16 minute read
Knights in Action
Fourth Degree Knights from the San Gabriel Valley Chapter form an honor guard for the 2021 Guadalupe Procession, the oldest religious festival in the city of Los Angeles. Many of the chapter’s councils and assemblies also provide financial and logistical support for the event, which was first held 90 years ago by immigrants who had fled religious persecution in Mexico.
BIG JOB FOR A BICENTENNIAL Members of Long Green Valley Council 8736 in Hydes, Md., were instrumental in renovating a former convent at St. John the Evangelist Church to serve as a ministry center. e Knights made repairs; painted inside and out; and built display areas for a history exhibit about the parish, which is celebrating its bicentennial in 2022.
FORMATION BY ZOOM Councils in the Diocese of Talibon in Visayas organized a videoconference discussion as part of their Into the Breach formation program. Bishop Patrick Daniel Y. Parcon of Talibon spoke to the Knights about spiritual warfare.
CHEVALIERS TO THE RESCUE With pandemic restrictions limiting parish fundraising opportunities, StJacques d’Embrun (Ontario) Council 6301 donated CA$10,000 to help defray the cost of repaving the parking lot of Saint-Jacques Church. GARDEN IMPROVEMENT Members of St. John’s Council 9574 in Adel, Iowa, built a memorial garden on the grounds of St. John’s Catholic Church. In addition to constructing a rosary path and memorial to unborn children, the Knights made improvements to an existing Mary garden.
A PRAYER FOR AMERICA Members of St. Stephen Council 15691, joined by family members and other parishioners, gathered outside St. Stephen’s Catholic Church in East Grand Rapids, Mich., to pray a rosary for the country.
SERVICE FOR SISTERS Members of St. Dominic Council 3729 in New Orleans helped a local community of the Servants of Mary, Ministers to the Sick by pressure-washing their convent patio. anks to the Knights’ e orts, the community was able celebrate the 25th anniversary of a sister’s nal vows outdoors.
Faith
PARISH BENEFACTORS Father Capodanno Council 6522 in Forked River, N.J., donated $100,000 to St. Pius X Church to support parish ministries and help with parish expenses during the pandemic. Council members presented the donation to their pastor and chaplain, Father Richard Basznianin, a er a Sunday Mass celebrated in memory of deceased council members.
Father Robert Banas (left) and Father Lamberto Legaspino, council chaplain of Pagkabuhay Council 7147 in Parañaque, Luzon South, celebrate the unveiling and dedication of Blessed Michael McGivney Plaza at Resurrection of Our Lord Parish. Members of Council 7147 constructed the plaza in honor of Father McGivney’s beatification.
Family
A young girl in western Kentucky receives a present from Santa, aka Bill McDonald, disaster response coordinator for the Indiana State Council. Indiana Knights worked with other civic groups to collect and deliver toys, gift cards and other supplies to families affected by the tornadoes that hit the state in December.
STEADY FOOD DONATIONS Bishop Charles B. McLaughlin Council 7282 in Sun City Center, Fla., holds regular drives at Prince of Peace Catholic Church to benefit Our Lady’s Food Pantry in Wimauma. In the first nine months of 2021, the council collected and donated nearly 3,000 pounds of food and more than $18,000. RICE AND ROSARIES Father Jesus S. Palileo Council 11894 from Dasmariñas, Luzon South, donated 35 kilograms of rice to Sta. Maria Euphrasia Parish to be distributed to families in need, as well as dozens of rosaries to be given to children in their catechism classes.
SANTA’S ELVES Charles Sheppard, a member of John N. Neumann Council 6965 in San Jose, Calif., crafts hundreds of wooden toy cars each year to donate to children at Christmas. Sheppard’s brother Knights assist by hand-sanding the parts before the toys are assembled.
LAWN GAMES FOR WIDOWS Msgr. James J. Zegers Council 9113 in Marmora, N.J., held its 13th annual Michael Barnes Memorial Horseshoe and Cornhole event, named in honor of a deceased member. The event, which benefits Knights’ widows, has raised $20,000 since it began. TOGETHER AGAIN Alton (Ill.) Council 460 revived its Family Fun Night a er a two-year hiatus, welcoming more than 100 Knights, family members and other parishioners of Sts. Peter and Paul and St. Mary churches to an evening of fellowship.
ART TO HONOR HIM St. Nicholas of Myra Council 10847 in Mont Clare, Pa., sponsored a religious artwork contest as part of its “Keep Christ in Christmas” program. The artist of the winning submission received a cash prize, and her icon was featured on the wrappers of chocolates the council sold as a fundraiser.
TRIVIA NIGHT Father Gilbert Carlton Council 9360 in Janesville, Wis., hosted a trivia night at St. John Vianney School to benefit a parish family whose daughter was born with a heart defect. The event raised more than $9,000 for the young girl’s medical expenses.
Patrick Ziegler clears vines and brush with other members of Glenville (N.Y.) Council 10013 in collaboration with Our Lady of Martyrs Shrine Council 16861 in Auriesville. As part of an ongoing service project, the councils help landscape the grounds at Our Lady of Martyrs Shrine and open neglected pilgrimage paths to the public. The Order has a longstanding relationship with the shrine, which was built on the site of a 17th-century Native American village where three French missionaries were martyred and St. Kateri Tekakwitha was born.
Members of Cathedral of St. John the Baptist Council 17254 in Paterson and other New Jersey Knights prepare to distribute coats to families in need at a special event on the last Sunday of Advent. In addition to distributing more than 1,000 coats, the Knights helped to hand out more than 2,000 toys and organized a Christmas parade float to bring gifts to families who were not able to come to the cathedral.
SCHOOL WITHOUT WALLS Members of Islands Council 10579 in Savannah, Ga., installed televisions and counters in a pavilion outside St. Peter the Apostle School in Wilmington Island, allowing teachers to use it as an outdoor classroom.
COATS NEAR AND FAR Bishop Curtis Council 2867 in Wilmington, Del., participated in the Coats for Kids program, donating one case of coats to the Nanticoke Indian Association in Delaware and another case to an orphanage in Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine.
WHATEVER IT TAKES With few fundraising options during the pandemic, members of Msgr. Corr Council 3571 in Pasadena, Calif., decided to assemble lapel poppies for the Veterans of Foreign Wars to earn money for charity. The Knights made 100,000 flowers, enabling the council to donate $1,000 to the California State Council for wildfire relief and $1,000 for relief work in Haiti. SALUTE TO EAGLE SCOUTS Immaculate Heart of Mary Council 13621 in Grand Junction, Colo., recognized a group of local Eagle Scouts for their accomplishments by presenting them with U.S. flags. The flags, obtained by the Knights through the office of their congresswoman, had been flown over the U.S. Capitol.
GREEN KNIGHTS Members of Saint Rita Council 7876 in Santa Rita, Olongapo City, Luzon South, held a work day to plant trees as part the council’s “Plant Today for a Greener Tomorrow” initiative, a collaboration with several other religious and civic groups.
BACKPACKS FOR KIDS Knights from four councils and an assembly in Erie, Pa., combined efforts to donate funds and supplies, particularly backpacks, to the Sarah A. Reed Children’s Center, a local organization that serves children with mental health challenges.
TEAMING UP TO FIGHT CANCER More than 20 members of St. James Council 6780 in Liberty, Mo., participated in the Relay for Life of KC North, an event to benefit the American Cancer Society. The team, led by Knight Alan Mazi, garnered $18,000 to support cancer research.
Community
Grand Knight Jim Kile (left) and Rolando Lagmay of St. Leonard’s Council 11752 in Manotick, Ontario, hold the more than 300 pairs of prescription eyeglasses, reading glasses and sunglasses that council members collected at St. Leonard Parish and several local schools. The Knights repaired the glasses and shipped them to Villa Marzo, Cordon Isabela, in Luzon North, Lagmay’s home village. The municipal council there will work with a local optical clinic to distribute them to people in need.
Life
HEALTH CARE HELP Buckingham Council 2056 in Gatineau, Québec, contributed CA$4,000 to the Fondation Santé Papineau, which provides medical equipment to health care facilities. The donation will go toward purchasing a vehicle equipped to transport people with disabilities.
LIFE’S BLOOD St. John Kanty Council 14240 in Rolling Prairie, Ind., hosts blood drives about six times a year. Since they began in 2008, the drives have collected more than 2,000 pints of blood.
Rick Ebert, Respect Life chairman of St. John Neumann Council 10836 in Austin, Texas, delivers baby supplies to TruCare Pregnancy Center. Knights collected thousands of baby wipes and diapers, 10 bags of clothes, and more than $3,000 as part of a council diaper drive. The funds and items were donated to four pro-life organizations in the city. Ben Eirikson, grand knight of St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina Council 16016 in Zumbrota, Minn., and his wife, Jen, carry a banner as they walk with Knights and families in the Minnesota March for Life. The group prayed the rosary as they marched from the Cathedral of St. Paul to the state Capitol in peaceful protest of abortion.
ROSARY WARRIORS Members of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Council 12145, Fort Collins Council 1214 and St. John XXIII Council, all in Fort Collins, Colo., gathered with other parishioners to pray a rosary outside an abortion facility near Colorado State University.
MERCY AND HOPE Members of St. John Paul II Council 15219 in Poznań, Poland, delivered a donation of baby supplies to St. Faustina Mothers Care Center in Kiekrz. The home for women and children in need is operated by the Sisters of Mercy.
DIAPER DIVIDENDS Members of Immaculate Heart Council 5899 in Columbus, Ohio, donated more than 350,000 diapers to Bottoms Up, a charity that helps single mothers provide diapers for their children.
SUPPORT FOR NEW LIFE Members of Father MonahanMaplewood Council 8322 in Sulphur, La., donated more than $15,000 to New Life Counseling Center, a local pregnancy resource center, through their third baby bottle campaign. Since the first campaign, the council has contributed $42,000 to the center.
A SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP Members of Marquette Assembly 188 in Aurora, Ill., participated in a car show to benefit Special Olympics as a way to highlight the Order’s longtime support for the organization. The Knights displayed their parade float shaped like the Santa Maria and handed out Tootsie Rolls.
ALL THOSE PENNIES ADD UP St. Anne’s Council 9594 in Seal Beach, Calif., held its annual “Pennies from Heaven” baby bottle drive at St. Anne Parish. The Knights raised a recordsetting $7,000, which they donated to pregnancy resource centers and other organizations providing support to new mothers.
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SOUTH KOREA
CANADA
Several young parishioners help Grand Knight Raymundo Yu of Our Lady of Fatima Council 824 in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, with the council’s winter clothing drive. The council organized the collection at St. Dunstan’s Basilica to benefit a local charity that serves people in need. Members of St. Nam Chong-sam Council 16970 in Incheon hold a pro-life demonstration on the 10th anniversary of the March for Life in Korea, which was cancelled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
POLAND
Grand Knight Tomasz Konturek of Father Michał Sopoćko Council 17667 in Kraków presents a donation of 2,500 euros to Sister Michaela Rak to benefit the hospice she founded and runs in Vilnius, Lithuania. The funds were collected during the pilgrimage of Blessed Michael McGivney’s relic through Poland District #1.
PHILIPPINES
District Master Glenn D. Espaldon and Vice District Master Artemio C. Dela Cruz of Luzon North District #4 lead a wreath-laying ceremony to honor Gat Andres Bonifacio — known as “The Father of the Philippine Revolution” — on the 158th anniversary of his birth.
UNITED STATES
Members of Father Frank Colacicco Council 4060 in Danville, Calif., bow their heads as Father Matthew Murray, pastor of St. Isidore the Farmer, blesses the 500 Christmas boxes they filled for people in need. The council has been collecting food and gifts for Christmas boxes for 43 years.
MEXICO
District Deputy Alejandro Arroyo presents Cristian Hernández with a wheelchair from San Judas Tadeo y Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe Council 17546 in Ixtapaluca, Mexico South. The council’s donation will help Hernández continue his university studies.
FRANCE
Christophe Cutayard of Sacred Heart of Jesus Council 16914 in Marseille delivers Christmas presents for the children being treated at Timone Hospital. Cutayard, a porter at the hospital, coordinated the council’s collection of gifts.
Mark 1:3
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Knights of Charity
Every day, Knights all over the world are given opportunities to make a di erence — 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 be er world. North Carolina Knights pull a 30,000-pound airplane across the tarmac at Raleigh-Durham International Airport as part of a Special Olympics fundraiser. Three K of C teams competed in the plane pull, and State Deputy JC Reiher — who led a team of state o cers (inset) — presented Special Olympics North Carolina with a donation of $10,000.
PLEASE, DO ALL YOU CAN TO ENCOURAGE PRIESTLY AND RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS. YOUR PRAYERS AND SUPPORT MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
I was on a ca le drive in the Sawtooth Mountains of Wyoming when I heard God’s simple words calling me to the priesthood: “You’re moving the wrong herd.” A er years of running away from his divine will, I knew that God had nally caught up with me.
My running started when I enlisted in the Army; I followed in my family’s legacy of military service and served ve years as a “grunt” in the airborne infantry. I then worked in construction, where I noticed that I had a gi for talking to other contractors about God. Desiring to know more about the faith, I enrolled at Franciscan University of Steubenville, where I fell deeper in love with Jesus, the Eucharist, the Blessed Virgin Mary and mission work. I served the homeless in the Bronx, brought mercy to prostitutes in Chicago and evangelized souls in Honduras.
Still, I was afraid to say “yes” to the collar, so a er graduation, I ran to Wyoming to hide. Now, each day of my priesthood, I thank God that he never stopped pursuing me.
Father Ryan Patrick Mahar Diocese of Sacramento Father Nicholas Phelan Council 1875, Grass Valley, Calif.
