Columbia October 2020

OCT 20 ENG COVERS 9_16 FINAL.qxp_Layout 1 9/17/20 3:14 PM Page 1

K N IG H T S O F C O LU M BU S

O CTOBER 2020

COLUMBIA

Knights of Columbus: Knights of Fraternity 138th Supreme Convention | New Haven, Conn.

MDRT Ad 2020 E.qxp_Layout 1 9/17/20 5:29 AM Page 1

MDRT The Premier Association of Financial Professionals®

2020 Robert Abbate — Virginia Beach, VA* Max Abbate — Williamsburg, VA Nick Abbate — North Chesterfield, VA Joe Ayroso — Hayward, VA John Barfield — West Melbourne, FL David Barnes — Ponchatoula, LA Daniel Bax — Jefferson City, MO Jimmy Bell — Irving, TX Daniel Biggs — Miami, FL Anthony Bliss — Madison Heights, MI Wade Bormann — Preston, IA Walker Bormann — Hiawatha, IA Benji Borrelli — Jerome, MI Daniel Bouchard — Leduc, AB Jason Bourget — Stanley, WI Allen Bourne — Canton, GA Gregory Bronson — Resue, CA Kevin Brown — Nashua, NH Tyler Bruggeman — Oberlin, KS Adam Bruna — Belleville, KS Joel Buchinski — Prince Albert, SK Donald Burks — Plano, TX Joseph Butler — Auburn, MA Robert Callaway — Burtonsville, MD* Robert Canter — Upper Marlboro, MD John Canter — Crownsville, MD Joseph Carlin — McAllen, TX Blair Carruthers — Saskatoon, SK Cleo Castillo — Calgary, AB John Cesta — West Palm Beach, FL Brandon Chambers — Goose Creek, SC Wayne Cherney — Devils Lake, ND Stephen Clites — Laurel, MD Timothy Coskren — Walpole, MA Dion Dangzalan — Capitola, CA Jon Deakin — York, PA Mark Deaton — Cypress, TX Joseph DeMarco — Vero Beach, FL Jeffrey Denehy — East Walpole, MA John DiCalogero — East Walpole, MA Matthew DiCalogero — Medfield, MA Robert DiCalogero — Canton, MA Shane Duplantis — Thibodaux, LA Denis Duval — Sudbury, ON Mathew Evangelista — Repentigny, QC Dwayne Failla — Richmond, TX Daniel Falstad — Maple Grove, MN Derek Faust — Lafayette, LA

Exemplary Dedication.

A commitment to excellence, outstanding service and the highest ethical standards: These are the traits of all Knights of Columbus field agents, but the dedication of the agents listed here has earned them membership in the Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT) for 2020. MDRT is an international organization that recognizes the top 1% of financial professionals in the world. We salute these men for their devotion to continuing Father McGivney’s mission of protecting Catholic families.

Salvatore Filippelli — Henrico, VA Phillip Fischer — Estero, FL Sean Fitzpatrick — Baltimore, MD Joe Flores — Poway, CA Michael Garofalo — Mount Laurel, NJ Kevin Garza — Diamond Bar, CA Gerardo Gautier-Matias — Juana Diaz, PR Daniel Gimpel — Corbybille, ON Robert Gordon — Mooresville, NC Brian Graham — Kensington, MD Mitchell Hebert — Lafayette, LA Mark Hedge — Butler, OH Luke Henry — Gardner, KS Stephen Hill — Woodstock, GA AJ Hingle — Metairie, LA Larry Hoelscher — Jefferson City, MO* Dennis Hoffman — Bryan, TX Ted Hunkins — Pacific, MO Thomas J. Jackson — Henderson, CO* Jimmy Johnson — Regina, SK Lance Jolly — Arlington, TN Douglas Kelly — Elkhorn, NE* Matthew Kling — St. Charles, IL Joseph Kong — Nanaimo, BC Maurice LeBlanc — Sainte-Marie-de-Kent, NB Michael Ley — Fort Wayne, IN Shaun Linenberger — Hays, KS Michael Lodato — Fort Collins, CO Anthony LoMonaco — Vail, AZ Alfred Lugo — Torrance, CA Kevin Maxwell — Leesburg, FL Chad McAuliff — Broken Arrow, OK Luke McClure — Gulfport, MS Michael McDonough — Louisburg, NC Robert McFadden — Iselin, NJ Daniel McGeehan — Toms River, NJ Lawrence Messer — Westminster, MD Roy Metter — David City, NE Tyler Meyer — Kingman, KS James Misa — Salinas, CA Gregory Miskiman — Calgary, AB* David Moeller — Folsom, CA Brian Montone — Brentwood, CA Thomas Moore — Chandler, AZ Jason Nelligan — Hamilton, ON Brandon Nelson — Pueblo, CO Peter Nelson — Bristol, TN Timothy Nowak — Neehan, WI

Edward O’Keefe — Middle River, MD Robert Olivas — Anaheim, CA Paolo Pacana — Irvine, CA Kevin Paish — St. Albert, AB Mark Pan — Pitt Meadows, BC Craig Pfeifer — Hartington, NE Neil Pfeifer — Norfolk, NE* Noah Pfeifer — Norfolk, NE Benoit Picard — Laval, QC Henry Rangel — Cypress, TX Darin Reed — Ellis, KS* Stephen Regan — Lebanon, TN Bobby Renaud — Sudbury, ON Darren Richuber — Wichita, KS Jonathan Rock — Frederick, MD Benjamin Salazar — Virginia Beach, VA Ronald Sandoval — Pasadena, CA Jayme Sanford — Englewood, CO Sonny Sangemino — Windsor, ON* John Schibi — Parsons, KS Kevin Schubert — Linn Creek, MO Raymond Selg — Norfolk, VA Joseph Shock — Hanover Township, PA Victor Silva — Flagler Beach, FL Mark Sirois — Waterbury, CT David Soukup — Kansas City, KS Devon Soukup — Mustang, OK Joseph Spinelli III — Tallahassee, FL John Stewart — Sagamore Beach, MA Mark Stice — Horsham, PA Shon Stice — Daphne, AL Blake Stubbington — Edmonton, AB Jody Supak — La Grange, TX James Swartz — Harbor Beach, MI* Andrew Tice — Hurst, TX Jeffrey Toeniskoetter — Boynton Beach, FL Adam Tumminelli — Virginia Beach, VA Jeremy Vidmar — Mott, ND Kevin Weber — Gretna, NE Andrew Weiss — South Bend, IN Trey Welker — Edmond, OK Scott Williamson — Red Deer, AB Jefferson Woolsey — Saint Paul, MN Michael York — Washington, MO Mark Yubeta — San Clemente, CA Pierre Zermatten — Palatine, IL *Denotes MDRT Life Member

Extraordinary Service.

OCT 20 ENG 9_16 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 9/16/20 8:31 PM Page 1

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

♦

♦

COLUMBIA

The Supreme Officers stand in front of the Christopher Columbus statue in the courtyard of the Knights of Columbus Museum after the 138th Supreme Convention’s business session Aug. 5. Left to right: Supreme Treasurer Ronald F. Schwarz, Deputy Supreme Knight Patrick E. Kelly, Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson, Supreme Chaplain Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore, Supreme Secretary Michael J. O’Connor and Supreme Advocate John A. Marrella.

138th SUPREME CONVENTION August 4-5, 2020 2

‘A Fraternal Love Capable of Seeing the Sacred Grandeur of Our Neighbor’ Greetings from Pope Francis sent to the Supreme Convention by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin.

4

Knights of Columbus: Knights of Fraternity Knights celebrate the Order’s founding vision and fraternal mission at the 138th Supreme Convention.

16 Annual Report of the Supreme Knight

Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson’s annual report was broadcast worldwide Aug. 4, following the Supreme Convention’s opening Mass in New Haven, Conn.

33 Forward In Fraternity In his closing remarks to the Supreme Convention, the supreme knight underscores Father McGivney’s great vision of brotherhood united in charity.

OCTOBER 2020

♦ COLUMBIA ♦ 1

OCT 20 ENG 9_16 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 9/16/20 8:31 PM Page 2

PA PA L G R E E T I N G S

‘A Fraternal Love Capable of Seeing the Sacred Grandeur of Our Neighbor’

H

is Holiness Pope Francis was pleased to be informed that the 138th Supreme Convention of the Knights of Columbus will be held this year both in person and virtually on 4-5 August next. He has asked me to convey his warm greetings to all taking part, together with the assurance of his closeness in prayer.

2 ♌ COLUMBIA ♌

OCTOBER 2020

The theme of the Convention — Knights of Columbus: Knights of Fraternity — is a timely reminder of the vision that guided the foundation of your Order. At this time, when the world faces the challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic and its farreaching effects on people’s economic and social lives, the Church as a

whole feels the urgent need “to reawaken and put into practice that solidarity and hope capable of giving strength, support and meaning� to our brothers and sisters (Extraordinary Moment of Prayer, St. Peter’s Square, 27 March 2020). The principle of fraternity has always inspired in the Knights that “creativity of

Greetings from Pope Francis sent to the Supreme Convention

by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin

OCT 20 ENG 9_16 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 9/16/20 8:31 PM Page 3

PA PA L G R E E T I N G S

charity� inculcated by the Gospel. In these days, your Order has provided charitable support on the local, national and international level to individuals and communities suffering because of the pandemic or otherwise often forgotten or marginalized.

His Holiness is grateful for these and for the many other countless ways in which the Knights of Columbus continue to bear prophetic witness to God’s dream for a more fraternal, just and equitable world in which all are recognized as neighbors and no one is left behind.

This spirit of Christian solidarity marked in a special way the life and activity of your Founder, the Venerable Michael McGivney. His Holiness joins you in giving thanks for Father McGivney’s forthcoming beatification and trusts that this celebration will be a stimulus for Knights to deepen their commitment to live as missionary disciples in charity, unity and fraternity. He is confident that Father McGivney’s heroic virtues and example of faith will inspire you to seek each day in prayer the wisdom and strength to practice “a fraternal love capable of seeing the sacred grandeur of our neighbor, of finding God in every human being� (Evangelii Gaudium, 92). As a parish priest, your Founder knew well and wished to impress on his flock the urgency of the Gospel mandate, “Whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me� (Mt 25:40).

Since its earliest days, care for the family has been a priority for the Knights of Columbus. Indeed, your Order was established in the late 19th century as a direct result of Father McGivney’s concern to promote the material and spiritual welfare of working men and their families. Today your strong and courageous defense of the inviolable dignity of human life from its conception, and your commitment to

strengthen family life thanks to such initiatives as the Into the Breach video series and the Leave No Neighbor Behind program, offer the Knights and their families “a true path to daily sanctification� (Amoris Laetitia, 316) and Christian witness.

Through the building up of family life, individuals and societies grow in solidarity, mutual respect, truth, mercy and love. At a time of social unrest, these virtues are all the more necessary in the promotion of peace, reconciliation and justice, a mission which the Knights of Columbus are pledged to advance by serving as a leaven of the Gospel both within their local communities and the wider society.

On this occasion, His Holiness renews his profound gratitude for your Order’s historic contribution to the Church’s mission of evangelization and its unswerving solidarity with the Successor of Peter in his concern for all the Churches (2 Cor 11:28). In a particular way, he offers heartfelt thanks to the Knights for their steadfast support of our Christian brothers and sisters persecuted for the sake of the Gospel.

With these sentiments, His Holiness commends your deliberations to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church.

Assuring all the Knights and their families of a constant remembrance in his prayers, he cordially imparts his Apostolic Blessing as a pledge of joy and peace in the Lord.

Please accept my own prayerful good wishes for this occasion.

Yours sincerely,

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

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

________

HOW TO REACH US MAIL COLUMBIA 1 Columbus Plaza New Haven, CT 06510-3326 ADDRESS CHANGES 203-752-4210, option #3 addresschange@kofc.org 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.

________

Copyright Š 2020 All rights reserved ________

Pietro Cardinal Parolin Secretary of State

ON THE COVER Fourth Degree Knights serving as acolytes for the opening Mass of the 138th Supreme Convention process down the aisle of the newly restored St. Mary’s Church in New Haven, Conn., Aug. 4.

OCTOBER 2020

♌ COLUMBIA ♌ 3

OCT 20 ENG 9_16 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 9/16/20 8:31 PM Page 4

Knights of Columbus:

Knights of Fraternity Knights celebrate the Order’s founding vision and fraternal mission at the 138th Supreme Convention

F

or the first time in 138 years, delegates to the Knights of Columbus Supreme Convention gathered not in person but online. The annual meeting, held virtually due to the 4 ♦ COLUMBIA ♦

OCTOBER 2020

coronavirus pandemic, was hosted in New Haven, Conn., Aug. 4-5, and livestreamed to Knights around the world.

The Supreme Officers conducted a business session from

OCT 20 ENG 9_16 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 9/16/20 8:31 PM Page 5

Following the Memorial Mass of the 138th Supreme Convention Aug. 5, Supreme Chaplain Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore, Archbishop Leonard P. Blair of Hartford and Knights of Columbus chaplains join the Supreme Officers and state council representatives of the District of Columbia (left) and Connecticut (right) outside St. Mary’s Church in New Haven, Conn.

the Knights of Columbus Museum, and convention Masses were celebrated at St. Mary’s Church, the Order’s birthplace, newly restored with K of C support. The officers were joined by delegates from Connecticut and the District of Columbia, and delegates in many other jurisdictions gathered locally in order to participate as a group (see page 10).

The theme of this year’s convention — Knights of Columbus: Knights of Fraternity — followed themes that focused on the Order’s other foundational principles: charity, in 2018, and unity, in 2019. The principle of fraternity was put into powerful relief as the Order prepares for the beatification of its founder, Venerable Michael McGivney, Oct. 31. “Through the spiritual genius of Father McGivney, the Knights of Columbus became a way for Catholic men to transform friends into brothers,� said Supreme Knight Anderson in his annual report (see page 16). “In the two decades that I have served as supreme knight, I have come to believe

that it is our fraternal strength that is the distinctive hallmark of the Knights of Columbus.�

A letter of greeting from Pope Francis (see page 2), sent by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, likewise stated: “The principle of fraternity has always inspired in the Knights that ‘creativity of charity’ inculcated by the Gospel ‌ for a more fraternal, just and equitable world in which all are recognized as neighbors and no one is left behind.â€?

In his annual report, the supreme knight detailed the scope and impact of the Order’s charitable outreach and Faith in Action programs during the past fraternal year. He also announced an effort to support persecuted Christians in Nigeria and a new prayer program featuring St. Michael the Archangel, among other initiatives.

The following pages feature highlights from the convention’s proceedings, including the full text of the supreme knight’s annual report. For more coverage, visit kofc.org/convention.♌ OCTOBER 2020

♌ COLUMBIA ♌ 5

OCT 20 ENG 9_16 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 9/16/20 8:32 PM Page 6

THE LIVES OF St. John Vianney and Venerable Michael McGivney overlapped for a few years. Father McGivney was born in August 1852 and St. John Vianney died in August 1859. They both ministered to the faithful amid the turmoil and challenges of their own time and place.

St. John Vianney is simply known as the CurĂŠ of Ars. “CurĂŠâ€? means pastor, one who cares for, and to that task he devoted his life in what was initially an almost Godless French village with a population of just 230 people. “There is little love for God in that parish,â€? the bishop had told him. “You will be the one to put it there.â€? ‌ The CurĂŠ of Ars embraced a grueling schedule and undertook to do penance as if to wrest from God the graces of conversion for his wayward parishioners.

He spent as many as 18 hours a day in the confessional ‌ and his sermons were an exercise of preaching the truth with love, calling people to repentance and faith. ‌ And now his heroic sanctity lives on, as evidenced by the great devo6 ♌ COLUMBIA ♌

OCTOBER 2020

tion of Catholics to the relic of his preserved heart, which has been made available for veneration under sponsorship of the Knights of Columbus. ‌ The France of St. John Vianney’s life and ministry was a country raw with the French Revolution and the transformation it had wrought. There had been a brutal attempt to de-Christianize the country, although the overthrow of religion did not succeed totally or everywhere. ‌ And all this was done under the battle cry of the revolution: libertÊ, ÊgalitÊ, fraternitÊ — liberty, equality and fraternity. In other words, Gospel values, but turned upside down on their heads.‌ Not many years later, here in the state of Connecticut, Father Michael J. McGivney, with a priestly heart modeled after the CurÊ of Ars, did the same. ‌ Out of the depths of pastoral charity that every priest is called to, Father McGivney responded with firm conviction about the God-given meaning of liberty, equality and above all fraternity.

In founding our fraternal Order, he helped to save countless families from the

indignity of destitution, and in doing so he also helped save them from the hopelessness that can lead to a loss of faith in God, in the Church, and even in a nation. Charity, unity and fraternity were the watchwords of Father McGivney’s vision, strengthened by patriotism. ‌ In many ways our world stands at a crossroads today, one that should give us pause. We are witnessing attempts to redefine “liberty, equality and fraternityâ€? in revolutionary ways that demand the most careful discernment, a discernment enlightened by both faith and reason.

Like the courageous watchmen and fearless shepherds that St. John Vianney and the Venerable Michael J. McGivney were in their day, we too need to be faithful to the truth about God and man that brings us together at this Mass; namely, that only in Jesus Christ and his Gospel can people find the real freedom, equal dignity and fraternity for which we all have been created and redeemed. — Archbishop Leonard P. Blair of Hartford, Homily, Feast of St. Jean Vianney, Aug. 4

Opening Mass

OCT 20 ENG 9_16 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 9/17/20 3:49 PM Page 7

Business Session

Opposite page: Archbishop Leonard P. Blair of Hartford celebrates the opening Mass of the Supreme Convention Aug. 4, the feast of St. Jean Vianney, at the newly restored St. Mary’s Church. • Clockwise from right: Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson stands at a podium in the Knights of Columbus Museum’s Council Chamber during the Aug. 5 business session. • Supreme Secretary Michael J. O’Connor addresses delegates during the livestreamed proceedings. • Representatives of the Connecticut State Council watch from the museum’s Jean Migneault Gallery as Supreme Advocate John A. Marrella reads proposed resolutions. • A member of the production staff oversees a control panel during the nomination of Past State Deputy Daniel Duchesne of QuÊbec to the Knights of Columbus Board of Directors.

OCTOBER 2020

♌ COLUMBIA ♌ 7

OCT 20 ENG 9_16 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 9/18/20 12:47 PM Page 8

Memorial Mass

LET US TURN to today’s Gospel episode of the disciples on the road to Emmaus. As we join those early disciples, we find they are deeply discouraged. ‌ Amid their bewilderment, the risen Lord joins them along the way. Although they do not recognize him, they instinctively trust him, sensing an immediate bond of fellowship with him.

Well behind those disciples on the road to Emmaus are parishioners from this parish of St. Mary in New Haven, Conn., parishioners hailing from the late 19th century. Not limited by time or space, the risen Lord is walking alongside them as well, but those parishioners are joined also by their new assistant pastor, Father Michael McGivney.

They do not know him well, but they sense in Father McGivney a capacity for friendship that endears him to them. This priest is no showman; rather, he is there to point out the risen Lord who walks with them on their journey toward eucharistic fellowship.

In that same spirit of solidarity, this 8 ♌ COLUMBIA ♌

OCTOBER 2020

young priest founds the Knights of Columbus so that, along the way, none of his brothers or their families will be left behind. ‌ In response to the disciples’ confusion and bewilderment, the risen Lord chides them for their lack of faith, but then he opens their minds to the understanding of the Scriptures. Later on they would say, “Were not our hearts burning as he opened the Scriptures for us?â€? ‌ A born teacher and leader, Father McGivney unfolds the Gospels for the Knights by teaching them the principles of charity, unity, and fraternity ‌ inducting them into a eucharistic fraternity that unites them in a divine charity that flows straight from the heart of the risen Lord.

In our own journey of faith today, Father McGivney’s voice continues to echo and re-echo as the Knights of Columbus helps husbands, spouses, and their families to embrace the faith with confidence and love in these challenging times. The principles of the Order are

like keys that unlock the Scriptures, helping us not only to take comfort in the Catholic faith that we share, but also helping us to practice that faith proactively, with enthusiasm and zeal.

At length, those first disciples arrive at Emmaus ‌ whereupon the Lord took bread, blessed it, broke it and gave it to them. With that, their eyes were opened and they recognized Jesus in the breaking of bread. Simultaneously, Father McGivney is leading his brother Knights to a deeper love and understanding of the Eucharist as the source of a fraternity whose bonds are unbroken by death.

Today, in this eucharistic fellowship, our care and concern for brother Knights and family members extends beyond the confines of this world as we commend them, with the help of Father McGivney’s intercession, to the risen and exalted Lord. — Supreme Chaplain Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore, Homily, Memorial Mass, Aug. 5

From left: Cameras capture Supreme Chaplain Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore delivering his homily during the Memorial Mass Aug. 5.

Both convention Masses were livestreamed to Knights around the world. • Deputy Supreme Knight Patrick E. Kelly reads the necrology of bishops and K of C leaders who died in the past year. • Opposite page: Archbishop Lori, joined by Archbishop Blair and Supreme Knight Anderson at the sarcophagus of Venerable Michael McGivney, leads Knights in the prayer for their founder’s canonization.

OCT 20 ENG 9_16 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 9/16/20 8:32 PM Page 9

OCTOBER 2020

♦ COLUMBIA ♦ 9

OCT 20 ENG 9_16 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 9/17/20 11:44 AM Page 10

Virtual Participation Knights of Columbus on three continents participated virtually in the 138th Supreme Convention, connecting to events in New Haven from 12 different time zones. In many jurisdictions, state council leaders and delegates gathered in a local hotel or other meeting place to follow the proceedings, conduct business and celebrate Mass together.

Iowa

Tennessee

Texas

Mexico Northwest 10 ♌ C O L U M B I A ♌

OCTOBER 2020

Ohio

OCT 20 ENG 9_16 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 9/17/20 11:44 AM Page 11

Ontario

Mindanao

Virginia

Poland

OCTOBER 2020

♦ C O L U M B I A ♦ 11

OCT 20 ENG 9_16 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 9/16/20 8:34 PM Page 12

Awards Session Recognizes Outstanding Achievements

The St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Community, which serves Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Ga., was without a full-time Faith priest from October 2017 to October 2019. In the absence of a chaplain, the Knights from St. Francis of Assisi Council 16356 stepped up to serve their fellow Catholics. Throughout the year, these Knights oversaw a weekly eucharistic holy hour and prepared the base’s shared, nondenominational chapel for Mass every Sunday. Knights also brought together Catholic families with a monthly Family Prayer and Movie Night. When the base finally received another full-time Catholic chaplain, he found a strong Catholic infrastructure still in place.

The Knights of Cardinal Primate Stefan Wyszyński Council 15672 in Częstochowa, Poland, decided to celebrate Family International Women’s Day in a distinctly Catholic way. On Saturday, March 7, the council hosted a gathering and lecture for families, reflecting on the holy Family as a model and providing opportunities to honor the wives and mothers. The next day, during Mass, the council chaplain and pastor led the families in a consecration to the holy Family, and a collection was taken up for a parish family with a child that has special needs.

12 ♌ C O L U M B I A ♌

OCTOBER 2020

Since 1972, the Knights of Bishop Hill Council 5468 have led the charge of serving the less fortuof Campbell Community nate River, British Columbia, with their Christmas hamper Fund. Supported by annual donations from the community, the CA$115,000 fund provides food, toys and other gifts, filling more than 1,100 hampers that are distributed to families and individuals who face financial difficulties. Additional attention is given to senior citizens and those with mobility limitations. By providing logistics and manpower, Council 5468 has built the Christmas hamper Fund into a massive program aiding those in need.

When children with special needs require help, the members of Blessed Mykolay Charnetsky Council 16848 in Zolochiv, Life ukraine, go above and beyond to offer their support. For example, when a young boy with cerebral palsy needed a walker, the council purchased a custom walker for his use. When a family needed lifesaving medicine for their child, the council donated more than $1,400 to pay for the medicine, and a member traveled to Germany to purchase it. In addition, for the Feast of St. Nicholas, the council donated gifts, worth a total of $15,000, to 50 children in support of their ongoing care.

LEAVE NO NEIGHBOR BEHIND When the pandemic hit, Most Precious Blood Council 6134 and St. Finbar Council 15728 in Brooklyn, N.Y., used personal loans to purchase food for those in need, beginning with six families who were unable to receive unemployment or stimulus checks. The councils are now packaging and distributing boxes with a week’s worth of groceries to about 160 families every weekend. They have also hosted blood drives and helped feed frontline medical staff, and officers continue to reach out to other parishioners, growing the number of volunteers.

Leading general agents: Kevin Pierce of Oklahoma (211% of quota) and Robert Abbate of Virginia (184% of quota).

Leading field agents: Tyler Meyer of the Schafer Agency in Kansas (415% of quota) and Jon Deakin of the M. Stice Agency in Pennsylvania (385% of quota).

Top recruiters: Past State Deputy Walter Streit of Father Bonner Council 7599 in Edmonton, Alberta, was recognized as the top recruiter for 2019-2020 for the Order’s insurance territories, signing up 217 members. Noel Lacanilao of Manila (Luzon South) Council 1000 was recognized as the top recruiter for the Order’s non-insurance territories for signing up 1,055 members.

ThE ANNuAL Supreme Knight’s Award Session, which was livestreamed Aug. 5, honored achievements related to fraternal leadership and service.

Below are details about the five international program awards, as well as select honors for insurance sales and membership growth.

OCT 20 ENG 9_16 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 9/16/20 8:34 PM Page 13

Supreme Knight’s Awards Session

Jaime Morales, a member of Bishop Maurice F. Burke Council 4031, leads his wife, Laura, and daughters in praying the rosary at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in Cody, Wyo.

K of C International Family of the Year Exemplifies Commitment to Parish, Evangelization EVERY NIGHT before Jaime Morales heads to bed, he asks himself one question: “Did I do something for somebody today?�

Jaime’s wife of nearly 30 years, Laura, and their four daughters — Abigail, 24; Jessica, 21; Victoria, 18; and Nathalia, 17 — share this commitment to service. Together they were recognized as this year’s Knights of Columbus International Family of the Year for their witness of faith and support of their parish and community.

Jaime and Laura grew up in Mexico, but today the family lives in Cody, Wyo. They belong to St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Parish, and Jaime is a member of Bishop Maurice F. Burke Council 4031.

Council member Ken Stockwell — now a member of the Knights of Columbus Board of Directors — invited Jaime to join more than 15 years ago. “I asked Jaime to be a Knight because he was the epitome of a Catholic gentleman,� Stockwell said. “Jaime has a rich, deep faith, which he shares. He just was the perfect candidate to be a Knight of Columbus.�

As father to four girls, Jaime has found encouragement and support in the Knights’ Catholic brotherhood. “I find friends. I find brothers. I find truly good friends there,� Jaime said.

When the Morales family moved to Cody in the early 2000s, St. Anthony’s didn’t have any Hispanic Catholic outreach, but they soon changed that.

The Morales family helped start a monthly Spanish-language Sunday Mass. When it began, Laura was the music coordinator and the four Morales daughters were altar servers.

The family also started an annual Cinco de Mayo fundraising dinner, organized celebrations for the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, incorporated Las Posadas into the parish’s Christmas celebrations, and taught English as a second language courses.

The Morales family has also assisted with other council activities, such as a live Stations of the Cross, and helped with the day-to-day needs of St. Anthony Parish. Jaime landscapes the church grounds, and Laura provides cleaning services for the parish buildings. “They’re a wonderful example of Catholic family,� said their pastor, Father Vernon Clark. “They are extraordinary people and I’m blessed by them. So is our parish.�

Jaime dreams of one day moving back to Mexico and helping strengthen the Knights of Columbus in his home country, where the Order was first established in 1905. “The Knights of Columbus is like another school. It’s another education,â€? he said. “I want to take this school and start more councils around my country.â€?♌ OCTOBER 2020

♌ C O L U M B I A ♌ 13

OCT 20 ENG 9_16 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 9/17/20 6:09 PM Page 14

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

Knights Assist Area Hit Hard by Hurricane Laura

Four New Board Members Elected DURING THE AUG. 5 business session, delegates to the Supreme Convention elected four new members to the Knights of Columbus Board of Directors. They each began serving a three-year term Sept. 1.

WITH WIND GUSTS up to 150 mph, Hurricane Laura dealt southwest Louisiana a devastating blow Aug. 27, mangling metal, tearing off roofs and knocking out power lines. Billions of dollars in property damage included the destruction of six churches in the Diocese of Lake Charles and extensive damage to about 12 more. Supplementing local Knights of Columbus relief efforts, the Supreme Council pledged $150,000 to the diocese to help it recover from the storm. “Our prayers are with the people of the Diocese of Lake Charles and with everyone impacted by this destructive storm,� Supreme Knight Carl Anderson said. “This donation is only the first step in our efforts to help with recovery.�

Scores of Knights from Louisiana and Texas assisted with clean-up efforts and supply distributions in Calcasieu Parish Sept. 5-6. The Knights, led by Louisiana State Deputy Vernon Ducote and Disaster Relief Chairman Bill McCrossen, disbursed more than $100,000 in generators, tarps, cleaning materials, bottled water and gift cards at St. Margaret of Scotland Church in Lake Charles and Our Lady of Prompt Succor Church in Sulphur. In the small town of Ragley, a team of Baton Rouge Knights provided a hot meal for about 500 people outside badly battered St. Pius X Church.

Bishop Glen John Provost of the Diocese of Lake Charles said, “The task ahead for us is most challenging, but we know as in the past the Knights have always been there for us. God bless them!�

All donations to the Knights of Columbus Disaster Relief Fund directly support the Order’s ongoing relief efforts in response to hurricanes, wildfires in the western United States and other natural disasters. Visit kofc.org/disaster.♌ 14 ♌ C O L U M B I A ♌

OCTOBER 2020

Supreme Director Rennan Duffour, 67, is the immediate past state deputy of Louisiana. A Knight since 1989, he is a member of St. Charles Council 2409 in Luling. He has held management roles at major oil companies and now manages engineering projects, focused on hurricane and flood protection, for St. Charles Parish Public Works. He and his wife, Liz, have two children and three grandchildren.

Supreme Director Daniel Duchesne, 62, served as state deputy of QuÊbec and president of the Order’s Canadian Association from 2018-2020.

For 25 years, he was an airplane mechanic and inspector in the Canadian Armed Forces. A Knight since 1997, he is a member of Trois Rivières Council 1001. He and his wife, Sylvie, have two children and two grandsons.

Supreme Director John Appelbaum, 60, is a past state deputy of Missouri (2010-2012). He served as chairman of the host committee for the 2017 Supreme Convention in St. Louis. A practicing attorney, he has been a member of Kimmswick Council 2333 in Imperial since 1989. He and his wife, Carol, have been married for 35 years and have three children.♌

Knights serve jambalaya outside St. Pius X Catholic Church in Ragley, La., Sept. 6, following destruction caused by Hurricane Laura.

Supreme Director Paul O’Sullivan, 67, is a past state deputy of Massachusetts (2016-2018). He spent his career as a lawyer for a major international casualty insurer, managing litigation throughout the United States. He has been a Knight for more than 45 years and is a member of Foxboro-Sharon Council 6063. He and his wife, Susan, have been married since 1977 and have two children.

OCT 20 ENG 9_16 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 9/17/20 11:18 AM Page 15

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

Beatification of Father McGivney Schedule of Events

THOUGH ATTENDANCE at the Oct. 31 beatification Mass of Venerable Michael McGivney and related events will be limited due to the coronavirus pandemic, people around the world will be able to watch live on several platforms.

Beatification Mass The Mass will be celebrated Oct. 31 at 11 a.m. EDT in the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Hartford, Conn. It will be broadcast live on EWTN, CatholicTV and Salt + Light TV, and also livestreamed on the Knights of Columbus website, with Spanish, French and Polish interpretation available.

Prayer Vigil & Mass of Thanksgiving On Oct. 30 at 7 p.m. EDT, a prayer vigil for priests will be livestreamed from St. Mary’s Church in New Haven, Conn. A Mass of Thanksgiving, with Supreme Chaplain Archbishop William E. Lori as the principal celebrant, will also be livestreamed from St. Mary’s Nov. 1 at 12 p.m. EDT. Visit kofc.org/beatification.

Father McGivney Documentary A new short film titled Father Michael McGivney: An American Blessed will be broadcast on the Order’s YouTube and Facebook pages on Oct. 25 at 8 p.m.

EDT. The 20-minute documentary, produced by the Knights of Columbus, explores Father McGivney’s life, legacy and spiritual impact. DVDs of the film will also be made available for purchase at knightsgear.com.♌

Order Sends Aid in Aftermath of Beirut Explosion THE KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS sent $250,000 for disaster relief to Lebanon in the wake of the devastating explosion in its capital city.

Nearly 200 people were killed and more than 6,000 were injured in the Aug. 4 blast near Beirut’s port. The explosion caused extensive damage, leaving some 300,000 people homeless. “This is a great tragedy that merits the prayers and full attention of the world,� said Supreme Knight Carl Anderson. “The calamity in Lebanon is a threat to the vital Christian community there and threatens the existence of Christianity throughout the Middle East. This desperate situation must be addressed.�

The Order’s gift was conveyed through Bishop Gregory Mansour, who leads the Maronite Eparchy of St. Maron of Brooklyn, N.Y. It included $125,000 for Caritas Lebanon; $50,000 for the St. Vincent de Paul Society; $50,000 for TÊlÊ Lumière/ Noursat Christian Television in the Middle East; and $25,000 for Sesobel, which serves special needs children and their families.

Bishop Mansour said the donations “mark the special charism of the

Debris smolders near Beirut’s port Aug. 5, the day after a massive explosion in the Lebanese capital.

Knights: to serve the poor, to lift up our special needs children, to communicate the saving message of Christ, and to remind the small and tireless Church now in Lebanon ‌ that men of good will are near to them in their time of need.�

Since 2014, the Knights of Columbus has contributed more than $25 million to support persecuted Christians and other religious minorities in the Middle East. For more information, visit kofc.org/christiansatrisk.♌

Knights Join in Prayer and Fasting to End Racism THE KNIGHTS of Columbus participated Sept. 9 in a National Day of Prayer and Fasting to End Racism called for by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Bishop Shelton J. Fabre of HoumaThibodaux, chairman of the USCCB’s Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism, announced the day in the wake of violence in Kenosha, Wis., and other cities.

He encouraged all Catholics to pray, fast and consider attending Mass on Sept. 9 in reparation for sins of racism.

Sept. 9 is the feast of St. Peter Claver, a

Jesuit priest known for his ministry to African slaves in the New World.

Supreme Knight Carl Anderson said, “We are proud to join our bishops and all Catholics in this important day of prayer and penance. As men of faith, we are committed to defending the dignity of every person — regardless of race, color, ethnicity or ability. I urge all Knights to draw upon our principles of unity and fraternity to help guide our nation through this time of racial unrest through prayer and fasting.â€?♌

OCTOBER 2020

♌ C O L U M B I A ♌ 15

OCT 20 E SK REPORT 9_16 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 9/16/20 8:13 PM Page 16

Annual Report of the Supreme Knight New Haven, Conn. • Aug. 4, 2020

16 ♌ C O L U M B I A ♌

OCTOBER 2020

greeting to his wife, Ann, and the Dechant family.

As history attests, the Knights of Columbus is something very special.

Our unique character can be found in three words — charity, unity, fraternity — words that express three of the most important dimensions of our lives. And it would not be too much to say these three words put the “human�

in human existence.

In 2018, we began a three-year cycle to more fully live these principles. When the Supreme Council met in Baltimore in 2018, we met under the banner Knights of Columbus: Knights of Charity.

Then last year in Minneapolis our theme was Knights of Columbus: Knights of Unity. And so this year it is Knights of Columbus: Knights of Fraternity.

M

y brother Knights: Today marks the 20th time I have addressed the Supreme Convention as your supreme knight. Each time it has been my privilege to recount the many wonderful accomplishments of our brotherhood as we continue, year after year, to grow in charity, unity, fraternity and patriotism.

I will do the same this year, recounting the great deeds we have done in response to the coronavirus pandemic and other challenges of the day. But this year, I intend to do something slightly different. I will speak to you not only about our past achievements, but also about our future.

But first I must begin with something entirely different: paying tribute to my esteemed predecessor, Past Supreme Knight Virgil C. Dechant, who passed away in February.

Under his watch, the Order advanced on every front. He oversaw a great expansion in membership. He professionalized our insurance program and put the Knights on a superior financial footing.

Virgil embodied the very ideal of Catholic knighthood — generosity of soul, gallantry of spirit, love of God and love of neighbor.

And so, I take this occasion, on behalf of the entire Order of the Knights of Columbus, to send our warmest

OCT 20 E SK REPORT 9_16 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 9/16/20 8:13 PM Page 17

Knights of Fraternity

Knights gather at Notre-Dame de la Garde Basilica in Marseille, France, for an exemplification ceremony in June 2019. The jurisdiction, which now counts more than 500 members in 23 councils, was declared a territory by the Knights of Columbus Board of Directors during the Supreme Convention.

We knoW that the knights of Columbus is much more than a typical service organization. our dedication to charity and unity is exemplary. But what really sets us apart is our commitment to fraternity.

It is our fraternal approach to charity and our fraternal approach to unity that makes us so different from other charitable organizations. and it is our fraternal approach to insurance — by brother knights for brother knights — that sets us apart from ordinary life insurers.

In Evangelii Gaudium, Pope Francis writes, “I especially ask Christians ‌ to offer a radiant and attractive witness of fraternal communion. Let everyone admire how you care for one another, and how you encourage and accompany one anotherâ€? (99).

My brother knights, living in fraternity is what we do every day in a thousand different ways in our knights of Columbus councils throughout the world. It is this commitment to fraternity that gives us the fraternal strength to do the great works of charity that our challenging times demand.

In the two decades that I have served as supreme knight, I have come to believe that it is our fraternal strength that is the distinctive hallmark of the knights of Columbus.

During his 2008 visit to the United States, Pope Benedict XVI called

Catholics to a spiritual renewal. he suggested the way forward could be found in the history of Catholicism in north america. the pope said that the commitment to faith, conversion and selfsacrifice was “the secret of the impressive growth� of our Church. then Pope Benedict said something extraordinary: “We need but think,� he said, “of the remarkable accomplishment of that exemplary american priest, the Venerable Michael McGivney, whose vision and zeal led to the establishment of the knights of Columbus.�

So, we might ask, “What is the vision of Father McGivney which led to the impressive growth of the knights of Columbus?�

We see the answer every day: î “rough the spiritual genius of Father McGivney, the knights of Columbus became a way for Catholic men to transform friends into brothers — brothers who care for one another. Membership in the knights of Columbus is not a casual commitment. It is a commitment to be a brother. this is why what Pope Benedict said is so important. Faith, conversion and self-sacrifice make possible the commitment to be a brother. Father McGivney is our example — of a faith that sees our unity as Catholics, of the conversion of heart needed to treat each other as brothers, and of the self-sacrifice necessary to live a life of charity.

î “is is why we so often refer to the knights of Columbus as the Order of the knights of Columbus. We do not claim some special juridical status. But like religious orders throughout history, we seek a community based on brotherhood.

We are all familiar with the great religious orders: the Benedictines, Franciscans, Dominicans and Jesuits. these men enter a brotherhood. they take vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.

But what about men who marry and have families, men who are called to be active in their parish? Is there a brotherhood for them? We know Father McGivney’s answer. î “e knights of Columbus oers men a Catholic brotherhood, based upon the principles of charity, unity and fraternity.

When we invite a man to join the knights of Columbus, we are not primarily inviting him to do something. We are inviting him to be someone. We are inviting him to be a man of charity, unity and fraternity.

But being who we are means that we must act. as Catholic men committed to charity, we are impelled to act. We are a community of brothers who see all those who suffer, all those who are in need, as our brothers.

It is this fraternal character that is at the heart of each one of the millions of dollars and millions of volunteer hours we provide each year. î “is fraternal character is not only the source of our past success — it is the foundation of our future.

OCTOBER 2020

♌ C O L U M B I A ♌ 17

OCT 20 E SK REPORT 9_16 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 9/16/20 8:13 PM Page 18

I’VE SPOKEN ABOUT our founding principles of charity, unity and fraternity. Now I’d like to speak about our fourth great principle — patriotism.

I’m sure that like me you’ve watched what has been happening in the United States with a sickness in your heart.

18 ♦ C O L U M B I A ♦

OCTOBER 2020

Many of our fellow citizens are still treated differently because of the color of their skin. Whenever and wherever this happens, it is wrong. And it must be righted.

I want to thank everyone who participated in our National Novena for

Unity & An End to Racism. As I said at that time, we must redouble our efforts to overcome the suffering and injustice which result from the sin of racism.

As the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, in his famous “I Have a Dream” speech: “Now is the time to lift our

An ‘Informed Patriotism’

OCT 20 E SK REPORT 9_16 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 9/16/20 8:38 PM Page 19

Opposite page: Supreme Knight Carl Anderson joins a group of Christian leaders at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington, D.C., in October 2017. From left: the Rev. William Bass; the Rev. Eugene Rivers III, founder and director of the Seymour Institute for Black Church and Policy Studies in Boston; Bishop Edwin Bass, president of the Church of God in Christ Urban Initiatives; and Jesuit Bishop George Murry of Youngstown, Ohio, then chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism. nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.”

My brother Knights, still today we see around us the quicksands of racial injustice. But where do we find the solid rock of brotherhood?

Who can show this to us — and to our nations? Brotherhood cannot be mandated by legislation or executive order, or compelled by the platform of a national political party. Brotherhood is a commitment of the heart.

This is the time for the Knights of Columbus to step forward and be more present in our communities. Our example of brotherhood can show our nations a better way.

Where others tear down, let us build up with charity. Where others seek to divide, let us promote unity. And where racism festers, let us build fraternity.

And let us begin today. This witness

Religious Freedom THIS ATTACK on our heritage has also taken an alarming anti-Catholic turn.

Catholic churches and statues of our saints have been desecrated, especially statues of St. Junípero Serra. This heroic and saintly missionary is falling victim to a false history.

is what our society desperately needs.

And there is no other organization as well suited as the Knights of Columbus to bring a new sense of brotherhood to our nations.

And so, let us begin — in our councils, our parishes and our neighborhoods.

The answer for our countries is not a “cancel culture” that destroys. The answer is fraternal communities that work to build a new fraternal culture.

Today, a true patriot will work for unity and fraternity, and he will do so with charity in his heart. This is the Knights of Columbus way. And there are few others who can do what we can.

So I repeat today what I said during my closing remarks to last year’s Supreme Convention in Minneapolis: “While we so often think about our principles of charity, unity and fraternity as something to be lived within the Catholic community, they are needed just as much in civil society. In fact, today, they are probably needed more — and living those principles in our civil society today is a high expression of patriotism.”

My brother Knights, there is another task for the patriot in the days ahead.

Toward the end of his presidency, Ronald Reagan had one warning for our country. He said we needed an “informed patriotism” — a patriotism “grounded in thoughtfulness and knowledge.” And he said we needed to transmit it to our children.

He said many of us had “absorbed” our love of country from our families and our neighbors, but that this patriotic culture was passing away. I found his words true in my own life. I thought of my grandparents who came to America as immigrants, who loved it deeply despite the hardships and challenges they faced; of my father, who served in the Navy’s North Atlantic Fleet during the Second World War; and of our next-door neighbor who would limp home each day after work because of wounds suffered at Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge.

Tragically, in too many places today, President Reagan’s warning has become prophetic.

Our children should know that we honor the memory of Thomas Jefferson not because he owned slaves, but because what he wrote and what he did would one day make it possible to abolish slavery.

The monument honoring Martin Luther King was placed across from Jefferson’s to remind every American, as Rev. King put it, “that when the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to … every American.”

My brother Knights, it is time this promissory note be fulfilled. And as I have said, we have a role in that fulfillment.

He did not come to California at the head of an army. He walked from Mexico City up the coast of California founding missions that later became great cities. He returned to Mexico City to demand a declaration of rights to protect the native tribes. And he obtained it. At his death, the Native Americans who gathered around him referred to Junípero Serra as “el santo” — “the saint.”

Will we now change the names of cities such as Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego? And what of San Antonio, Santa Fe, St. Paul and St. Augustine? Are these names no longer

appropriate because they all were given

by Catholic missionaries?

It is time that Catholics in North America realize that much of the history of Catholic missionaries in New Spain and New France was written by their historic competitors.

And that today, their efforts are viewed by many through the lens of a militant, anti-Catholic atheism.

Against the violence of those who would tear down statues of our saints and desecrate our places of worship, we must be resolute and make clear that their violence will not prevail. We will not be intimidated. We will defend our OCTOBER 2020

♦ C O L U M B I A ♦ 19

OCT 20 E SK REPORT 9_16 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 9/16/20 8:13 PM Page 20

right to practice our faith. And we will continue to work closely with our bishops to defend religious liberty.

We will also continue to work through our judicial system. I am pleased to report to you that during the past decade we have helped win seven cases before the U.S. Supreme Court that have protected religious liberty. Through our financial support of the Becket Fund, we have helped win victories around the country, to keep “under God� in the Pledge of Allegiance, and to protect the Lipan Apache Tribe in the practice of their Native American faith. And, of course, to defend the Little Sisters of the Poor from government coercion.

Our defense of religious liberty is inherently linked to our identity as Catholics — and as Knights of Columbus.

Father McGivney understood this all too well. Bigotry against Catholics was an everyday reality for him and for many of his parishioners.

At a time when their Catholic identity was tested by the harsh economic, social and political realities of 19th-century America, Father McGivney offered a way forward and without compromise.

His Knights of Columbus would not 20 ♌ C O L U M B I A ♌

OCTOBER 2020

withdraw from society. They would engage society by living the Catholic principles of charity and unity.

And they saw in the freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment a path offered to them that could be found in no other country.

As Pope Francis writes in Evangelii Gaudium, “An authentic faith ‌ always involves a deep desire to change the world ‌ to leave this earth somehow better than we found itâ€? (183).

This spirit animated Father McGivney to provide a financial safety net for widows and orphans, and to defend the religious liberty so necessary for Catholic institutions, including the Knights of Columbus, to flourish.

In 1900, patriotism was added as our fourth principle to emphasize that faithful Catholics are committed to the common good of all and not just narrow sectarian interests.

Again, in the words of Pope Francis, “The Church must not remain on the sidelines of the fight for justice� (183).

This is why the early leaders of the Knights of Columbus established the Commission on Religious Prejudices in 1916, provided integrated facilities for

American servicemen during the First World War, and resisted the bigotry and violence of the Ku Klux Klan and the persecution of the Church in Mexico in the 1920s.

Also during this time, we established the Knights of Columbus Historical Commission to counter biased history textbooks. The most famous volume in our series was written by W.E.B. Du Bois, co-founder of the NAACP, and it was titled The Gift of Black Folk. I am proud that a decade ago, we republished The Gift of Black Folk to make it available to our nation’s Catholic schools.

St. Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin displays the miraculous image of Our Lady of Guadalupe on his tilma in this 2009 painting by artist Antonella Cappuccio.

Mother Loraine Marie Maguire of the Little Sisters of the Poor speaks to the media outside the U.S. Supreme Court building after arguments in Little Sisters v. Burwell in March 2016.

After several states challenged the religious liberty exemption that resulted from the unanimous ruling, the Court again ruled in the congregation’s favor July 8, 2020.

OCT 20 E SK REPORT 9_16 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 9/16/20 8:13 PM Page 21

This is a Time for the Knights of Columbus to step forward with a renewed sense of patriotism to help build a new unity and sense of fraternity in our communities. We are called to do this even in the face of anti-Catholic bigotry. in this effort we have a true star to guide our path. Twenty years ago, i dedicated the Knights of Columbus to the Blessed Virgin mary under her title Our Lady of Guadalupe — in recognition of her decisive role in the history of our continent.

Just two years before the appearance of Our Lady of Guadalupe in 1531, the first bishop of mexico, Juan de ZumĂĄrraga, wrote to the emperor Charles V about the dire situation in the New World. it was so bad that he warned, “if God does not provide the remedy from his hand the land is about to be completely lost.â€? my brother Knights, we know the answer our Lord provided. î “e land was not lost. instead, a new future was at hand. millions would be converted and a new Catholic culture

would emerge, not by force of arms, but

by Our Lady’s message of love, hope and reconciliation.

Five centuries ago, Our Lady of Guadalupe was the answer Our Lord gave to the question of how Christianity could survive and how it would flourish in our land. and i believe she is still his answer today. î “e “mestiza faceâ€? of Our Lady of Guadalupe was not imposed upon Native americans by europeans. instead, as st. John Paul ii told us, she is the “impressive example of a perfectly inculturated evangelizationâ€? (Ecclesia in America, 11). and her message was not introduced to the native peoples by the spanish. To the contrary, it was a Native american, st. Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin — whose name means “the eagle that speaksâ€? — who brought her message to the spanish. it was under her banner and with her image that missionaries such as JunĂ­pero serra and eusebio Kino spoke of Christianity to the indigenous peoples and guided them to our common faith.

Our Lady of Guadalupe Today, i ask every Knights of Columbus council, and i encourage every parish community, to implore the intercession of Our Lady of Guadalupe to heal our people. Our nations once again need to hear her message of love, hope and reconciliation.

Under her banner, let us step forward with a renewed confidence. in the midst of confusion, destruction and pain, we must call our neighbors and our nations to a new respect for the dignity of every person. may the Virgin of Guadalupe again lead our Church to a new and inculturated evangelization.

OCTOBER 2020

♌ C O L U M B I A ♌ 21

OCT 20 E SK REPORT 9_16 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 9/16/20 8:14 PM Page 22

There is one more cultural crisis that i must address. it is the vicious vandalism of statues of Christopher Columbus. several years ago, when calls were made to remove the statue in new York City’s Columbus Circle, we supported the efforts of new York’s governor, and many others, to protect this historic monument.

That statue was built not only for the 400th anniversary of Columbus’ voyage of discovery. it was paid for by italian Americans following the 1891 murder of 11 italian Americans in the largest mass lynching in American history.

For Americans of italian descent, who often experienced violence and bigotry, Columbus represented not only heroic achievement, but their own contribution, pride and legacy as Americans. only a decade before the 1892 Columbus celebrations across the 22 ♌ C O L U M B I A ♌

OCTOBER 2020

United states, the men who gathered in the basement of st. mary’s Church looked to Christopher Columbus — who was regarded as a hero by most Americans — as a way to signal that Catholics were integral to the history of America from its earliest days.

At the 1912 dedication of the Columbus monument in Washington, D.C., President William howard Taft observed, “We are gathered here today to dedicate this beautiful memorial to the greatest mariner of history.â€? he noted, however, that Columbus “was much greater as a mariner than as an administrator and governor of native peoples. his failure in this regard,â€? President Taft added, “was doubtless due to a lack of preparation for the difficult problems which an assumption of control over the natives involved‌. he had but few resources, and he was beset by jealousies and treachery.â€?

my brother Knights, now a radical, one-sided narrative asserts that Columbus — the same man who severely punished those under his authority when they mistreated indigenous peoples — represents all that is evil in the American experience. î “is is a disservice to the truth. We must all strive to honestly examine and faithfully remember our history. We must all give credit to what was done well in the past, and we must be mindful of what should have been done dierently.

We do not fear an honest review of the work and legacy of Columbus. indeed, we welcome it. That is necessary.

But it is not sufficient. We urge every city, state and province to undertake a public and careful review of its own treatment of the native peoples, both past and present. î “at review will find no trace of Columbus. he was not there when the

Columbus and Native American History

OCT 20 E SK REPORT 9_16 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 9/16/20 8:14 PM Page 23

Above: St. John Paul II greets a Native American dancer during his address to 16,000 Native Americans at Veterans Memorial Coliseum during his apostolic visit to Phoenix Sept. 14, 1987.

Opposite page: The Columbus Memorial stands in front of Union Station in Washington, D.C. The Order was instrumental in planning the monument, which was dedicated in 1912.

Insurance and Investments FrOM OUr founding, the Knights of Columbus has always understood that charity begins at home. Father McGivney himself placed a special emphasis on providing for Catholic families who lost their loved ones and found themselves in difficult financial straits.

The system of mutual aid that he established has since grown into an extraordinary insurance program — one that has provided security and stability to millions of Catholics.

During the past two decades, the growth of our insurance program has been exceptional. In 2000, our insurance

Puritans in Connecticut destroyed the Pequot Nation. Nor was he there along the Trail of Tears walked by the Cherokee, or at the massacres of Sand Creek or Wounded Knee, or in the hunting down of Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce.

Columbus never called for the “extermination� of the native people of California as did the governor of that state after gold was discovered there.

In the mid-1800s, Alexis de Tocqueville, writing in Democracy in America, recounted the condition of the Native Americans he observed. “I was the witness of suerings which I have not the power to portray,â€? he wrote, adding that the evils they suered “appear to me to be irremediable.â€? He concluded, “I believe that the Indian nations of North America are doomed to perish.â€?

These sufferings were not from the influence of Christopher Columbus, who never even set foot on the mainland of North America. Columbus did not influence the policies of President Jefferson and President Andrew Jackson, referred to by Tocqueville.

Scapegoating one man for what has happened throughout the United States is easy, but it masks the real history.

Native peoples have a right to have their story told with accuracy and integrity. î “ey have a right to an honest recounting of their history. Only in this way can we find a path of reconciliation, healing and justice. î “e Knights of Columbus is prepared to walk that path with them.

Tragedy and hardship are only one aspect of the Native American story. That story also includes a centuries-long witness of many tribes to their strong Catholic faith. As brothers and sisters in the same faith, their story is also part of our story. They, too, are part of the history of our Church in North America.

As St. John Paul II rightly observed, “Not only is Christianity relevant to the Indian peoples, but Christ, in the members of his Body, is himself Indian.�

Our support of the new St. Kateri Tekakwitha Shrine in Gallup, N.M., and our support for the cause of canonization of Nicholas Black Elk testify to this reality.

in force stood at $40 billion and our assets under management at $8 billion.

Today, those numbers have grown to more than $113 billion of insurance in force and $26 billion in assets.

We have consistently received “Superior� ratings from both A.M. Best and Standard & Poor’s.

Now, such performance does not happen miraculously overnight. It is the result of a consistent and disciplined sales and investment strategy. And it is the result of the dedicated brother Knights who serve as our field agents.

While managing for such growth, we have also accelerated our efforts to make the Supreme Council stronger and to make our insurance program better positioned to withstand today’s challenges and those of the future.

We have focused on a series of initiatives to “harden the coreâ€? of our operations, to achieve higher levels of professionalism, and to bring greater eďŹƒciency and productivity to our operations.

We have also undertaken a major restructuring and enhancement of our IT department; reorganized and strengthened our insurance field force of more than 1,100 agents; and brought greater productivity to our business departments.

Our performance during the current global pandemic is dramatic proof that these initiatives are succeeding. We took early action to ensure the health and the safety of our more than 800 employees, as well as the continuity of our business operations, by adopting a remote work plan. That transition went forward in a matter of days.

During the past year, we strengthened our professional field force and made Knights of Columbus insurance more productive and, most importantly, more fraternal.

More improvements will be coming, and as we look to the future our goals remain the same — more professional and successful agents; a growing and dynamic company; and better service and quality OCTOBER 2020

♌ C O L U M B I A ♌ 23

OCT 20 E SK REPORT 9_16 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 9/16/20 8:14 PM Page 24

products for our members, which will in turn strengthen the fraternal and charitable mission of the Knights of Columbus.

In April, Standard & Poor’s released its review of North American life insurance companies, ranking them from strongest to weakest based on their financial health. Out of hundreds of companies, only six received the highest rating. And the Knights of Columbus is one of them.

Again, this extraordinary level of financial strength did not magically appear. It is a result of a disciplined and consistent determination to avoid unnecessary risk while maintaining a superior capital position.

This approach is best described as “insurance by brother Knights for brother Knights.” It is our version of what Pope Francis has called an “ethics of fraternity.” And it has served us well for generations.

In addition to insurance, we continue to grow our Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors program. Now in its sixth year, Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors empowers Catholics to invest with integrity, using the same model as the Knights of Columbus. It has grown to include nearly 400 clients, including 24 dioceses and 15 religious orders. We will soon make this program available to all

our brother Knights. Our goal is to become the world’s leading Catholic asset manager for Catholic institutions and individuals, putting their financial future on a solid and ethical foundation.

While the coronavirus pandemic has presented us with many challenges, our insurance program has adapted well.

Our agents transitioned to a new operating model demanded by social distancing. They have performed admirably, keeping sales strong and spirits high, while continuing to meet the needs of our Catholic families. e pandemic has caused the Order to adapt in other ways, too. e Supreme Council developed technological and procedural solutions that enabled every jurisdiction to hold a virtual state convention.

We also introduced an online version of our new ceremonial, allowing practicing Catholic men to join our ranks from the safety of their homes.

And of course, the coronavirus gave rise to many urgent needs in our parishes and communities. To meet those needs, we developed an emergency ChurchLoan program for Catholic dioceses facing financial crisis.

We implemented a multimilliondollar food assistance program. And we launched our Leave No Neighbor Behind

initiative. e response has been overwhelming. Knights of all ages, from all walks of life, have risen to the occasion.

The Supreme Officers join the Knights of Columbus investment team in celebrating the five-year anniversary of Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors in February 2020.

24 ♦ C O L U M B I A ♦

OCTOBER 2020

OCT 20 E SK REPORT 9_16 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 9/16/20 8:14 PM Page 25

Lance Tanner, a member of Fray Marcos Council 1783 in Gallup, N.M., helps unload food for the Acoma people in a remote area of the state. The April 7 delivery was part of an effort, led

by Supreme Director Patrick Mason, to serve hard-hit Indigenous communities as part of the Leave No Neighbor Behind initiative.

From the earliest days of the order, brother Knights have been there for their neighbors when disaster strikes. in 1903, when the worst flooding in the history of Kansas engulfed that state, Knights raised money to restore churches. three years later, when the great san Francisco earthquake and fires decimated the city, Knights were there again to help the homeless. in 1918, when the spanish flu pandemic struck, our army huts throughout the country were quickly converted into medical facilities. and then, during the Great depression, we organized the first national blood drive. in the days and months following the terrorist attacks of 9/11, brother Knights again offered aid as first responders, and hundreds more supported the rescue and recovery work. the day after the attacks, we established the $1 million heroes Fund to provide direct financial support to the families of the more than 400 first responders who were killed.

i will always remember visiting Ground Zero with supreme Chaplain Bishop thomas daily of Brooklyn and New york City Police department chaplain msgr. robert romano on the feast of all saints, as so many of our heroes continued to work. the order’s extraordinary response to 9/11 showed the grassroots power of our local councils. that power would be seen again in the wake of hurricanes Katrina and rita in 2005. the supreme Council’s $10 million Gulf states hurricane relief Fund helped the region’s Catholic institutions and residents rebuild. the order’s second responders program would provide even more effective action following sandy in 2012, maria in 2017 and harvey in 2018. and in 2013, when super typhoon haiyan struck the Philippines, we responded not only with immediate assistance, but also with a long-term boat-building program for local fishermen and carpenters, as well as a reforestation program for local farmers.

Disaster Relief and Charity Perhaps one of the most heartwarming initiatives of the Knights of Columbus has been our efforts to provide mobility to the physically disabled through our partnership with the Global Wheelchair mission. to date we have distributed more than 75,000 wheelchairs in areas as diverse as afghanistan, Vietnam, the middle east, Ukraine, the Philippines and mexico.

Following the 2010 earthquake in haiti that killed more than 200,000 people, we launched the healing haiti’s Children initiative in partnership with the University of miami’s Project medishare. through this program, we provided prosthetic limbs and two years of physical therapy for the more than 1,000 children whose legs were amputated as a result of their injuries. then in 2011, with the United Nations reporting that there were 15 million orphans in sub-saharan africa as a result of aids, we launched a new partnership with the apostles of Jesus to support their residential school for aids orphans in Uganda. in recent years, we have also reached out to children in the United states and Canada to provide nearly 700,000 new winter coats through our Knights of Columbus Coats for Kids program. and we have maintained our strong support in both dollars and volunteer hours for special olympics. these are only a few examples of our charitable efforts and our faith in action. over this past year in particular, i am proud to report that, once again, our members set a record for charitable giving — together donating more than $187 million to charitable causes and volunteering more than 77 million hours. the Knights of Columbus has never done so much for so many.

OCTOBER 2020

♦ C O L U M B I A ♦ 25

OCT 20 E SK REPORT 9_16 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 9/16/20 8:14 PM Page 26

Solidarity With Persecuted Christians

26 ♌ C O L U M B I A ♌

OCTOBER 2020

Above: Bishop Oliver Dashe Doeme of Maiduguri, Nigeria, inspects a burned church in his diocese, which has been a target of Boko Haram. The Islamist militant group has killed tens of thousands and displaced more than 2 million people in the region since 2002.

Left: An icon of Our Lady Help of Persecuted Christians depicts Mary, with the Child Jesus over her heart, spreading her mantle around recent Christian martyrs.

Opposite page: St. Michael the Archangel is depicted in a mosaic recently installed in the chapel of Campo Sportivo Pio XI, one of the Order’s sports centers in Rome.

of christians murdered and churches destroyed. it also included an oďŹƒcial iSiS price list for christian women and girls to be sold as slaves. based on the overwhelming evidence and legal analysis we submitted, Secretary of State John Kerry declared that genocide was occurring.

Speaking on behalf of the Knights of columbus, i testified numerous times before congress, which led to the iraq and Syria Genocide relief and accountability act that was signed into law in 2018. the Supreme council has also worked closely with the u.S. agency for international Development to help american

foreign aid more effectively reach devastated christian communities. i can report to you that our efforts made a tremendous difference. but while the threat from iSiS has been reduced, the persecution of christians in other parts of the world has increased. last year, the british government reported that the persecution of christians around the world is at “near genocide levels.� the situation is especially extreme in africa.

For example, reports estimate that tens of thousands of christians have

Our charitable work spans the globe. One initiative that is particularly close to the heart of Pope Francis is our support for persecuted christians in the Middle east.

Since 2014, the Knights of columbus has committed more than $25 million to help our brothers and sisters in the faith who have been targeted for genocide by iSiS. Working closely with archbishop bashar Warda of erbil, iraq, we began the task of developing a sustainable infrastructure for christians in the region.

We rebuilt the town of Karamles and the Syriac cathedral in Qaraqosh. We also built McGivney house, a 140-unit apartment building in erbil, and helped expand the catholic university of erbil. and in Syria, we provided the christians of aleppo with emergency food, medical and tuition assistance.

When i traveled to iraq in March 2019, i was privileged to bring a personal greeting and a gift of hundreds of rosaries from Pope Francis to christian school children and refugees. archbishop Warda has said that without the support of the Knights of columbus, “christianity would disappear in our region.� the financial and humanitarian support we have given is only part of the story. the other part is our engagement with the u.S. government to successfully change our nation’s foreign policy. in 2016, we urged the Obama administration to declare what was happening to christians and other religious minorities in iraq to be genocide.

When the State Department replied that it did not have suďŹƒcient evidence, we sent researchers to iraq and compiled a 300-page report that included the names

OCT 20 E SK REPORT 9_16 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 9/16/20 8:14 PM Page 27

been killed in Nigeria alone in the past two decades.

Recently, the European Union and the Catholic bishops of Europe have condemned the violence against Christians in Nigeria. Yet much more needs to be done to bring attention to this jihadist attempt at a new genocide.

So I am pleased to announce today that the Knights of Columbus will launch a new initiative to report on the situation

in Nigeria, similar to what was done in Iraq, in the hope that greater attention by American diplomacy and humanitarian aid can make a dierence there.

Christians in Africa, just as in the Middle East, have a right to exist, and we stand in solidarity with them.

One of the most important expressions of our support for persecuted Christians throughout the world has been the unique prayer service we

launched as part of our pilgrim icon program.

We dedicated the past two years to Our Lady Help of Persecuted Christians. î “e program received the blessing of Pope Francis and has been one of our most effective ways to increase global awareness of this worldwide crisis. I urge Catholics everywhere to continue to pray in solidarity with our suering Christian brothers and sisters throughout the world.

law enforcement personnel, at the federal, state and local levels, all personally consecrated to the patron saint of police, St. Michael the Archangel; all reciting his litany each day before going on duty; and all carrying his holy medal and chaplet in their pockets.

This would require no action by any

board, city council or legislature. It would not require the expenditure of a single tax dollar. Yet it would produce thousands of officers in law enforcement with a greater capacity to influence their colleagues for what is good and what is just. Their witness could have tremendous impact for good in the days ahead.

St. Michael the Archangel THIS YEAR, we will begin a new spiritual initiative, a pilgrim icon program devoted to St. Michael the Archangel.

This new prayer program will include Sacred Scripture readings, meditations

by Pope Francis and St. John Paul II, and the Litany and Chaplet of St. Michael.

We will encourage greater devotion to St. Michael throughout the Order and the universal Church. And in doing so, we hope to build upon the ecumenical aspect of our recent program in honor of Our Lady Help of Persecuted Christians.

In the icon we commissioned for that program, Our Lady is depicted spreading her protective mantel not only over Roman Catholic martyrs, but also over Coptic and Orthodox Christians.

In a similar way, we recognize that devotion to St. Michael has a long tradition among Orthodox Christians, as well as those in Coptic Egypt and Ethiopia.

May St. Michael the Archangel, most powerful prince of the heavenly host, defend us!

Recently, some elected officials have asked their constituents to “reimagine� the police in their communities. Now this is not the place to discuss the future of policing. But in thinking about our next pilgrim icon program, I would ask you to imagine thousands of Catholic

OCTOBER 2020

♌ C O L U M B I A ♌ 27

OCT 20 E SK REPORT 9_16 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 9/16/20 8:14 PM Page 28

Saint John Paul II National Shrine In 1959, the Knights Tower of the Basilica of the national Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., was completed — a gift of the Knights of Columbus. We then followed up in 1963 by donating a 56-bell carillon that continues to be heard throughout the year. We had been there from the beginning. In 1920, 1,500 brother Knights were present for the blessing of the site of the future shrine, and later that year, an honor guard joined James Cardinal Gibbons for the laying of the foundation stone.

In more recent years, our financial support made possible the completion of the shrine according to its original plans with the mosaic decoration of the Knights of Columbus Incarnation Dome in 2007 and the Trinity Dome in 2017.

In 2011, following the beatification of Pope John Paul II, we took our involvement in the life of the Catholic Church in America to a new level. That year, we purchased the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center in Washington, D.C., and began its transformation into the Saint John Paul II national Shrine. It now includes the Redemptor Hominis Church, the Luminous Mysteries Chapel and a world-class exhibit on his life and teaching.

In 1979, Pope John Paul II, in his homily during the Mass on the national Mall, said this: “I do not hesitate to proclaim before you and before the world that all human life — from the moment of conception and through all subsequent stages — is sacred, because human life is created in the image and likeness of God. nothing surpasses the greatness or the dignity of a human person.”

“All human beings,” he continued, “ought to value every person for his or her uniqueness as a creature of God, 28 ♦ C O L U M B I A ♦

OCTOBER 2020

Pilgrims place votive candles around a statue of Our Lady during the Saint John Paul II National Shrine’s annual Marian Festival of Lights, held Dec. 8, the feast of the Immaculate Conception.

called to be a brother or sister of Christ…. And so, we will stand up every time that human life is threatened.” en he concluded, “Everything aimed at banishing discrimination — in law or in fact — is a service to life. When the rights of minorities are fostered, when the mentally or physically handicapped are assisted, when those on the margin of society are given a voice — in all these instances the dignity of life and the sacredness of human life are furthered.”

My brother Knights, when I stood on the Mall and listened to these words, I realized that the history of the Catholic Church in the United States had suddenly been lifted up to a higher level.

Catholics were being called to a new encounter with our society — a new evangelization that would take up the responsibility for transformation of our

culture according to a Gospel vision of human dignity and human destiny.

Throughout his 27-year pontificate, and during each of his seven trips to the United States, John Paul II would speak of building a culture of life and a civilization of love in all their dimensions.

The Saint John Paul II national Shrine endures as a place where the extraordinary vision of this truly great saint continues.

As a privileged place of prayer, worship, pilgrimage, evangelization, encounter and renewal, the Shrine has become an important center of faith in the nation’s capital, welcoming tens of thousands of pilgrims each year.

And during these troubling times, St. John Paul II’s message of Divine Mercy, forgiveness and peace are especially needed.

OCT 20 ENG SK REPORT 9_16 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 9/17/20 4:33 PM Page 29

Culture of Life The KnighTs of Columbus has played a leading role in the pro-life movement for over 50 years. brother Knights were there in 1974 to help organize the first march for life in Washington, D.C. î “e next year, we provided a grant of $50,000 to the u.s. bishops to support their pastoral pro-life eorts. And we have been supporting both activities ever since. since the supreme Court’s 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade, we have called for that “exercise in raw judicial powerâ€? to be overturned. And we have urged Congress and the states to enact pro-life legislation. in 1976, supreme Knight John mcDevitt said this in his report to the supreme Convention: “We must not be taken in by candidates who state that they are personally opposed to abortion but assert it would be wrong to impose their conviction on others‌. Killing innocent human life is so monumental an injustice that ‌ [w]e must disagree with the contention made in the platform of a major American political party that it is ‘undesirable ‌ to overturn the supreme Court decision’ in Roe v. Wade.â€? from the earliest days of the pro-life movement, the Knights of Columbus has had a three-part strategy to defend unborn children: mobilizing nationwide support through the annual march for life; supporting the pastoral ministry of our nation’s bishops; and working to restore legal protection to unborn children in our courts and legislatures. now we have added three initiatives which i believe may be decisive in our efforts to build a new culture of life.

The first began in 2004 with the sisters of life.

Their founder, a champion of the prolife movement, John Cardinal o’Connor, shared these words with the sisters in 1998: “i have said from the very

Above: An expectant mother receives an ultrasound exam in a mobile unit operated by Caring Families Pregnancy Services Inc. in Willimantic, Conn. The ultrasound machine was funded by the Connecticut State Council and the Order’s Ultrasound Initiative. • Right: Then-Bishop William E. Lori of Bridgeport and Supreme Knight Carl Anderson shake hands outside the Villa Maria Guadalupe retreat center in Stamford, Conn., Oct. 20, 2004. With them at the ribbon-cutting ceremony were Mother Agnes Mary Donovan of the Sisters of Life and thenSupreme Chaplain Bishop Emeritus Thomas V. Daily of Brooklyn.

beginning — before we ever had a community and before we came into existence as the sisters of life — that one day we would have a big retreat center: a place of peace, a place of tranquility, a place of light and refreshment, a place of love.�

That place became reality in 2004, when the Knights of Columbus purchased a property in stamford, Conn., that became Villa maria guadalupe, a pro-life retreat center operated by the sisters of life.

Villa maria guadalupe exists to spiritually sustain the faithful women and men who have sacrificed so much to build a culture of life. it is a source of healing for women experiencing the aftermath of abortion, and a safe place to help courageous women choose life despite all odds. Already, thousands and

thousands of lives have been changed and many saved by the sisters of life at Villa maria guadalupe. second, in 2008, we began an annual national survey on abortion with the respected marist Poll to better understand public attitudes on abortion and help shape the national discussion. in a series of groundbreaking findings, the polling revealed that, among other things, 3 out of 4 Americans — including 6 out of 10 of those who describe themselves as “pro-choice� — want significant restrictions on abortion.

Then, in 2009, we began our ultrasound initiative to place new ultrasound machines in pregnancy resource centers. since that time, we have placed more than 1,200 ultrasound machines with a total value of more than $60 million.

OCTOBER 2020

♌ C O L U M B I A ♌ 29

OCT 20 E SK REPORT 9_16 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 9/16/20 8:14 PM Page 30

now if each ultrasound machine prevents only one abortion each week, our program will save more than 60,000 lives this year. the Knights of columbus has already helped save hundreds of thousands of unborn children.

As i have said before, our ultrasound initiative is the greatest humanitarian achievement in the history of the Knights of columbus. it is building the culture of life one heart and one child at a time.

After this year’s March for Life in washington, D.c., i welcomed a new pro-life native American organization, Life is sacred, to the saint John Paul ii national shrine. the group’s mission statement is worth repeating. it reads, “in the past too few stood by to defend the lives of our people, and so today we are here to stand for the lives of all people, born and unborn.�

Pope Francis has written that the “defense of the innocent unborn needs to be clear, firm and passionate, for at stake is the dignity of a human life, which is always sacredâ€? (Gaudete et Exsultate, 101). encouraged by these words, we will continue to build a culture of life in all the nations in which we are active. earlier this summer, we received disappointing news from the u.s. supreme court when it struck down a pro-life law in Louisiana, with five justices insisting they had to respect the court’s past decisions. now, respecting past decisions is important. But what if the earlier decisions are based upon a falsehood or even numerous falsehoods? what then? why should the supreme court respect an earlier decision when its premise is false? î “is is exactly the problem with Roe v. Wade. it is based on the falsehood that we do not know if the child before

birth is a human life. now, if you doubt that, look at any one of the hundreds of thousands of ultrasound pictures taken each year in the united states. î “e other falsehood, of course, is that there is a right to abortion in the u.s. constitution.

Roe v. Wade is false as to both science and law.

And so, what does one do when a court’s decision is wrong? one works to overturn it; to mobilize national protests against it; to educate the public about it; to help women heal who have been hurt by it; and to help prevent more women from being hurt by it; and of course, to rescue unborn children from its deadly consequences.

All these things, and more, the Knights of columbus has done. And all these things, and more, the Knights of columbus will do until that day when our nation embraces a new culture of life.

As we continue all the good works that define this brotherhood, let us take heart in a milestone that we reached over the past year. the Knights of columbus reached more than 2 million members — 2 million men committed to leading lives of charity, unity and fraternity.

As brother Knights, we are transforming ourselves, and in so doing, transforming the world around us. the growth of the order has been one of the great constants of our history. we have grown because we serve the needs of the church universal, not just a particular place or people. earlier, i mentioned Alexis de tocqueville and his great work, Democracy in America. two of his observations help us think about the future of the Knights 30 ♌ C O L U M B I A ♌

OCTOBER 2020

Above: Then-Supreme Knight Virgil Dechant (left) helps to carry the remains of Father Michael McGivney to a new resting place in St. Mary’s Church on March 29, 1982, the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Knights of Columbus.

Opposite page: The Cathedral of St. Joseph in Hartford, Conn., will host the beatification Mass of Venerable Michael McGivney Oct. 31. • Father McGivney is depicted in a painting by artist Chas Fagan.

Our Founder’s Beatification

OCT 20 E SK REPORT 9_16 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 9/16/20 8:14 PM Page 31

of Columbus.

The first was his conclusion that Catholics in the 19th century were “at the same time the most faithful believers and the most zealous citizens.�

The second was his conclusion that “in no country in the world has the principle of association been more successfully used than in America.�

Fifty years later, the founding of the Knights of Columbus would prove the accuracy of Tocqueville’s view of Catholics as “faithful believers� and “zealous citizens� united together in successful association.

It is therefore understandable that for much of our history, the Knights of Columbus has been seen as an American institution. But this is too narrow a view.

It overlooks the early expansion of the Order into Canada and our growth throughout its provinces. It overlooks, as well, the impact upon Father McGivney

of his early seminary formation in QuĂŠbec.

It does not take into account the expansion of the Order into the Philippines, Mexico and Cuba at the beginning of the 20th century. It overlooks the solidarity with our Mexican brother Knights during the persecution of the Church there and the Cristero War, as well as the mutual aid and support given by Filipino and American brother Knights during the Second World War, and our dramatic expansion in the Philippines since that time.

Today, the universality of Father McGivney’s vision and the appeal of the Knights of Columbus can be seen in our recent expansion into Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, the Republic of Korea and France. Brother Knights in these countries have enriched the Knights of Columbus in countless ways

by their commitment to charity, unity and fraternity.

All of this points to the universal appeal of our Founder’s vision. Increasingly, we will find the holy example of Father McGivney to be an inspiration for both laity and clergy throughout the Church.

There is no better time to look to our Founder for guidance than right now, as we prepare for the historic moment of Father McGivney’s beatification.

In May, Pope Francis approved the decree recognizing a miracle attributed to the intercession of Father McGivney.

And now the Congregation for the Causes of Saints has announced that his beatification Mass will be celebrated Oct. 31. That means that Father McGivney will soon be declared “Blessed.�

We look forward to the beatification of Father McGivney in the beautiful Cathedral of St. Joseph in Hartford, Conn., on Oct. 31. At that time, I invite everyone to join us by means of a live international broadcast of the beatification Mass.

Although we expect coronavirus restrictions will still be in effect, we look forward to millions participating in this historic day through this broadcast.

There have been many steps along the way to Father McGivney’s beatification.

One of the most important occurred in conjunction with the renovation of St. Mary’s Church in New Haven. As part of the centennial anniversary of the Knights of Columbus in 1982, Father McGivney’s body was moved from Waterbury, Conn., to St. Mary’s to better promote devotion to him.

Now, we are completing the second major renovation of St. Mary’s Church through the financial support of the Knights of Columbus. The first stage of that work was completed just in time for the opening Mass of our Supreme Convention.

After Father McGivney’s beatification, we hope that Father McGivney’s body will be moved from the back of the church to a place of honor in the front. This will promote even greater devotion to him as we continue his cause for canonization.

OCTOBER 2020

♌ C O L U M B I A ♌ 31

Conclusion In 2001, we opened the Knights of Columbus Museum in new Haven. For nearly two decades, our museum has featured unique and award-winning exhibits. It has been a place of Catholic culture, art and evangelization from which hundreds of thousands of people have benefited.

Today, I am pleased to announce that in the coming months we will begin the transformation of the Knights of Columbus Museum into the new Blessed Michael McGivney Pilgrimage Center.

While the museum’s mission of recounting our history will continue, it will also broaden its appeal by focusing more on the spirituality and charitable vision of our Founder and of his legacy.

Along with St. Mary’s — the birthplace of the Order — the new McGivney Pilgrimage Center will enhance the formative experience of a pilgrimage to the tomb of Father McGivney.

There is another reason we should all rejoice in our Founder’s beatification. A Knights of Columbus family had a pivotal role in bringing this day about.

Six years ago, a brother Knight and his wife learned that she was pregnant.

They began preparing to welcome their new child into the world. Then came the diagnoses.

First, they learned their unborn son had Down syndrome. Then they learned that he had a rare medical condition that would surely take his life. In their grief, the family turned to heaven for help.

They traveled to Fatima, Portugal, during a Knights of Columbus pilgrimage. They — and so many other Knights of Columbus families — prayed to Father McGivney for a miracle. They returned home with renewed hope.

Four days later, a doctor confirmed that their unborn son — without any medical intervention or explanation — was suddenly free from his fatal condition.

32 ♌ C O L U M B I A ♌

OCTOBER 2020

Today, Mikey Schachle is 5 years old.

His father, Dan Schachle, is our General Agent in Tennessee. And the miracle they prayed for is the miracle attributed to Father McGivney’s intercession recently confirmed by Pope Francis.

So let us rejoice for this gift to Dan and Michelle Schachle’s family.

But as we do so, let us also reflect on the mystery of this miracle: Why did this miracle heal an unborn child in the womb? Why was that healing discovered through ultrasound technology? Why was a child with Down syndrome saved? Why was he conceived into a large Catholic family? A family whose father sees his business as a vocation of service to fellow Catholics? A father who is a dedicated brother Knight of Columbus?

The answer to all these questions must have deep meaning for the future of the Knights of Columbus.

As St. John Paul II said on his visit to Fatima, “in the designs of Providence, there are no mere coincidences.â€? Is it a mere coincidence that Michael McGivney was the oldest of 13 children, while Michael Schachle is the youngest of 13 children? How can we not see in the circumstances of this miracle an aďŹƒrmation of the vision and legacy of our Founder?

And how can we not also see in the circumstances of this miracle the call to each of us as brother Knights of Columbus to live more fully our own vocation of charity, unity and fraternity?

Soon we will call our beloved Founder “Blessed,� and millions around the world will better understand why Father McGivney has been a blessing to generations of Catholics.

But with Father McGivney’s beatification comes special responsibility. It calls us to an ever-higher standard of charity, unity and fraternity.

So let us rejoice and be glad in this day the Lord has made. Let us renew our own faith, as we step forward together as Knights of Columbus: Knights of Fraternity to continue our great work.

And may our Founder and brother, soon-to-be Blessed Michael McGivney, pray for us.

Vivat Jesus!

A 2003 painting by Antonella Cappuccio depicts Venerable Michael McGivney and the founding vision of the Knights of Columbus. Knights are seen standing with 19th-century immigrant families and orphans outside St. Mary’s Church in New Haven, Conn.

OCT 20 E SK REPORT 9_16 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 9/16/20 8:14 PM Page 32

OCT 20 E SK REPORT 9_16 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 9/16/20 8:14 PM Page 33

Forward In Fraternity In his closing remarks to the Supreme Convention, the supreme knight underscores Father McGivney’s great vision of brotherhood united in charity

MY BROTHER KNIGHTS, as I have done in years past, I wish to take this opportunity in my closing remarks to emphasize themes brought to us by our Holy Father, Pope Francis, in his letter to our convention (see page 2). The Holy Father’s letter to us should serve as a mission statement for us as we move forward in the coming year.

I begin by recalling these words: “His Holiness is grateful for the countless ways in which the Knights of Columbus

continue to bear prophetic witness to God’s dream for a more fraternal, just and equitable world in which all are recognized as neighbors and no one is left behind.”

In this way, Pope Francis encourages us to move forward under our theme, Knights of Columbus: Knights of Fraternity.

Let us continue our work to build civil communities based upon brotherhood and to strengthen the fraternal character of our parish communities through our work of charity and unity.

OCTOBER 2020

♦ C O L U M B I A ♦ 33

OCT 20 E SK REPORT 9_16 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 9/16/20 8:15 PM Page 34

A MODEL OF CHRISTIAN SOLIDARITY people in the neighborhood referred to him as a saint — and As I said in my annual report, it is the fraternal character of they meant it. our charitable work that gives the Order its decisive character Pope Francis goes on to encourage all of us and “trusts that and its impressive strength. Through Father McGivney’s spir- [the upcoming beatification of Father McGivney] will be a itual genius, the Knights of Columbus has become a vehicle stimulus for Knights to deepen their commitment to live as by which we are able to transform friends into brothers. At missionary disciples in charity, unity and fraternity.” the same time, we are able to transform those in need into our brothers and sisters.

‘THE SOLID ROCK OF BROTHERHOOD’ Pope Francis has reminded Catholics time and again that The final section of the pope’s message that I would bring to the disciples of Christ must reflect the “joy of the Gospel.” your attention is this: “Through the building up of family life, This, too, is an essential dynamic of the fraternal character of individuals and societies grow in solidarity, mutual respect, the Knights of Columbus. This is expressed in thousands of truth, mercy and love. At a time of social unrest, these virtues ways through our social and fraternal activities, especially are all the more necessary in the promotion of peace, reconthose in our parish communities. ciliation and justice, a mission which the Knights of ColumWhen we provide wholesome activities for families to come bus are pledged to advance by serving as a leaven of the together, we not only strengthen family life, but we affirm Gospel both with their local communities and the wider sowhat it means to live together in Christian community and ciety.” strengthen parish life as well. Father McGivney understood My brother Knights, I offer three observations about this this; it was the reason he organized parish picnics, youth out- statement by the Holy Father. First, his words should encourings and even baseball games. age us to redouble our great work to And through our many programs strengthen Christian family life serving persons with developmental through our programs such as Builddisabilities, such as Special Olympics, ing the Domestic Church; ConsecraHROUGH FATHER we not only affirm the “joy of the tion to the Holy Family; our men’s Gospel,” we also affirm these brothers spirituality program, Into the Breach; MCGIVNEY’S SPIRITUAL and sisters in what we may call the and our promotion of the family “dignity of the Gospel.” rosary and prayer.

GENIUS ... WE ARE ABLE This year, the message of Pope FranSecond, as I have said many times, TO TRANSFORM FRIENDS cis focuses on the upcoming beatificaour principles of charity, unity and fration of our Founder. I can report to ternity are needed today as much as INTO BROTHERS.” you that in my meetings with Pope ever. Can any of our societies say that Francis and especially in the meeting they have an abundance of charity, with our supreme chaplain, the Holy unity or brotherhood? It is up to us to Father expressed a genuine affection bring a Catholic witness of charity, for Father McGivney and appreciation for his work. unity and fraternity into the day-to-day realities of life. In this We often hear it said that shepherds should have the smell way, we can practice both a charity that evangelizes and, dare of sheep — quoting the now-famous phrase of Pope Francis. I say, a patriotism that evangelizes.

Father McGivney would certainly agree. But I also think that Third, I would observe that we can only give authentic witthis phrase would have given Father McGivney pause. ness to our principles if our own councils are places where As a pastor, Father McGivney never left his sheep. He never charity, unity and brotherhood are authentically practiced. I saw his parish community as an “us” and “them” situation. To urge everyone to make our councils places of true fraternity. the contrary, Father McGivney’s understanding of Christian As we prepare to move forward now together at the begincommunion would, I think, be best expressed by paraphrasing ning of this fraternal year, we are all aware of the painful upthe words of St. Augustine: With you I am a Christian; for heaval caused by the global coronavirus pandemic and the you I am a priest. In this way, Father McGivney was truly the social unrest that has gripped so many communities. model parish priest.

We are determined to continue our charitable work under Father McGivney’s priesthood could in no way be seen as a the banner of “Leave No Neighbor Behind.” This initiative position of comfort and privilege. To the contrary, it was first has already brought more than $5 million and hundreds of and always a path of sacrifice and service. As Pope Francis re- thousands of volunteer hours of aid to our suffering neighbors minds us in his letter, “This spirit of Christian solidarity in need. This good work must continue in the days ahead and marked in a special way the life and activity of your Founder, we are determined that it will. the Venerable Michael McGivney.”

We must also continue our work to promote unity and This spirit of solidarity, this closeness to his people, marked brotherhood, especially in those communities where racism, the priesthood of Father McGivney and called him to a life prejudice and inequality have eaten away at their foundations. of heroic virtue. As one of his contemporaries observed, the In my annual report, I quoted the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther

“T

34 ♦ C O L U M B I A ♦

OCTOBER 2020

OCT 20 E SK REPORT 9_16 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 9/16/20 8:15 PM Page 35

Supreme Knight Carl Anderson, Deputy Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly and Supreme Secretary Michael O’Connor stand with college Knights from the U.S. Naval Academy and U.S. Military Academy at the 120th Army-Navy football game Dec. 14, 2019, in Philadelphia.

King Jr. on the necessity of our nation having communities based on “the solid rock of brotherhood.� But I repeat: When we look around, where do we see such solid rock? That solid rock must be us. This must be our witness. We must provide such an example for our fellow citizens.

The day I was elected supreme knight, I said that we have “a moral obligation to offer membership in the Knights of Columbus to every eligible Catholic man.� I went on to say that the Knights of Columbus should be everywhere the Catholic Church is.

This was meant not just as an incentive to grow the Order, and not just in recognition of the many benefits that membership in the Knights of Columbus can bring to a Catholic man and his family. It was also meant in recognition of the Order’s role in promoting missionary discipleship and evangelization in our Church.

I would further emphasize that it means opening the doors of our more than 16,000 councils to the diversity of races and ethnicities that is our Church today. Already we can see this in the success of our Spanish-speaking councils, the tremendous growth of the Knights of Columbus in the Philippines and among Filipino communities in the United States and Canada, and among communities of Middle Eastern Catholics. Yet more needs to be done.

I am pleased to report to you that, during their recent meeting, your supreme directors voted to bestow honorary membership to two distinguished Catholic gentlemen: Knights of

Peter Claver Supreme Knight James Ellis and Past Supreme Knight DeKarlos Blackmon. It is my sincere hope that in the days ahead, we may find ways for greater cooperation between our two fraternal societies. We must move forward, united in a spirit of brotherhood and charity, to meet the great challenges before us.

OUR FAITH UNDER ATTACK î “e devastation of the global coronavirus pandemic may be with us for years to come. We have met other natural disasters in the recent past, but none as widespread and potentially longlasting. In the midst of such challenges, we also face cultural challenges that are not unlike those we have faced in the past.

I refer now to the recent attacks on our faith and attempts to marginalize and even exclude our Church from society. Earlier, I spoke about attacks on the legacy of St. JunĂ­pero Serra.

Just days ago, according to news reports, a member of Congress pointed to the statue of Father Damien of Molokai, Hawaii, that stands in the U.S. Capitol and said it is an expression of “white supremacist culture.� We know Father Damien as a Catholic missionary from Belgium — recognized now as a saint — who gave his life in solidarity with the Indigenous people suffering from leprosy. While many were shocked to read this report, I am not sure that St. Damien would be, for he was the subject of anti-Catholic slander and lies during his own lifetime.

But it is nonetheless worth taking a moment to reflect on OCTOBER 2020

♌ C O L U M B I A ♌ 35

Pope Francis views the sculpture of St. Junípero Serra in Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol Sept. 24, 2015. The pope had canonized Serra the day before at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

36 ♦ C O L U M B I A ♦

OCTOBER 2020

OCT 20 E SK REPORT 9_16 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 9/16/20 8:15 PM Page 36

OCT 20 E SK REPORT 9_16 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 9/16/20 8:15 PM Page 37

this incident. If Father Damien is not good enough for an Some of us may look around at the problems we face and honored place in American society, what chance do any of the be reminded of that passage in the Second Letter to the rest of us have? If today there is to be no place in our Capitol Corinthians in which St. Paul writes, “We should like you to building for a saint such as Father Damien, then tomorrow realize, brothers, that the things we had to undergo … were what place will there be in our country for our Church? Will more of a burden than we could carry, so that we despaired our Church, too, be dismissed someday as merely another in- of coming through alive. … It has taught us not to rely on stitutional expression of a “white supremacist culture?” ourselves but only on God” (2 Cor 1:8-9).

My brother Knights, I have been to Molokai. I have prayed Yet, in these words of the great missionary disciple, St. Paul, in the chapel that Father Damien built with his own hands. I we see the 2,000-year-old spirit of that Church which goes have seen the faces of those suffering from the terrible disease forth. These words also capture the courage and determinaof leprosy. I know what Father Damien’s sacrifice has meant tion of that Spanish missionary along the coast of California, to them. And I say to you that the defamation of our great that Belgian missionary isolated on an island in the Pacific, saints must end. and that young American parish priest in the port city of New During my first visit to South Korea, I visited one of the Haven, Conn. great shrines to the Korean martyrs. In the entrance of the My brother Knights, we have not been called to leave our church there is a large painting of a group of young French families and follow in the footsteps of these missionary discimissionaries saying farewell to their families. The painting ples. But we have been called to be missionary disciples in the depicts mothers who are weeping and fathers with tears in midst of our families and parishes, to reach out to our neightheir eyes as they say goodbye to the bors, whether they be next door, across sons they will never see again. That town or in another country. painting impressed upon me the realDuring his visit in Washington, ity of a sacrifice that occurred thouD.C., Pope Francis suggested that the sands of times as generations of Church in America take up as its own E HAVE BEEN Catholic missionaries — both men the motto of St. Junípero Serra: Siemand women — left their families and pre adelante! Always forward!

CALLED TO BE MISSIONfriends to lay down their lives in servThis is a motto worthy of the ARY DISCIPLES IN THE ice to the Gospel and for the salvation Knights of Columbus and of the legacy of souls they had yet to meet. They of Father McGivney. You may ask, MIDST OF OUR FAMILIES did not journey to new lands as conwhat is his legacy? It is the legacy of querors or colonists. They came as giving life to a brotherhood that would AND PARISHES.” missionary disciples whose lives were soon grow into one of the great fraterhard, painful and often short. nal charitable movements in the history We should be encouraged that the of our Church — for that is now what heroic virtue — the holiness — of both the Knights of Columbus has become.

St. Junípero Serra and St. Damien of Molokai has been reafThis legacy of greatness is a call to be greater still. It is a firmed in recent years by Pope Francis and Pope Benedict XVI. call to be great of heart, of muscle and of vision. To be great We may not have been called to follow in the footsteps of these not for the sake of our own prestige and power, but to be missionaries. But I do believe we have been called to defend great in service to others. Let us, as Knights of Columbus, their legacy. take up this challenge.

Five years ago, during the canonization Mass of St. Junípero Let us go forward together in a spirit of fraternity with charSerra in Washington, D.C., Pope Francis called Serra “the em- ity and unity in our hearts to be that leaven in society, to fulbodiment of ‘a Church which goes forth.’” Perhaps that is why fill the mission of the laity to transform society in the light of today he and other Catholic missionaries who also were a part the Gospel, and to write an even brighter chapter in the hisof that “Church which goes forth” are under such attack. tory of the Knights of Columbus.

But Pope Francis has given us an even greater challenge.

CALLED TO BE MISSIONARY DISCIPLES He did so in the announcement of the beatification of Father In his reflections on the French Revolution, Edmund Burke McGivney. observed that an institution is never more vulnerable than What is this challenge? It is the challenge presented by Father when it admits a need for reform. Obviously, this is as true of McGivney himself — the challenge to live a life of heroic virtue churches as it is of governments. Since the Second Vatican according to the principles of charity, unity and fraternity.

Council, our Church has undergone a continuous process of And so, during the coming fraternal year, may we walk self-examination, renewal and reform. Much has been accom- this path together, encouraging one another and strengthplished and more needs to be done. Recently, it may seem that ening one another “as iron sharpens iron” (Prov 27:17). May the challenges are greater than ever. And we must shoulder we truly be through the year Knights of Columbus: Knights our share of this work. of Fraternity.♦

“W

OCTOBER 2020

♦ C O L U M B I A ♦ 37

OCT 20 E SK REPORT 9_16 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 9/16/20 8:27 PM Page 38

S TAT E D E P U T I E S 2020-2021

Knights of Columbus State and Territorial Deputies 2020-2021 THE OFFICE OF STATE DEPUTY was established and defined at the 1893 Supreme Council meeting. As the chief executive officer of the Order in his jurisdiction, the state deputy provides leadership and inspiration to the Knights and their families, and promotes the mission and growth of the Order. State deputies are elected during the annual convention of each state council. Pictured here are the state and territorial deputies for the 20202021 fraternal year.

ALABAMA

ALASKA

ALBERTA

ARIZONA

JOSEPH E. FLAHERTY III

BILLY A. CHRISMAN JR.

VICENTE R. REYES

MARIO VASSALLO

ARKANSAS

BRITISH COLUMBIA

ALAN L. HALMAN

CALIFORNIA

COLORADO

STEVE BOLTON

CHRISTOPHER J. FOLEY

DALE D. HOFER

CONNECTICUT

DELAWARE

GARY P. MCKEONE

EUGENE M. DZIELAK

BRANDON J. BROWN

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC LAZARO BERQUEL RODRIQUEZ CABRERA

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

FLORIDA

FRANCE

GEORGIA

SCOTT A. O’CONNOR

ARNAUD BOUTHEON

MARK W. HOFMANN

GUAM

HAWAII

IDAHO

ILLINOIS

INDIANA

IOWA

KANSAS

BOBBY O. PELKEY

RYAN K. BROWN

ROY C. BARTHOLOMAY

FRANK J. SCHWARTZ JR.

CRAIG M. HANUSIN

PAUL R. LEE

JAMEY C. ROTH

KENTUCKY

LOUISIANA

LUZON NORTH

LUZON SOUTH

MAINE

MANITOBA

MARYLAND

STEPHEN R. ZANONE

VERNON F. DUCOTE

RENE V. SARMIENTO

BONIFACIO B. MARTINEZ

JOHN H. DEETJEN JR.

DANIEL P. SHEPHERD

VINCENT GRAUSO

MASSACHUSETTS

MEXICO CENTRAL

MEXICO NORTHWEST JESÚS MANUEL ELÍAS NUÑEZ

MEXICO WEST

MICHIGAN

JESÚS REYNALDO LÓPEZ GARCÍA

MEXICO NORTHEAST ROBERTO CARLOS MARTÍNEZ RAMOS

MEXICO SOUTH

MICHAEL LESPERANCE

ROMMEL MANUEL PALMA GARCÍA

FRANCISCO A. MORENO MUÑOZ

WALTER K. WINKLE JR.

38 ♦ C O L U M B I A ♦

OCTOBER 2020

OCT 20 E SK REPORT 9_16 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 9/16/20 8:28 PM Page 39

S TAT E D E P U T I E S 2020-2021

MINDANAO

MINNESOTA

MISSISSIPPI

MISSOURI

MONTANA

NEBRASKA

NEVADA

GERRY EUTEMIO T. MISSION

DAVID WHATMUFF

MICHAEL KASSOUF

MICHAEL GRUDZINSKI

DANIEL L. HALLSTEN

JOSEPH E. FLAHERTY III

ANTONIO F. PASCUA

NEW BRUNSWICK

NEW HAMPSHIRE

NEW JERSEY

NEW MEXICO

NEW YORK

JOSEPH J. KOWALIK III

VINCENT P. TAVORMINA

DANIEL VIGIL

WALTER J. WYCH

NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR

NORTH CAROLINA

GERALD P. WHITE

JC REIHER JR.

L. GORDON LANNON

NORTH DAKOTA

NOVA SCOTIA

OHIO

OKLAHOMA

ONTARIO

OREGON

PENNSYLVANIA

MIKE L. STEINER

RONALD F. DOWLING

ROBERT E. BYERS

MATTHEW C. MALY

DAVID C. PETERS

RONALD J. BOYCE

KENNETH E. GRUGEL

POLAND

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND

PUERTO RICO

QUÉBEC

RHODE ISLAND

SASKATCHEWAN

SOUTH CAROLINA

RICHARD H. PARATTE

DAVID T. QUINN

JOSEPH RIFFEL

DANIEL E. BARTON

RICHARD E. ALLEN

JOSÉ LUIS VAZQUEZ PADILLA

SOUTH DAKOTA

SOUTH KOREA

TENNESSEE

TEXAS

UKRAINE

UTAH

VERMONT

GERALD S. DVORAK

KYOUNG SOO SHIN

MICHAEL R. MCCUSKER

ALFREDO A. VELA

YOURIY MALETSKIY

NICK NIELSON

STEVE L. SHOVER

KRZYSZTOF ZUBA

VIRGINIA

VISAYAS

WASHINGTON

WEST VIRGINIA

WISCONSIN

WYOMING

BRIAN M. RIPPLE

TEOFRIDO B. LAGRIA

PATRICK L. KELLEY

PAUL B. NIEDBALSKI

COREY C. COONEN

BRET T. LADENBURGER

OCTOBER 2020

♦ C O L U M B I A ♦ 39

OCT 20 E SK REPORT 9_16 FINAL.qxp_Mar E 12 9/16/20 8:28 PM Page 40

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

AMENDMENTS TO CONSTITUTION AND LAWS GOVERNING THE SUPREME COUNCIL ENACTED AT MEETING HELD IN NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT AUGUST 4-5, 2020

Columbia Receives 39 Catholic Press Awards

RESOLUTION NO. 282 AMENDING SECTION 54 OF THE LAWS OF THE ORDER

MORTGAGE CONDITION SEC. 54. Whenever the funds of the Order shall be invested on mortgage security, the mortgage or the note secured thereby shall contain a condition that payment thereof shall be made only to the Knights of Columbus at New Haven, Conn., by certified check, wire transfer, or any other method commonly used in the mortgage finance industry and payable to “Knights of Columbus,� and that no other forms of payment shall discharge said mortgage indebtedness. The said check funds so paid shall be deposited to the credit of the fund to which it belongs.

RESOLUTION NO. 283 AMENDING SECTIONS 140.3 & 140.4 OF THE LAWS OF THE ORDER NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that Section 140.3 be amended as follows: The Treasurer shall – 3. He shall pay to the Supreme Council all moneys assessed by it or the Board of Directors against his council upon order drawn and signed by the Financial Secretary and countersigned by the Grand Knight.

Payment to the Supreme Council shall be by check, money order or draft, payable to Knights of Columbus, Supreme Council� and no other form of payment shall be received by the Supreme Secretary nor shall any other form of payment discharge the subordinate council of its obligation; and FURTHER RESOLVED, that Section 140.4 be amended as follows: The Treasurer shall – (4) He shall pay all orders drawn on him which are signed by the Financial Secretary and countersigned by the Grand Knight. All such orders shall have the approval of the Board of Trustees, except demands of the Supreme Council, Board of Directors or State Councils, and the regular and usual stated payments of the council and payments authorized by the council after notice and vote in accordance with Section 122. Payment of all orders shall be by check, money order or draft signed by the Treasurer and countersigned by the Grand Knight.

RESOLUTION NO. 284 REPEALING SECTION 244 OF THE LAWS OF THE ORDER NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that Section 244 of the Laws of the Order be repealed.

OFFICIAL OCTOBER 1, 2020: 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 06507-9982. 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 06507-9982.

COLUMBIA (ISSN 0010-1869/USPS #123-740) IS PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS, 1 COLUMBUS PLAZA, NEW HAVEN, CT 06510-3326. PHONE: 203-752-4000, www.kofc.org. PRODUCED IN USA. COPYRIGHT Š 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, P.O. BOX 554, ELMSFORD, NY 10523.

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.

40 ♌ C O L U M B I A ♌

OCTOBER 2020

T

he Catholic Press Association of the United States & Canada honored Columbia with 39 awards — 10 first-place, six second-place, nine third-place and 14 honorable mentions — for content published in 2019.

The awards were announced at the conclusion of the annual Catholic Media Conference, which was held virtually June 30 – July 2.

The first-place honors included several awards for photography among Catholic magazines. Two photos that were taken at last year’s Supreme Convention and published in October 2019 Angela Riley of the Pueblo of Laguna, N.M., holds a were named “Best Photorelic of St. Kateri Tekakwitha during a votive Mass graph, Color� and “Best of St. Kateri at last year’s Supreme Convention in Photograph, News Photo,�

Minneapolis. The photo, by Tamino PetelinĹĄek, received respectively. A feature chrona first-place Catholic Press Award in the magazine icling the national St. Jean category “Best Photograph, Color.â€?

Vianney relic tour in the September 2019 issue received the top prize for “Best Photo Story, News.� “The Weight of Valor,� an interview with Medal of Honor recipient Edward Byers Jr. in the November 2019 issue won first place for “Best Interview,� and its opening photograph was named “Best Photograph, Feature Photo.�

Supreme Chaplain Archbishop William Lori’s monthly column placed first for “Best Regular Column, Spiritual Life,� while a pro-life column in the January 2019 issue won first place for “Best Editorial.� “The Resurrection of the Flying Fathers,� an April 2019 feature story about a hockey team of Canadian priests, received first place for “Best Sports Reporting.� And for the second year in a row, Columbia was recognized for “Best Coverage, Disaster or Crises.� The first-place entry included stories and interviews focused on the Order’s response to forest fires in California (February), floods in Nebraska (May) and the sexual abuse crisis (September).

The K of C Communications Department was also recognized at the awards session, placing in several multimedia categories, including “Best New Website� and “Best Audio/Video Interview.�

To view all of Columbia’s 2019 award-winning content, visit kofc.org/columbia.♌

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that Section 54 be amended as follows:

OCT 20 C3 EFS.qxp_Layout 1 9/17/20 3:36 PM Page 41

K N IG H T S O F C O LU M BU S

© David Tucker — USA TODAY NETWORK

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

TO

BE FEATURED HERE , SEND YOUR COUNCIL’ S

C OLUMBIA , 1 C OLUMBUS P LAZA , N EW

A Fourth Degree color corps of Corpus Christi Assembly 2810 leads a procession Sept. 11 on the Flagler Beach Pier to commemorate the victims of the 2001 terrorist attacks. Notre Dame Council 10514 in Flagler Beach, Fla., has hosted the remembrance ceremony annually for 19 years.

“K NIGHTS IN A CTION ” H AVEN , CT 06510-3326

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

OCTOBER 2020

♦ COLUMBIA ♦ 41

OCT 20 ENG COVERS 9_16 FINAL.qxp_Layout 1 9/17/20 7:49 AM Page 42

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

K EEP T H E FA IT H A LIV E

‘GOD’S TIMING IS ALWAYS PERFECT.’

FATHER JONATHAN SCHNOBRICH Diocese of Burlington Sheridan Council 421, St. Johnsbury, Vt.

Though I was raised in a Catholic family and blessed with good priests throughout my life, the priesthood did not attract me when I was young. In fact, during college, I didn’t even practice the faith.

The Lord eventually led me back to the Church, and when he began to call me to the priesthood, I was both terrified and excited. He was asking me to sacrifice my will and to trust and follow him. This meant breaking up with the girl I was dating and placing my desires for fatherhood and family into his hands. But the more I prayed, the more appealing the priesthood became.

Jesus never asks for more than he gives. When I decided to go to seminary, my heart was filled with the peace that only Christ can provide. And throughout my formation, the Knights in my council and diocese supported me.

Had I been called when I was younger, I wouldn’t have been mature enough in my faith to answer with the generosity and trust that led me to the priesthood. God’s timing is always perfect.