0,3$20$(23 /-)3*$2+/1(3.22'*31.'

-)2/,3&1 /(/2* 3 $0.*0,2'3 "3-)23+0%.+/(31.'3/-*31**0+/1-2' 0 2. *3#,0%$!3-)232 2.-3-00 3$(1+231-3 %,3 1'"30&3 21+2 1,/*)3 2.-2,31.'3/.+(%'2'3&00'!3'1.+/.#31.'3#1 2* 3

Our Lady of Fatima Council 9396 in Benton, Ark., joined the Benton Fire Department to fundraise for Safe Haven Baby Boxes and install a baby box at a local fire station. The nonprofit promotes awareness of infant safe haven laws and provides sites where a mother can anonymously place a newborn for adoption, which triggers an immediate call to 911.

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

PATRIOTISM FLAG RETIREMENT

With the help of local Boy Scouts, members of Commodore John Barry Assembly 1775 in Dunellen, N.J., prayerfully and honorably disposed of more than 1,000 worn out U.S. flags.

KNIGHTS OF VALOR

Holy Spirit Assembly 2890 in Simpsonville, S.C., honored the military service of 13 Knights from St. Mary Magdalene Church by presenting each veteran with a certificate and memorial quilt provided by Quilts of Valor, a nonprofit that crafts patriotic quilts for U.S. service members and veterans.

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

MONTHS OF DONATIONS

CANADIAN COLORS

Assemblies from Michigan District #2 collected clothing, cleaning products and personal care items from parishioners over several months to donate to homeless veterans in southwest Michigan through the Battle Creek VA Medical Center.

Continuing an annual tradition in honor of National Flag of Canada Day, celebrated Feb. 15, members of Msgr. Gerald Murphy Assembly 2223 in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, handed out about 1,000 flags, pins and pamphlets on the history of the flag in downtown Dartmouth.

HOMES FOR THE BRAVE *%$,+- 4, )&- &#,+('& *(%'+- '"- 8$+)(%- 1 +- 2) $% 8*%$' )!- 8$ +!$- *&#- !$* *)&- '"- 3+)&!,%'&- 6 )&& 7 8' &!) - 0/ - +,!,) ,(- * &, -" * -"+' -5+*&#-4&) $% ' - )* * -3+' +* - )+,! %'+- )!$*+#- !$ *+%.- *&# ,!'+#,+- ' - 5+,,& ''# 6 )!% +,#- ,"%- %'- +) $%7 - $, " * - *(- ' &%,#- ' %()#, %$,- *+)($-+,!%'+

Bishop Fenwick Assembly 100 in Norwalk, Conn., hosted its annual Patriot Dinner, raising more than $2,000 for local charities. The sold-out Italian dinner benefitted Homes for the Brave and its initiative to house and counsel homeless female veterans and their children, as well as the Norwalk Public Safety Cadets, a local youth leadership and service program.

GRATITUDE PACKAGES

Members of Commodore Barry Assembly 1561 in Ringwood, N.J., extended their regular meeting to assemble “Patrol Care Kits� for Operation Gratitude, a Caliornia-based nonprofit that sends care packages to deployed service members, first responders, veterans and military families.

BROOKLYN BARBECUE

Members of four councils in Brooklyn, N.Y. — St. Finbar Council 15728, Archbishop John Hughes Council 481, Most Precious Blood Council 6134 and Flatbush Council 497 — hosted a barbecue picnic at Fort Hamilton for soldiers preparing to deploy to Afghanistan.

More than 100 soldiers and their family members attended and were honored by the council.

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

MARCH 2020

♌ C O L U M B I A ♌ 31

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P RO M OT I O NA L & G I F T I T E M S

K OF C ITEMS OFFICIAL SUPPLIERS IN THE UNITED STATES THE ENGLISH COMPANY INC.

Official council and Fourth Degree equipment 1-800-444-5632 kofcsupplies.com KNIGHTS GEAR CANADA

Official council and Fourth Degree equipment 1-888-266-1211 knightsgear.ca

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

!

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

OFFICIAL MARCH 1, 2020:

Children’s T-shirt & Baby Onesie These kids’ T-shirts and baby onesies proudly announce “My Dad is a Knight!” or “My Grandpa is a Knight!” Choose red or royal blue, with the text and the emblem of the Order printed in white on 100% cotton. T-shirt available in youth sizes: XS, S, M, L, XL. Onesie available in infant sizes: newborn, 6 months, 12 months, 18 months, 24 months. T-shirt: $7 each; Onesie: $9 each

Tie Bar Keep your tie in place with this brass bar, embellished with the full-color emblem of the Order or Fourth Degree emblem.

(Choose one.) $18 each

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 © 2020 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 ♦

MARCH 2020

Pattern Tie This 100% silk woven tie features either the emblem of the Order or Fourth Degree emblem, embroidered in a repeating pattern with matching thread. Available in dark red or yellow and standard or long length.

Standard: $24 each Long: $25 each

knightsgear.com Questions? Call: 1-855-GEAR-KOC (855-432-7562) Additional shipping costs apply to all orders. Please call before mailing in an order.

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

Knights of Charity

Members of Tandang Sora Assembly 2715 in Quezon City, Luzon North, contribute used plastic bottles to a collection drive for making “ecobricks,” reusable building blocks formed from crushed plastic. Eric Juan, faithful navigator of Assembly 2715, organized the environmental stewardship project.

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

MARCH 2020

♦ COLUMBIA ♦ 33

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

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

‘JESUS WAS REACHING OUT TO ME.’

SISTER ROSANA YBANEZ, POSC The Little Workers of the Sacred Hearts Stamford, Conn.

I grew up in the province of Chaco, Argentina. My parents were farmers, and our village was so rural that a priest came only once a month.

At age 14, while preparing for confirmation, I was struck intensely by Jesus’ words: “Peter, do you love me?� I truly felt him asking me the same question.

In high school, I met the Little Workers of the Sacred Hearts, who invited me to participate in their religious activities. My teenage years were normal, filled with friends and social activities, but through it all, the sisters gently guided me in my discernment.

Although I was offered a full university scholarship, I felt something was missing. Finally, a sister asked me, “Do you have a desire to be a nun?� I answered immediately — Yes! I knew that Jesus was reaching out to me.

I entered the Little Workers in 2001 and came to the United States in 2012. I now live in community with Italian and Indian sisters, teaching American children, catechizing in a Hispanic parish and embracing the wonder of diversity in my life.