3 For the greater glory of God
Cor offers Knights and other Catholic men a way to deepen their relationship with Christ and one another.
By Supreme Knight Patrick E. Kelly
4 Learning the faith, living the faith
Whether experiencing joy or facing crisis and sorrow, we are called to place our hope in the Lord.
By Supreme Chaplain Archbishop William E. LoriWood from the home of Jozef and Wiktoria Ulma — who will be beatified with their seven children Sept. 10 in Poland — is pictured with a rosary made from a tree in their hometown of Markowa. All nine members of the Ulma family were martyred during World War II for hiding Jews.
6 Knights of Columbus News College K of C Leaders Participate in World Youth Day • Knights in Canada Deliver Wildfire Relief
7 Fathers for Good
In a society awash in pornography, we need to take practical steps to safeguard our families and ourselves.
By Ryan Foley26 Knights in Action
Reports from councils and assemblies, representing Faith in Action
30 Scholarship Recipients
For 75 years, the Order’s Catholic Information Service has been quietly spreading the teachings of the Church and transforming lives.
By Andrew J. Matt14 18
8 22
Knights at the George Washington University support vulnerable women and children at D.C. pregnancy resource center.
By Cecilia EngbertJózef and Wiktoria Ulma, killed in 1944 for hiding Jews, will be beatified this month with their seven children.
By Robert MixaThe Order helps care for internally displaced persons through medical partnerships in Ukraine.
By Mateusz Ziomber and Columbia staffON THE COVER
Christ is depicted speaking with the Samaritan woman at the well as recounted in the Gospel of John (4:4-42).
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.
kofc.org/join
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AS A HIGH SCHOOL freshman in rural, southern Kansas, Dennis Reed stumbled upon a newspaper ad noting the peculiar practices of Catholics. It was the early 1950s, a decade before the Second Vatican Council, and the Knights of Columbus Religious Information Bureau was o ering free pamphlets and a correspondence course to anyone interested in learning more about the Catholic faith. Intrigued, Reed requested the pamphlet, and much to his Methodist parents’ chagrin, he not only completed the six-month course but also began going to Mass. Reed entered the Catholic Church upon graduating high school and later went on to become a priest (and Knight), serving nearly four decades until his death in 2006.
In its 75-year history, the Orderwide catechetical initiative, which since 1971 has operated as the Catholic Information Service, has changed the direction of countless people’s lives. In a le er to Redemptorist Father John V. McGuire, the rst director of CIS, one person described this change shortly before receiving the sacraments of initiation at the Easter Vigil in 1979: “Earlier this week at confession I traded 56 years of an aimless, sinful life for the promised ‘peace of God which surpasseth all understanding’” (Phil 4:7). Catechizing Catholics and non-Catholics alike, the Catholic Information Service continues to provide resources promoting the Church’s mission of evangelization — a mission that is also ours, as an Order and as individual Knights.
Blessed Michael McGivney founded the Knights of Columbus as an organization of Catholic laymen dedicated to strengthening the family and building up the Church. In so doing, he understood well what was later articulated by the Second Vatican Council: By virtue of their
baptism, the lay faithful “are in their own way made sharers in the priestly, prophetical, and kingly functions of Christ; and they carry out for their own part the mission of the whole Christian people in the Church and in the world” (Lumen Gentium, 31). Moreover, laypeople are called to holiness and to “work for the sancti cation of the world from within as a leaven. In this way they may make Christ known to others, especially by the testimony of a life resplendent in faith, hope and charity” (ibid.).
e Order’s initiatives today — including Cor, which is supported by the ongoing e orts of the Catholic Information Service and other resources — all serve this founding mission and purpose. In particular, the Faith in Action program model focuses our activities on four categories of apostolic work: growing in faith; protecting the family and building the domestic church; serving the community with love for our neighbor; and promoting the dignity of all human life ese themes are re ected throughout this issue of Columbia — and pu ing them into practice helps us to answer what St. John Paul II called, at the turn of the millennium, “essential questions which no one can avoid: What have I done with my baptism and con rmation? Is Christ truly the center of my life? Do I make room for daily prayer? Do I live my life as a vocation and a mission?” Jesus, he added, continues to call us to be “the salt of the earth” and “the light of the world.” erefore, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Mt 5:13,14,16). B
Alton J. Pelowski, Editor
The Order’s new Men of the Word Bible study provides an overview of salvation history from Genesis to Jesus Christ. The 150-page guide is organized into 12 sections, including eight group study sessions and four sessions incorporating lectio divina — a meditative reading of Scripture — prompting participants to reflect on and pray about Scripture’s message to Catholic men today. Men of the Word and other resources can be ordered through the Catholic Information Service’s online store at kofc.org/shopcis.
PUBLISHER
Knights of Columbus
SUPREME OFFICERS
Patrick E. Kelly
Supreme Knight
Most Rev. William E. Lori, S.T.D. Supreme Chaplain
Arthur L. Peters
Deputy Supreme Knight
Patrick T. Mason
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
Elisha Valladares-Cormier
Associate Editor
Paul Haring
Manager of Photography
Blessed 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
COLUMBIA
1 Columbus Plaza New Haven, CT 06510-3326
columbia@kofc.org
kofc.org/columbia
ADDRESS CHANGES
203-752-4210, option #3 addresschange@kofc.org
COLUMBIA INQUIRIES
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K OF C CUSTOMER SERVICE
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AMONG THE highlights of the 141st Supreme Convention last month in Orlando, Florida, was the papal message, in which the greetings of Pope Francis were conveyed in an official letter from the Vatican secretary of state. The message, which will be printed in its entirety in the October issue of Columbia, was important for many reasons.
I was especially struck that the message singled out our efforts to accompany Catholic men in their vocations: “His Holiness appreciates initiatives of your Order, such as Cor, which enable Catholic men to build a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ through prayer, formation and fraternity.”
Why would the Holy Father’s attention be drawn to this initiative? Because, as his message explains, Cor is “all the more necessary today amid the distractions of everyday life and a culture frequently indifferent to the reality of faith.” Quite simply, the Knights are taking up Cor because we are reading “the signs of the times.” Our world and our Church desperately need men who are willing to embrace their vocation as Christians, husbands and fathers. And there is no better way to make this happen than to bring men together with a focus on prayer, formation and fraternity. The goal of Cor is straightforward: to bring men into the abundant life to which Christ has called them.
After a successful pilot program in 21 jurisdictions, we are starting to roll Cor out to the entire Order. Last month, we released a Bible study called Men of the Word, designed to help Catholic men pray with Scripture. And soon we will be releasing a video series on marriage, family and fatherhood.
These resources are important for Cor, but perhaps our most important resource is one another — the men who come together to deepen their faith during Cor gatherings. The third pillar of Cor is fraternity, or friendship, and this is its ultimate resource: Our brotherhood in Christ is the glue that will hold it all together.
Cor gives men a place to come together as brothers for spiritual conversations in an atmosphere of mutual trust and respect. Nothing is more powerful than prayer and faith formation in the context of Christian friendship. When I look back at my own life, I realize that little has been more important to my own spiritual growth than the support and encouragement of trusted friends. These friendships help bring light and truth — God himself. As the spiritual writer Venerable Tomás Morales put it: “Friendship holds the secret of the apostolic potential of a Christian.”
Cor will give us the opportunity to grow closer in friendship to one another, but also, crucially, to Christ himself. The papal message noted that the real goal of Cor is to build “a strong and vital relationship with our Lord [which] not only leads to personal sanctification, but is also essential for the healthy development of family life.” This friendship with Christ is the pearl of great price (Mt 13:44). It is the secret to authentic happiness. Cor doesn’t replace anything we do. Instead, it will enhance everything we do, including our most fundamental mission. Father McGivney founded the Order in 1882 to strengthen the faith of Catholic men and their families. Cor is deeply connected to this founding vision.
A recent study showed that fewer than 10% of Catholic millennials in the United States actively practice their faith today. This crisis has touched nearly every Catholic family. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Cor will help men deepen their faith so they can pass it on more effectively to their children and grandchildren.
We live in a time when men are hungry to live a life of meaning and mission in Jesus Christ, a time when our wives and families desperately need us to embrace our vocation as Christian husbands, fathers and leaders. Our time has come to step boldly into that breach.
Vivat Jesus!
When I look back at my own life, I realize that little has been more important to my own spiritual growth than the support and encouragement of trusted friends.
THE WORDS “In God We Trust,” adopted as the official motto of the United States in 1956, can be found in public places such as courtrooms and are still printed on U.S. currency today. These words should be more than a slogan. If asked whether we trust in God, we would probably answer yes. But perhaps we need to probe the depth of our trust in God.
When a tragedy strikes, such as the unexpected death of a loved one or a life-threatening illness, our trust in God is tested. When we face profound disappointment or anxiety — not merely a temporary setback, but rather the potential ruination of all that we have worked for — our trust in God is tested. When we are scandalized by the reprehensible behavior of Church leaders, our trust in God is tested.
Sadly, not everyone passes the test. In my many years as a priest and bishop, I have met more than a few people who have not only lost trust in the Church but who no longer trust in God. In some cases, their trust eroded over years, as life’s problems and disappointments mounted. Others lose their trust in God when they experience a cataclysmic, life-changing event.
None of us, myself included, is immune from crises and betrayals. The question is not whether we will experience such things, but how we will respond to them. My humble suggestion is that such events, whether big or small, should prompt us to renew our trust in God, and even more than that, to entrust our very lives to God and to his providence.
The Psalms often speak of being alone and betrayed by both friends and enemies. They remind us not only of human fickleness but also the unreliability of alliances with powerful people and the instruments of power. “Put no trust in princes, in children of Adam powerless to save” (Ps 146:3). “Some rely
on chariots, others on horses, but we on the name of the Lord our God” (Ps 20:8). The same could be said of perennial idols such as money, pleasure and power. Psalm 135 says of our idols, “They have mouths that do not speak; they have eyes that do not see; they have ears that do not hear; nor is there breath in their mouths. Their makers shall become like them” (16-18).
But these warnings do not stand alone. Our experience of God’s love confirms what Scripture proclaims. And the overwhelming message of Scripture, from start to finish, is the trustworthiness of God — the God who keeps his covenant for a thousand generations (Dt 7:9), who bears our burdens day by day (Ps 68), who numbers even the hairs on our head (Mt 10:30), and who so loved the world that he gave us his only Son (Jn 3:16). No one is more worthy of our trust than God. Our hope in him, as St. Paul teaches, “does not disappoint” (Rom 5:5). He also says, “God is faithful and will not let you be tried beyond your strength” (1 Cor 10:13).
Beyond trusting God during times of trouble or trusting God in this or that matter, we should entrust our whole life to him. In this, we have the saints as models. Accepting his unique vocation with faithful obedience, St. Joseph entrusted the whole of his life to the providential love of God. Such trust in God also shines forth in the example of Blessed Michael McGivney, including his bold initiative to found the Knights of Columbus.
Each morning, couples should join in prayer, entrusting themselves and their families to God. We priests should entrust our lives and ministries to God. Those searching for their vocation should do likewise. Regardless of circumstances, let us each entrust ourselves anew to God. As Psalm 37 affirms, “Trust in him, and he will act” (5). B
The question is not whether we will experience crises and betrayals, but how we will respond to them. ... Such events, whether big or small, should prompt us to renew our trust in God.
A monthly reflection and practical challenge from Supreme Chaplain Archbishop William E. Lori
“Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” (Gospel for Sept. 10, Mt 18:20)
Christ is present to us in many different ways: in his Word, in the Mass, in the community of believers at prayer, and in the poor, vulnerable and suffering among us. He is especially present in the Eucharist, his true body and blood, soul and divinity. Let us also be mindful of his presence in the person of his priest, who is an alter Christus (another Christ), as he offers the sacraments to the faithful. May we always be aware of Christ’s presence with us.
FRANCISCAN FATHER Pedro de Corpa believed the key to evangelizing the New World was to imitate Christ. As providence would have it, he was killed on the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, martyred for affirming the Christian teaching on marriage.
De Corpa was born in central Spain and joined the Franciscans around 1577. He was ordained a priest and served as a preacher and confessor for several years before joining other friars in 1587 to establish missions in present-day Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.
Fray Pedro began his mission work in Spanish Florida, but by 1590 was assigned to the Tolomato mission in Guale, an Indigenous chiefdom in present-day coastal Georgia. He learned the Guale language and is said to have been singularly successful in evangelizing the Native Americans. Alonso de Escobedo, a fellow Franciscan friar, later said of him, “Being a wise and holy man, the love of God burned in his heart.”
Nonetheless, Fray Pedro and other friars struggled to convince the Guales, whose culture allowed polygamy, to
Sept. 8 The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Sept. 9 St. Peter Claver, Priest (USA)
Sept. 13 St. John Chrysostom, Bishop and Doctor of the Church
Challenge: This month, I challenge you to support your parish priest in some tangible way, even by simply writing a note to tell him that you appreciate his service and sacrifice. Second, I challenge you to support the Faith in Action Refund Support Vocations Program (RSVP).
EDITOR’S NOTE: For reflection questions and future monthly challenges from the supreme chaplain, visit kofc.org/monthlychallenge .
Sept. 14 The Exaltation of the Holy Cross
Sept. 15 Our Lady of Sorrows
Sept. 16 Sts. Cornelius, Pope, and Cyprian, Bishop, Martyrs
Sept. 20 Sts. Andrew Kim Tae-gŏn, Priest, and Paul Chŏng Ha-sang, and Companions, Martyrs
Sept. 21 St. Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist
Sept. 23 St. Pius of Pietrelcina, Priest
Sept. 27 St. Vincent de Paul, Priest
Sept. 29 Sts. Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, Archangels
Sept. 30 St. Jerome, Doctor of the Church
accept Christ’s teaching that marriage is a lifetime union between one man and one woman. Trouble arose when Juanillo, an aspiring chief and recent convert, decided to take a second wife; Fray Pedro admonished him and withdrew support for his leadership bid.
Juanillo rallied a war party to eliminate the friars, beginning with the brutal murder of Fray Pedro as he prepared to celebrate Mass on Sept. 14, 1597. Over the next four days, four more Franciscans at local missions were killed for their defense of Christian marriage.
The cause for canonization of Father Pedro de Corpa and companions, known as the Georgia Martyrs, was opened in 1984 by the Diocese of Savannah. B
We pray for those persons living on the margins of society, in inhumane life conditions; may they not be overlooked by institutions and never considered of lesser importance.
AMONG COUNTLESS ags waving in Lisbon, Portugal, last month, the ag of the Order was carried by a group of college Knights as they took part in World Youth Day 2023.
e eight students of the Knights of Columbus College Councils Advisory Board joined hundreds of thousands of young people from around the world Aug. 1-6 for prayer, liturgy, catechesis and fellowship. An estimated 1.5 million participants — three times the population of Lisbon itself — a ended the culminating Mass, celebrated by Pope Francis on the feast of the Trans guration.
e day before, the Knights trekked with the crowd several miles to the Mass site, a park outside the city. at evening, they prayed together before the Blessed Sacrament before spending the night in the open air.
“It was de nitely a special experience,” said Grand Knight Gabriel Abood of St. Ann’s Council 12572 at the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania. “ e entire crowd went quiet when we began adoration. You really couldn’t hear a word.”
Pope Francis, in his homily the next morning, urged young people to take inspiration from Christ’s words to the apostles a er the Trans guration — repeated o en by St. John Paul II — “Do not be afraid.”
“ e Church and the world need you, the young, as much as the earth needs rain,” he said. “To all of you, dear young people, who are the present and the future, yes to all of you, Jesus now says: ‘Have no fear,’ ‘Do not be afraid!’”
Other Knights from around the world were present at the international event, including Knights from several councils in Mexico South, traveling with a delegation from the Archdiocese of Yucatán. Still more K of C councils were instrumental in sponsoring young people from their communities so they could a end.
At the end of the papal Mass, Pope Francis announced that World Youth Day 2027 will be held in Seoul, South Korea. B
KNIGHTS DISTRIBUTED thousands of dollars of assistance from the Order’s Disaster Relief Fund to help families a ected by wild res in Alberta this past spring and summer.
While res have burned across Canada this year, Alberta has been hit particularly hard: Fires have forced the evacuations of thousands of people from northern towns, and the province declared a state of emergency in May.
In June, Immediate Past State Deputy Gaston Launière traveled to northern Alberta and the Northwest Territory to personally deliver the aid where it was most needed. A er ying to Yellowknife, capital of the Northwest Territory, he drove hundreds of miles south, bringing bo led water to small towns, such as Hay River and High Level, and to First Nation reserves.
Launière and several other Alberta Knights embarked on a second trip in July to communities west and north of Edmonton, many of which had recently been ooded as well. With guidance from parish priests and K of C councils, they made donations to several families to help pay for damaged homes or the expenses incurred by evacuating, supplementing the hands-on help already o ered by local Knights.
With wild res still burning, Launière planned to deliver aid to other a ected towns in the coming months.
“Knights of Columbus do not leave neighbors behind,” Launière said. “ at’s exactly why we’re doing this.” B
In a society awash in pornography, we need to take practical steps to safeguard our families and ourselves
By Ryan FoleyHAVING WORKED for years to help parents protect themselves and their children from pornography, I’ve thought and prayed a lot about this social scourge and how to ght it. Based on this experience, here are ve pieces of practical advice that I hope will help men to nd and foster true freedom.
Forgive yourself for your first exposure. Most initial encounters with pornography take place in the preteen years and are not premeditated. O en, they occur because a family member le printed materials accessible or the internet un ltered. Nevertheless, such exposure can begin a shame cycle that continues for years. Stopping the cycle requires taking one small positive action a er another, availing yourself of God’s grace through the sacraments of confession and the Eucharist, and redirecting the mind and will toward virtue. e rst action I recommend is to recall that initial exposure — and forgive yourself for what wasn’t fully your fault.
Tell your story. Exposure to porn is part of nearly every man’s story; no one is alone in this ba le, and hiding this part of our story allows it to control our lives. Healing and longterm freedom come from bringing what is in darkness into the light (cf. Eph 6:12-14). If you can, share your story with someone who will listen in con dence and with understanding — perhaps your wife, a trusted friend, a spiritual director or priest. Telling someone about your experience with porn might feel like the end of the world, but you may nd it is the beginning of a new life and a healthier perspective.
Go on offense. If you currently struggle with pornography, you must take an active role in understanding your desires and behaviors. The continued consumption of pornography is often a coping mechanism to distract from past traumas, anxiety, stress, loneliness and other negative experiences. Pornography may relieve these feelings temporarily, but the relief doesn’t last and propels you into a cycle of shame and compulsion. Seek to understand and address the root causes of your actions.
Establish accountability. Many men are too con dent in their ability to resist temptation. ey tend to rely on their
willpower alone and underestimate the neurological e ects of images that are designed to elicit arousal. e moment such an image appears, you are at a disadvantage. Hormones and neurotransmi ers that normally prepare us for bonding and intimacy are activated and in uence your decision-making. At this point of extreme vulnerability, you’d be er have a Plan B. I recommend accountability so ware to help you think more critically about your choices online. Knowing that your wife, a good friend or a mentor will receive a noti cation of concerning online activity can help you resist the desire to view porn and lead you to make be er choices.
Protect your family. Today, kids are given unimpeded and unparalleled access to harmful online content. Before handing your child an internet-connected device, set the parental controls and secure your entire home with a parental-control router. If you’re not willing to protect the device, you shouldn’t provide it to your child.
If you catch your child viewing explicit content, resist the temptation to shame him or her. Instead, let your rst expression be one of sincere apology and loving concern. Apologize for not securing your children’s devices or instructing them on the dangers, and thus leaving them vulnerable.
Children need and want boundaries, protection and the knowledge that they can come to their father with their faults, feelings and experiences. Strong family connections, not shame-based parenting, go a long way in protecting children and teens from the dangers of pornography.
Like any other important family issue, pornography requires mature evaluation and practical planning. Looking the other way is negligent and reckless parenting. As men and fathers, we are responsible for providing, protecting, sacri cing and making di cult decisions and behavior changes. With God’s ever-present help and his sacramental graces, it’s possible to ght porn and gain the freedom of virtue. B
“Ifirst came to know the work of the Knights of Columbus while incarcerated,” a former prison inmate wrote to the Order’s Catholic Information Service office last November. “I was blessed to learn many things about the Catholic Faith thanks to you all, and my life has been changed. It is with great pleasure that I am able to contribute this small donation of $25 to aid in your work. May God bless you.”
is is but one of the hundreds of le ers received each year from people who have bene ted from the Catholic booklets, correspondence courses and devotional materials published by CIS. e Knights of Columbus has been making these materials available at no or low cost for more than 75 years, ever since the Supreme Council adopted an innovative evangelization initiative in 1948.
The Order has distributed more than 10 million booklets in that time, and more than 1 million people have completed a CIS catechetical course. Today, the Catholic Information Service offers more than 80 booklets and devotional publications.
Catholic Information Service sta have also been busy developing new resources — including the Men of the Word Bible study — in support of Cor, an initiative to help Knights and others deepen their relationship with Christ through prayer, formation and fraternity.
“So much depends on our commitment to our mission,” Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly said in his annual report at the 141st Supreme Convention last month. “Will we be credible witnesses to a living faith? Will we stand for the
truth without apology and without counting the cost? Our answer is the same as Father McGivney’s: Yes! … These new initiatives will further strengthen us in our Catholic faith, and they’ll complement the already robust offerings of our Catholic Information Service.”
e Catholic Information Service traces its roots to 1944, when two brothers with advertising expertise — Charles Kelly, a member of Marque e Council 606 in St. Louis, and his brother Virgil — proposed a novel way to disseminate Catholic truth and dispel anti-Catholic myths: buying advertising space in secular newspapers. Each ad would feature a short, engaging anecdote and explanation about a Catholic topic, along with a coupon to request a free pamphlet; the pamphlet in turn would come with an application for a free Catholic home study course by mail.
e Missouri State Council embraced the idea and quickly established a Religious Information Bureau, directed by Vincentian Father Lester Fallon, to oversee the new Catholic Advertising Program and correspondence course.
Beginning in June 1944, the program placed 52 ads in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. e response exceeded all expectations. More than 12,000 requests for pamphlets were received, and more than 300 non-Catholics enrolled in the home study course. Momentum grew in subsequent cam-
paigns, a racting interest and nancial support from councils throughout Missouri.
en-Supreme Advocate Luke Hart, who practiced law in St. Louis, gave his enthusiastic support to the campaign from the start. By 1947, he was advocating for the Supreme Council to adopt the program, and that year the Knights of Columbus Board of Directors approved funding for a nationwide test run.
e inaugural campaign ran for six months, from January to July 1948, a racting more than 100,000 requests for free pamphlets and inspiring more than 7,200 non-Catholics to enroll in the home study course.
When the question of whether to continue the program was considered at the 66th Supreme Convention that August, Hart made a rousing appeal: “We must ask ourselves: What greater service could the Knights of Columbus render the Catholic Church?” he said. “Nothing that we ever have done, in my opinion, has helped so many people, brought so much favorable comment to the Order, or done so much to dissipate false propaganda against our faith.”
e delegates gave their unanimous approval, and the board later passed an 80-cent annual per-capita assessment for the funding of the advertising program, which expanded to Canada in 1949.
A year later, Msgr. Giovanni B. Montini — the Vatican undersecretary of state who would later become Pope Paul VI — conveyed greetings of Pope Pius XII to the 68th Supreme
Convention, noting, “It was a source of comfort and satisfaction for the paternal heart of the Ponti to learn that the traditional record of the Knights of Columbus in defending Catholic doctrine and in disseminating Catholic truth has been maintained during the past year.” e Holy Father, he added, was particularly grati ed to know that the Catholic Advertising Program, “so steadfastly and zealously conducted, has borne such rich spiritual fruits.”
Demand for materials accelerated during Hart’s tenure as supreme knight from 1953 to 1964. By the time he died in 1964, the catalog included publications for parishes, schools, seminaries and retreat houses, correctional facilities, military installations and VA centers, hospitals and nursing homes.
K of C historian Christopher J. Kau man, comparing the evangelization campaign to the Order’s headlinegrabbing purchase of the land under Yankee Stadium in 1953, later wrote, “ e Yankee Stadium deal may have brought the Order international noto -
riety, but it was Hart’s championing of the Catholic Advertising program, the predecessor of the Catholic Information Service (CIS), which is his true legacy to the Order and the Church.” e unprecedented breadth of the advertising apostolate demonstrated the power of Blessed Michael McGivney’s vision for the Knights and anticipated the Second Vatican Council’s emphasis on the role of the laity in the mission of the Church.
Supreme Knight John McDevitt noted in his first annual report, delivered in 1964, while the Council was in session, “The Catholic Advertising Program … continues to be the most far-reaching and successful contribution by laymen to the propagation of the faith.” Apostolicam Actuositatem , Vatican II’s decree on the apostolic work of the laity, was issued the following year.
In 1969, as the new Supreme Council headquarters building was completed, McDevi announced that the bureau would relocate from St. Louis
to New Haven, Connecticut, and come under the direction of Redemptorist Father John V. McGuire. e name of the evangelization program would likewise change, in 1971, to the Catholic Information Service.
During the tenures of Supreme Knight Virgil Dechant and Supreme Knight Carl Anderson, the catalog of CIS booklets was reorganized into two main series. e Veritas series examines particular aspects of Catholic belief and practice; the 30-booklet Hart series, commissioned by Dechant and wri en by popular author Peter Kree , presents the content of the Catechism of the Catholic Church in concise, reader-friendly form.
A New Evangelization Series was introduced in 2012, and another series, Building the Domestic Church, followed in 2016. at same year, CIS began distributing a study guide for Into the Breach, the apostolic exhortation to Catholic men by Bishop omas Olmsted of Phoenix.
CIS continues to expand its o erings each year and o ers all its publications in print and digital formats. Many are available as audio books as well. e Order has also sought to reach a wider audience in the last two decades by translating CIS resources into Spanish and French; about half of the publications are available in French, and almost all are available in Spanish.
Deacon Tony Hogervorst made use of these resources in 2020, when COVID-19 struck the Diocese of London, Ontario, where he served as the diocesan migrant worker ministry specialist from 2018 to 2021.
“All of a sudden, nobody could go anywhere or see anybody,” recalled Hogervorst, who is a member of St. Isidore the Farmer Council 10141 in Watford, where he also runs a farm that employs migrant workers, primarily from Mexico. Looking for a way to serve the spiritual needs of the migrant worker community during the initial quarantine, Deacon Hogervorst turned to the Catholic Information Service.
“I’d heard somewhere about the Spanish booklets from Knights of Columbus, and I especially liked the fact that there were audio versions of most of them,” Hogervorst explained. “So, we included a CIS link on the diocesan website.”
As the pandemic began to subside, Hogervorst ordered copies of many of the booklets for distribution to the diocese’s Spanish-language ministry locations for the migrant workers, where Spanish Masses are held weekly or monthly.
“They bring in anywhere from 40 to 80 workers,” he said. “And at the dinners after Mass, the men and women who were interested grab up those booklets with thank-yous.”
Deacon Hogervorst also makes booklets available to the migrant workers on his farm, and currently is waiting for a back order of the Building the Domestic Church series to arrive.
“I just want to help them be loyal to their families while away from home,” he said. “If I make a difference, it’s for the sake of their families.”
While the Catholic Information Service continues its original mission to evangelize non-Catholics and inactive Catholics — for example, 56% of those enrolled in the Catholic correspondence course are prison inmates — regular Mass-goers can also benefit from the spiritual formation
CIS offers, and many councils make CIS booklets available for free in their parishes.
In New Braunfels, Texas, Michael Parma said he has a hard time keeping the booklet rack at Sts. Peter and Paul Parish stocked with CIS materials, both in English and Spanish.
“What we ordered during COVID lasted two years, so when I put in the next order for 2,700 booklets, I figured it would last a while,” said Parma, who serves as CIS coordinator for New Braunfels Council 4183. “No — six months later we had gone through them all.”
Some books don’t even make it to the rack.
“I also have folks that raid the cabinet in the family room where we store all the books,” he said with a laugh. “I think there’s a priest who comes in and takes booklets to one of the hospitals when he makes his rounds.”
The titles that disappear fastest are Into the Breach , the Hart series on the Catechism , and Armed with the Faith , a Catholic handbook for service members that the Order developed 20 years ago with the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA.
“We’ve got a really strong military presence here, with four or five military bases outside of San Antonio,” Parma said. “So Armed with the Faith has been popular.”
With Cor , the Order’s new initiative aimed at strengthening the spiritual lives of Knights and other men, Catholic Information Service will play a key role in providing new faith formation and evangelization resources.
Jason Staas, a K of C general agent in Columbus, Ohio, who participated in the Cor pilot program earlier this year, has seen the Into the Breach video series and study guide have a powerful impact on agents and other Knights.
“We’re better for being formed spiritually,” Staas said. “And that’s where, looking forward, the Catholic Information Service will be absolutely critical in making sure that we’re equipped and formed in our faith, so that we can truly become that strong right arm of the Church.”
CIS is currently preparing additional spiritual formation materials. Supplemental videos to accompany the newly released Men of the Word Bible study are currently in production. Discussion guides on Sacramentum Caritatis (Pope Benedict XVI’s apostolic exhortation on the Eucharist) and Evangelium Vitae (St. John Paul II’s encyclical on the Gospel of Life) will be the next installments of the new
Cor Ecclesiae Series, which launched earlier this year with a guide on Patris Corde (Pope Francis’ apostolic letter on St. Joseph).
An audio version of the Luke E. Hart series on the Catechism titled The Practical Catholic will be released as a podcast in the near future. Finally, Vivat Jesus 2024 , the personal prayer planner for next year, will be released November 2023.
Tony Boehk, the evangelization and faith formation director for the Maryland State Council, believes the forthcoming CIS resources will have a big impact.
“
Cor is starting to gain ground in Maryland. More and more men, as they become aware of it, want to start it,” Boehk said. “We’re looking forward to the new CIS materials after we finish the 12-part Into the Breach series.”
Boehk was particularly excited to know that the Sacramentum Caritatis guide will be released during the National Eucharistic Revival, complementing other resources the Order has produced in support of the U.S. bishops’ three-year initiative, and that the Men of the Word Bible study would soon be widely available.
“I’m really looking forward to the
fact that there’s a Bible study geared to men and to the Knights of Columbus — it’s going to be huge,” he said. “We’re going to be guiding our men toward these promising CIS resources.”
These new materials are designed to meet the needs of rapidly changing times. As Supreme Knight Kelly noted in his annual report, “The culture is growing more hostile to our faith. And the two institutions that are most essential to human flourishing — the family and the Church — are facing mounting threats.”
But just as it has done for more than 75 years, the Order will help equip Knights and others to respond to such challenges with compelling resources, clearly articulating the truths of the Catholic faith.
“CIS has helped millions of Catholics deepen their understanding of the faith,” the supreme knight affirmed. “And we will continue to take up the mission of evangelization — in our hearts and in our communities.”
For more information, and to order resources, visit kofc.org/shopcis B
Knights at the George Washington University support vulnerable women and children at D.C. pregnancy resource center
By Cecilia Engbert
Janet Durig, executive director of the Capitol Hill Pregnancy Center, proudly watched a group of college Knights unload and sort boxes of clothes, diapers and other donated infant supplies one morning in February.
It was a welcome but not an unfamiliar sight. In the past six years, members of George Washington University Council 13242 have regularly volunteered at the center, a nonprofit organization in Washington, D.C., that aids women and families experiencing crisis pregnancies.
“They’re literally showing the love of Christ,” Durig said. “They’re witnessing to the world that doing good and being of service is what really counts.”
In recognition of its service and ongoing commitment to the pregnancy resource center, Council 13242 received the Life
award at the annual College Councils Conference last year. Just a few months earlier, in the weeks before the overturn of Roe v. Wade in June 2022, Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly announced the Order’s ASAP (Aid and Support After Pregnancy) program. Launched July 1, 2022, the initiative to strengthen support of pregnancy resource centers and maternity homes raised more than $6 million in its first year.
Tens of thousands of unborn lives have been saved in the United States since the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization . But for the Knights and others standing on the front lines, the fight for life continues.
“The Knights’ mission to support mothers in need and their children is a sacred responsibility we’ve carried for over 140 years,” said Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly in a June statement on the anniversary of the Dobbs decision. He concluded, “Together, more than 2 million strong, the Knights of Columbus will continue to serve as a voice for the sanctity and dignity of every human life.”
The GW Knights have been more motivated than ever since the fall of Roe , the launch of ASAP and the recognition of the Life Award.
Miguel Solis, grand knight of Council 13242 for this academic year, said, “It encourages us to keep going, to keep doing this work, no matter how small it might seem — because it’s something that has a very real, tangible impact.”
Throughout her 20 years at the Capitol Hill Pregnancy Center, Janet Durig has witnessed the hands-on impact that Knights in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia have made. She is especially proud of the George Washington University council members who have a history of sacrificing their Saturday mornings to help with maintenance, yard work or other chores at the center.
“I praise God for all the volunteers. Without them, we couldn’t keep the doors open. They come in and they’re willing to just scrub the floors and clean the building,” Durig said. “They’ve even folded baby clothes in the past; they don’t always fold them well, but they do fold them,” she added with a smile.
As community director for the council during the 2017-2018 academic year, Jared Bulla saw a need for more community service in the U.S. capital. He reached out to the Capitol Hill Pregnancy Center, aware that past GW Knights had occasionally helped there before.
“I knew immediately that the center is doing real work in real communities,” said Bulla, who later became grand knight and now serves as nancial secretary. “Being pro-life is about caring for the whole person. is is a place that deeply, deeply believes that.”
The center seeks to be a voice and a lifeline for not only the unborn but every woman and family in need. This mission is one the Knights have taken to heart as men striving to be examples of responsible, compassionate masculinity.
“We need to show [women] that we are there for them. They need us, and we need them. That’s how God made us,” Bulla said. “That’s why our work with the pregnancy center is so important — because we’re here, we’re listening and we’re showing up.”
During their work days, council members have cleaned the grounds and interiors, moved and painted furniture, sorted donations and shredded old paperwork. In taking care of such manual tasks, they free up time for the CHPC staff to help more women in need of assistance.
Volunteering at the center allowed Justin Rinaldo, deputy grand knight this past year, to relate to the human dignity of the unborn in a very simple, tangible way. While he was sorting diapers one day, it struck him that they were for a person — someone who wasn’t yet born but who needed them soon.
“We’re really dealing with other people, even if they’re a little smaller and less developed than us,” he said. “Our call to help others extends to all human beings.”
Jamie Maloney, director of client and volunteer services at Capitol Hill Pregnancy Center, said she has been encouraged in her own work by the dedication of the college Knights in the pro-life movement.
“It’s really encouraging to see young people engaged and willing to get their hands and their feet dirty, not just saying what they believe but actually doing something,” she said. “To see that servant heart from the Knights of Columbus is not only practically helpful, but very nourishing to our spirits.”
Students at the George Washington University are known for their political involvement, and pro-life advocates on campus have met with pushback
and counterprotests. But the college Knights recognize that their charitable and pro-life work transcends politics, and others at the university have noticed their efforts.
During his junior year, for example, Bulla was surprised and gratified when Council 13242 received an award from the Student Association at the George Washington University for the most impactful community service.
“GW is a very secular institution,” Bulla explained. “And it would shock a lot of people that the most impactful community service was done by this group of Catholic dudes — that we gave the most money and donated the most hours out of any non-Greek fraternal organization on campus. That’s pretty astounding to people.”
Beyond the many hours serving at the pregnancy center, the council also upholds the sanctity of human life by
witnessing to their fellow classmates and citizens in D.C. The Knights partner with the Newman Center and GW Students for Life to make the pro-life message known on campus. They even led the praying of the rosary outside a nearby abortion facility every night during the 2021-2022 academic year.
Last year, the GW Knights donated the funds raised at the council’s annual Knights Charity Gala to the Capitol Hill Pregnancy Center. eir work to build a culture of life also included volunteering at St. Mary’s Court, a nonpro t residence for seniors and persons with accessibility needs. In addition, they supported the Newman Center in several ways and coordinated a consecration to St. Joseph in the spring.
“We are trying every day to be better men, for the Church and for God,” said Logan Earnest, the immediate past grand knight. “As men, it is our role to
be protectors and to defend the innocent. There really isn’t anyone more innocent than an unborn child.”
Bearing Christian witness within a secularized college culture that sees abortion restrictions as a threat to personal freedom will never be easy. But the GW Knights have a solid fraternity that gives them the strength to keep showing up.
“The council has had a very positive impact on campus simply by being present, actively professing faith in Christ and welcoming others,” Earnest said.
Aidan Labadie, chancellor of Council 13242, noted that many college students lack the moral framework to guide their lives but are curious when they see others following their convictions.
“They see people in communion, living a moral life, and it’s very attractive,” he said.
Without the Knights, Labadie said he would never have found so many opportunities to serve the pro-life community or to practice his faith.
“Being a Knight at GW has given me a lot of human materials for living out the faith,” he said. “You need your brothers to constantly push you to be the saint that God has called you to be.”
This academic year, the council plans to continue working hard to support the Capitol Hill Pregnancy Center and to bear witness to the sanctity of life on campus.
“Sometimes you look at the pro-life movement and you think these are far-away issues that might not apply to you,” Solis said. “But there are definitely ways that you can be involved and help out, even in your own small way. And we’re going to keep trying.” B
“I knew immediately that the center is doing real work in real communities. Being pro-life is about caring for the whole person. This is a place that deeply, deeply believes that.”CECILIA ENGBERT is a content producer for the Knights of Columbus communications department.
By Robert Mixa
It was a long Lent for Catholics in Markowa, a town of 4,500 inhabitants in southeastern Poland. e year was 1944, four years into the German occupation. e villagers were looking forward to celebrating Easter, and the liberation from their occupiers that seemed near.
Like their neighbors, Józef and Wiktoria Ulma were preparing for the Holy Week liturgies. But they were also preparing for the birth of their seventh child and the possibility that the eight Jews they sheltered could come out of hiding and live again without fear.
Such anticipations came to an end, however, in the early morning hours of March 24 when German police murdered the entire Ulma family, along with the Jews they had taken in. While they did not live long enough to partake in Holy Week, the Ulmas bore witness to Christ’s death and resurrection with their blood.
On Dec. 17, 2022, the Vatican approved a decree on the martyrdom of the family of Józef and Wiktoria Ulma, paving the way for their beati cation Sept. 10 in a ceremony in Markowa. is is the rst time an entire family will be beati ed together.
“In proclaiming the entire family ‘blessed’ and in the decision to beatify an unborn child, the Church wishes to con rm and emphasize the beauty, importance and sanctity of matrimony and family life,” said Father Witold Burda, the postulator of the Ulma family’s cause for canonization.
Devotion to the Ulmas is spreading around the world, especially among young parents looking for models in the faith. eir beati cation — taking place less than 40 miles (63 kilometers) from the Ukraine border — is particularly meaningful to Polish and Ukrainian Knights serving refugees of the current war.
“ e story of the Ulma family shows how, faced with a dramatic choice between love and hatred, one can remain faithful to the greatest commandment by sacri cing one’s own life,” said Supreme Warden Andrzej Anasiak, who served as Poland state deputy from 2014 to 2017. “It is a story of great love confronting evil and tremendous hatred. I think that they were aware that the nal word does not belong to the executioners, but to God, who conquers death.”
Józef and Wiktoria Ulma were simple yet cultured farmers, and holiness permeated their lives.
“ eir sanctity was ful lled in the simplicity of daily life,” said Maria Elżbieta Szulikowska, author of a newly published biography in Polish titled Wiktoria Ulma: A Love Story. “ ey lived in the sacraments, prayed o en, cultivated many interests and showed each other and others sincere kindness and respect.”
Józef, born in Markowa in 1900, was a beekeeper and fruit farmer, as well as an amateur photographer. Active in the local parish, he had a sizable collection of books that he would often hand to other people to read. ough Józef received only a primary school education, he was known for his creativity and passion for learning. He taught himself and others how to grow exotic plants and also built an electric mill, making his family one of the rst in the village to have electricity.
Wiktoria also grew up in Markowa, the seventh of 13 children in a very pious family. At the age of 6, she lost her mother, just months a er Poland regained independence in November 1918.
“Wiktoria learned in her family that you do not have to have much in order to help someone in need,” noted Father Burda.
Unlike most women in her social position, Wiktoria attended some university classes; she also had a special interest
in theater, and it was likely during her time performing in the Amateur eater Company in Markowa that she met Józef, who also enjoyed acting.
Józef and Wiktoria married in 1935. By 1944, they had six children, ages 2 to 8, with a seventh baby on the way. ey spent a lot of time together as a family and had a tradition of spending Sunday a ernoons together in the garden or on outings. Józef le behind many photos of playful children laughing with their mother and other relatives.
But war changed everything, especially the situation of Jews in German-occupied territory.
Markowa had 120 Jewish inhabitants before the occupation, and “prior to the war, their relationships were good,” explained Father Burda. “Jewish people were part of the community life of the village.”
However, in the fall of 1941, senior Nazi leaders began implementing what they called the “Final Solution” — the elimination of Europe’s Jews. On Nov. 10, 1941, the death penalty was ordered for any Pole who provided aid or shelter to a Jew. e rst of the Nazis’ extermination camps in Poland began operating that December in the village of Chełmno nad Nerem, and more were built in the months that followed.
In 1942, scores of Markowa’s Jews were deported or executed on the spot. e Germans, with the help of some locals, tracked down many of those who tried to hide.
“It was very hard to hide Jews in villages compared to bigger cities because Jews could not stay where they were known. Denunciation was a problem,” said Jan Grosfeld, emeritus professor of political ethics at the Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw and member of the Polish Bishops’ Commi ee on Dialogue with Judaism. “Nevertheless, people put themselves in great risk to help.”
Among them were Józef and Wiktoria Ulma, who around this time took in eight Jews: Saul Goldman and his four sons; Layca Didner and her daughter, and Layca’s sister, Gołda Grünfeld.
More than a year later, the Ulmas and the eight Jews were denounced by a member of the Blue Police, the police force of the occupying General Government. German o cers arrived at the Ulma farm on the night of March 23-24, rst killing the Jews and then Józef and Wiktoria in front of their children. According to eyewitnesses, Wiktoria went into labor and began to give birth to her seventh child right before her death.
A er a brief conversation about what to do with the other six children, the o cers summarily executed them: Stanisława, 8; Barbara, 7; Władysław, 6; Franciszek, 4; Antoni, 3; and Maria, 2.
A Knight and his family sought the intercession of the Ulma family after receiving a terminal diagnosis
By Andrew J. MattON MARCH 24, 2021, Ian and Kelly Lindquist of Hyattsville, Maryland, were informed about the results of Ian’s second blood test.
“I think that Ian has leukemia,” the doctor told the couple, who were parents of six children at the time, with a seventh on the way.
Aware that the couple was Catholic, she immediately added, “I already know which saints you should pray to for a miracle: the Ulma family.”
Thus began a completely unexpected relationship between the Lindquist and Ulma families, marked by mysterious ties of nature and grace.
To start, the Ulmas were martyred by the Nazis on March 24, 1944, exactly 77 years before Ian, a Knight of Columbus and a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, was diagnosed. Both families had six children under the age of 8; and both mothers, Kelly Lindquist and Wiktoria Ulma, were expecting their seventh child.
Eyewitnesses also recalled the head o cer laughing, “Look at how Polish swine who hide Jews die.” His brutality was a message to locals that anyone hiding Jews could expect no mercy. Yet, some continued to hide them, and the memory of the Ulma family lived on in Markowa.
e family’s story began to be more widely known as the 20th century drew to a close. In 1995, Józef and Wiktoria were recognized by Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust memorial, as “Righteous Among the Nations” for aiding Jews during the Holocaust. e family’s cause for beati cation opened in 2003 as part of a group of 122 Polish martyrs of World War II. In 2016, the Museum of Poles Saving Jews During World War II was opened under their name in their hometown.
Urszula Niemczak, whose husband is Wiktoria’s nephew, has been tending to the family’s graves for many years, and she has personally witnessed the growing devotion to the Ulmas (see sidebar). During the 2016 World Youth Day in Kraków, Niemczak distributed 80,000 prayer cards to pilgrims, and she continues to hear from people interested in the family.
The ties of grace soon became felt as Ian’s condition rapidly deteriorated.
“I remember praying to the Ulmas one night before Ian was hospitalized; I could tell he was really, really sick,” Kelly recalled. “I felt this strong sense of their presence — that they were taking care of my husband and me and the baby inside me and all of our children — and I knew that they were going to be with us on the journey.”
Ian’s cancer was identified as one of the most aggressive — acute myeloid leukemia. The family put out urgent calls
“ e Ulmas are witnesses to families today that we are called to serve and not to be served,” said Niemczak. “God gave the Ulmas the gi to live in simplicity, poverty and service. ey knew how to be human in li le things.”
e story of Józef and Wiktoria Ulma is especially inspiring to Knights of Columbus and their families who are aiding refugees of war. Markowa is in the Archdiocese of Przemyśl, which spans Poland’s southeastern border with Ukraine.
“It is not an accident that Poland is the capital of the Divine Mercy devotion,” said Dr. Mateusz Szpytma, deputy director of the Institute of National Remembrance and founder of the museum in Markowa. “It is a Polish tradition to help people and to provide aid. e Ulmas are exemplars of that tradition.”
Przemysław Wręźlewicz, a member of St. Brother Albert Chmielowski Council 15128 in Kraków and producer of the movie Ulmas: A Blessed Family, believes Józef Ulma is a role model for modern men, especially fathers striving to be holy leaders of their domestic church.
“We know from witnesses, but also from countless photos that Józef took of his family, that the Ulma house must have been an extraordinary place, a house that was not created by
for prayers as they began what Kelly called a “chemo/leukemia dance.”
“Thousands of people were praying for us,” Kelly said, “and we just asked them to pray for healing through the intercession of the Ulmas.”
After eight months, the cancer went into remission. But in early 2022, it came back.
“That’s when I asked for a relic,” Kelly explained. “I just said, ‘If anyone knows how to contact Markowa and get us a relic of the Ulma family, can you please try?’”
Jerzy Ulma, a nephew of Józef Ulma, heard the appeal and sent a book signed by Józef himself. Urszula Niemczak, who is married to Wiktoria’s nephew Franciszek, sent a piece of wood from the doorframe of the family’s house, as well as a rosary made from a tree in the Ulma family’s garden. Eventually, the entire village of Markowa began praying for Ian.
Meanwhile, the Lindquist family would pray the rosary together every night.
“And at the end of that rosary, we invoked all of the Ulmas by name, and we still do to this day,” Kelly said. “They’re very much a part of our home; they can never leave, we won’t let them,” she added with a laugh.
By this time, Kelly had given birth to a daughter, whom they named Victoria Maria Josephine, after Wiktoria and Józef Ulma and their youngest daughter, Maria. Now 2 years old, she is nicknamed Cora.
“I certainly think that prayers of intercession to the whole family sustained Ian’s life long enough for Cora to be born and for him to meet her,” Kelly said.
walls, but by the love of the people living in it,” he said.
Wręźlewicz is hopeful that the beati cation will ignite interest in the family and inspire many, including many Knights, to follow their example of sacri ce and love. “When we wonder if it is worth helping others, sacri cing time and resources, it is always worth remembering about the Ulma family and many others who, in a world lled with death and hatred, were not afraid to continue to love, were not afraid to put their lives and even their children’s lives at stake.”
e family’s Bible testi es to their motivation. Father Burda explained, “ ey followed the example of the Good Samaritan in caring for their Jewish neighbors, evidenced from the family Bible, in which the parable of the Good Samaritan had been underlined in red.”
Yet another passage underlined in the Ulma family Bible was Christ’s commandment of love: “I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (Jn 13:34-35). B
ROBERT MIXA writes from Kraków, Poland.
Yet Kelly is certain the family received an even greater gift.
“There was just so much healing that took place between Ian and me, so much grace and peace in our family and very little fear or anger. I feel like that was the bigger miracle that took place,” Kelly said. “We were so confident that God and the Ulma family were with us the entire time that there was no reason to be afraid at all.”
Ian Lindquist died May 5, 2022, at 35.
Two months later, Kelly and her children traveled to Markowa, where they were hosted by Franciszek and Urszula Niemczak.
“It was so clear that I needed to thank the Ulmas and to venerate the places where they had been buried and where they had died,” Kelly said. “And to thank their family members and the people of Markowa who had done so much for us.”
Kelly and her children visited the Ulma family’s home and their grave site, as well as the Museum of Poles Saving Jews in World War II, where Ulma family memorabilia is on display.
In gratitude to the Niemczaks, Kelly gave them the rosary she prayed with during Ian’s long ordeal and which she had touched to his body.
“This rosary was for me the first sign of the Ulma family beatification,” Urszula Niemczak said in an interview with OSV News earlier this year. “The rosary that Kelly gave us we pray every night. It is like a relic to us, a sign of victory of life over death.” B
By Mateusz Ziomber and Columbia sta | Photos by Andrey Gorb
Within days of the Russian invasion in late February 2022, Bishop Radosław Z mitrowicz of Kamianets-Podilskyi, Ukraine, made an appeal on behalf of first responders in the region: They were in urgent need of an ambulance and other emergency equipment. Several Knights of Columbus councils in Radom, Poland, sprang into action.
Radom Regional Hospital was withdrawing an ambulance from service due to insu cient heating; the Knights lled it with medical equipment, and Father Gabriel Marciniak, chaplain of St. Casimir Jagiellonian Council 15216, drove it to the Ukrainian border. A er waiting eight hours for special permission to enter the country, he delivered the ambulance and equipment to a hospital in Khmelnytskyi, about 150 miles (240 kilometers) east of Lviv.
Stepan Vadym, an orderly at the hospital that received the vehicle, said the donation was a great help. “We have to react quickly when the situation changes critically,” he said. “With the ambulance, patients can be transported faster to other medical facilities.”
In the 18 months since, the Knights of Columbus has continued to make medical care for people a ected by the war a priority. anks to the Ukraine Solidarity Fund, which has raised more than $21 million to date, the Order has been able to develop fruitful partnerships with several hospitals and health care organizations that serve internally displaced persons and other Ukrainians in need.
On Dec. 5, during his second visit to Ukraine, Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly presented Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital in Lviv with a donation of high-tech endoscopic equipment on behalf of the Order.
“ e Knights of Columbus was founded by a parish priest in the United States and his mission was to help women and children,” the supreme knight said. “So we are pleased to be
able to help in a small way here in this hospital, in this time of great need for the nation of Ukraine.”
is past July, Ukraine State Deputy Youriy Maletskiy presented a similar donation on behalf of the Knights to the Zolochiv Central District Hospital, about 40 miles (65 kilometers) east of Lviv.
“Because of various bureaucratic problems, hospitals that are located in smaller cities, on the periphery so to speak, su er,” Maletskiy explained. “ at is exactly why we chose to help this particular hospital, which is smaller in terms of volume, but needs no less support.”
e hospital’s director, Taras Yatsunskiy, a rmed that the donation will have a big impact.
“ anks to this endoscopic equipment, we will be able to conduct complex surgical operations and deliver high-quality post-surgery care,” said Yatsunskiy, who is also a member of St. John of God Council 17735 in Zolochiv. “Today’s event will be very signi cant for our community and very tangible for our patients.”
One of the Order’s most signi cant partnerships is with STEP-IN, a medical initiative specializing in humanitarian crises. e Knights’ rst collaboration with STEP-IN began in 2015 to aid displaced persons in Iraq. STEP-IN’s work in Ukraine, which largely mirrors its medical outreach in Iraq, has been compared to creating eld hospitals for civilians.
“Our mission is to provide comprehensive health care services to people who are eeing from violence,” said Dr. Zuzana Ulman, STEP-IN’s head of mission. “We are not working on the front lines, but we are there for those who are already in safer places and need this invisible help.”
With nancial support from the Knights, the Slovakian-based organization runs a multidimensional project, providing basic health services and delivering supplies vital for medical sta .
STEP-IN also organizes three types of special training in Ukraine: polytrauma training for medical doctors; first-aid training for civilians; and “psychological first-aid” training, offered mostly to nonmedical personnel, such as priests, who often comfort and care for people suffering from injuries or shock.
“It was a joy for the whole team when the Knights decided to support us here in Ukraine,” said Katarzyna Nowak, the group’s head of programs. “It was really a turning point for STEP-IN in Ukraine because it meant we would be able to provide the services.”
Halyna Chumak is one of the thousands of internally displaced Ukrainians who have been helped by STEP-IN to date.
“I was passing through Belgorod and saw how Kharkiv was bombed,” recounted Chumak, who currently resides in Dnipro with her husband, Viktor. “Viktor got gangrene, and
[STEP-IN] volunteers heard about it and gave me supplies and medicine. Now I am taking care of Viktor, and I am very grateful to them.”
The STEP-IN staff know that burnout, trauma and depression are a constant threat to caregivers, so they also organize a mental health awareness program for hospital
“Our mission is to provide comprehensive health care services to people who are fleeing from violence. We are not working on the front lines, but we are there for those who are already in safer places and need this invisible help.”
personnel, nongovernmental workers and volunteers.
Dr. Hanna Martynets, a pediatrician by profession, works at STEP-IN’s Kharkiv clinic as a general practitioner.
“We prioritize the IDPs and help everyone who needs medicine,” she said. “Many really need psychological help as well as medical help.”
Some K of C partnerships have focused on mental health. Knights in Ivano-Frankivsk, for example, have worked with the International Catholic Migration Commission, a Vatican agency, to sponsor psychological rehabilitation programs for Ukrainian soldiers and their families.
Other e orts supported by the Ukraine Solidarity Fund have included the distribution of nearly 200 wheelchairs throughout the country in partnership with the Canadian Wheelchair Foundation and the distribution of medical equipment and medicine donated by several Catholic health care organizations.
“Talking to doctors, I often hear, ‘We could save many more lives if we had the necessary equipment,’” said State Deputy Maletskiy.
“ anks to the Order’s Ukraine Solidarity Fund, we can now say that the Knights of Columbus helps to save lives and improve the quality of life through medical care,” he added. “ is is the charism of the Knights of Columbus, what we have always done: caring for widows, children, veterans, and elderly people.” B
Members of Most Holy Rosary Council 7868 in Rosario, Luzon South, carry a large reliquary containing relics of St. Therese of Lisieux into St. Therese Catholic School in Noveleta for students and sta to venerate. The school visit was part of a pilgrimage sponsored by the Military Ordinariate of the Philippines throughout 54 of the country’s dioceses.
Knights from Sacred Heart Council 2577 in Bowie, Md., provided support for a special prayer service, led by Cardinal Wilton Gregory, archbishop of Washington, to bless hundreds of newly discovered graves on church grounds. It is believed that some of the graves belong to people enslaved on a plantation owned by the Society of Jesus in the 18th and 19th centuries. Knights assisted with parking for the event and guided guests around the grounds.
St. Luke the Evangelist Council 14895 in Indianapolis donated $10,000 toward renovating the parish’s new Blessed Father Michael J. McGivney Room, which will serve as a meeting place for the Knights and other parish organizations. When the room was nished, it was blessed by Father Jayaraju Bandari, associate pastor of St. Luke Catholic Church and council chaplain.
Knights from the Pi sburgh Chapter a ended the annual ree Rivers Mass celebrated by Bishop David Zubik of
Pi sburgh at St. Anthony Chapel. e event commemorates the anniversary of the rst Mass celebrated in the Pi sburgh area by Father Denys Baron in 1754. Twenty Knights provided an honor guard for this year’s liturgy.
Mary, Star of the Sea Council 4752 in Grand Island, N.Y., recently sold its home corporation building for $330,000. A er discussions with the Diocese of Bu alo and St. Stephen Roman Catholic Parish, the council decided to use the funds to renovate the parish’s old church building for use by community organizations. e renovated building will house the Neighbors Foundation food pantry and provide dedicated meeting space for the council and local scouting troops.
Members of several assemblies from New Jersey District #2 a ended the Camden Diocesan Eucharistic Congress, held at Freedom Mortgage Pavilion, and provided an honor guard for a Mass celebrated by Bishop Dennis Sullivan of Camden.
Seminarians and priests from the Archdiocese of San Antonio competed in the second annual Shepherd’s Cup athletic competition hosted by St. Luke’s Council 10240. e rst Shepherd’s Cup was a kickball game; this year, due to heavy rain, the seminarians and priests faced o in dodgeball. e event raised nearly $1,000 for the construction of a new tness center at Assumption Seminary.
Knights from Our Lady, Queen of the World Council 15650 in Węgrzyn, Poland, carry a statue of Our Lady of Fatima and the Order’s pilgrim icon of St. Joseph through the streets during their parish’s annual Corpus Christi procession. The council hosted the St. Joseph icon for one week during its journey through Poland.
Knights from Father Nathaniel Council 2778 in Hereford, Texas, stand with a woman in front of her home after constructing a ramp to her front door. The council often builds ramps for people in need, donating both labor and materials for the projects.
Our Lady of Lourdes Council 13670 in Cooperstown, N.D., holds a fundraiser meal every year at the Griggs County Fair to bene t a family in need; this year, the e ort raised $7,000. e council also organizes an annual sh fry in support of the local food bank, several pro-life organizations and other causes. In total, the council has raised more than $80,000 for charity since it was chartered in 2005.
Knights from St. erese Council 6320 in Flanders, N.J., delivered more than 1,000 pounds of grocery items to the food pantry of Catholic Charities in the Diocese of Paterson. e food was collected during a weekend drive at St. erese Church in Succasunna.
St. Agnes-Shepherdstown (W.Va.) Council 13887 donated $1,000 toward the Eagle Scout project of Ma Hippchen, a parishioner of St. Agnes Catholic Church. Hippchen used the funds to build a gaga ball pit at Page Jackson Elementary School in Charles Town.
When a Knight from Kapatagan (Mindanao) Council 5906 entered the hospital due to high blood pressure and kidney issues, council members visited him and brought him food. Since the Knight is now ba ling several medical conditions, including vision loss, the council also gave his family nancial assistance for his care.
A er a tornado ripped through Sullivan, Ind., in April 2023, Knights from Father Pierrard Council 4377 in Brazil, about 40 miles north, planned a pancake breakfast to support the a ected community. e meal raised more than $800, which Council 4377 sent to St. Mary Catholic Church in Sullivan.
Centennial Council 8008 of O awa, Ontario, held a traditional Ukrainian dinner as a fundraiser at Annunciation of the Lord Parish. e e ort raised CA$2,000, which will be used to support a Ukrainian refugee family that recently arrived in the area, as well as the Ukraine Solidarity Fund.
Father Francis Coppens Council 4336 in Tewksbury, Mass., collected more than 500 pounds of food and nearly $200 in monetary donations during a drive at St. William of York Catholic Church. e food and the funds were donated to the Tewksbury Community Pantry.
Knights from Airdrie (Alberta) Council 8045 and local Catholic school students get ready to deliver a truckload of food to the Airdrie Food Bank. The council’s food drive at St. Paul Parish collected CA$28,000 worth of food and cash donations, bringing the program’s total over the past six years to CA$128,000.
Family of Man Council 7566 in Reston, Va., held monthly breakfast fundraisers over the 2022-23 fraternal year that raised a total of $16,000. e funds will support the council’s charitable giving, including donations to pro-life causes, organizations serving dementia patients, and service dog programs for soldiers and rst responders.
Fourth Degree Knights from Luzon South District #16 participated in an event honoring Jose Rizal, a national hero of the Philippines, at Rizal Park in Pasig City. e ceremony, which marked the country’s 125th Independence Day, was led by Fourth Degree Master Jorge Nomos and included the raising of the Philippine ag and the laying of a wreath.
e annual pancake breakfast of Sacred Heart Cathedral Council 15254 in Davenport, Iowa, raised more than $740 in freewill donations for the Clothing Center at Minnie’s Mansion. e council also accepted payment in the form
of new or used linens, leading to 125 comforters, towels and bed sheets being donated to the center.
Mary, Queen of Knights Council 10142 in Country Club Hills, Ill., donated $3,000 to the Outreach Action Network. e funds will help build schools in Haiti and provide housing for Ukrainian refugees seeking safety in Poland.
St. John Council 3281 in St. Johns, Mich., helped raised $15,000 for a veterans memorial outside St. Joseph Catholic Church. Knights also assisted in constructing the memorial, which honors all parishioners who have served in the military since World War I.
St. Anne-Oratory Council 6756 in Rock Hill, S.C., purchased a new sign for the Catholic Charities of South Carolina ofce in Rock Hill to increase its visibility. Bishop Jacques Fabre-Jeune of Charleston blessed the sign during an event a ended by State Deputy Paul Burchell and other community members.
Ave Maria (Florida) Assembly 3862 hosted a July Fourth bike and golf cart parade through downtown Ave Maria that drew about 600 people. Knights led the crowd in prayers for the country and a veteran o ered a re ection on freedom before young and old set out on the 2-mile route. At the end of the parade, the Knights served birthday cake and distributed copies of the Constitution and Declaration of Independence.
A spring dance fundraiser hosted by Father James J. McCa erty Council 11013 in Yardley, Pa., raised $4,000 for Special Olympics Pennsylvania. e council also prepared and served nearly 50 meals at the Gi of Life Foundation’s Howie House in Philadelphia; the location provides housing for people waiting for organ transplants.
Knights from the K of C Greater Cleveland Chapter serve hot dogs to children participating in Augustine Rainbow Camp at St. Augustine Catholic Church. The chapter provides annual support to the camp, which serves urban youth and children with disabilities.
Knights from Beausejour (Manitoba) Council 5870 serve as greeters and provide other support for quarterly blood drives at Cooks Creek Community Centre. e drives are held in partnership with Canadian Blood Services.
St. Mary of the Assumption Council 110 in Brookline, Mass., and Boston College Council 5278 in Chestnut Hill joined forces to host a fundraising meal bene ing Pregnancy Help Boston.
Grand Knight James DiBlasio of Bethlehem Council 2605 in Sparrows Point, Md., and Supreme Chaplain Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore stand ready to receive donations of baby supplies after Mass at Our Lady of Hope Church in Baltimore. The council collected 71 bags filled with baby items and nearly $500 for Choose Hope Women’s Center in Edgewood.
Father Robert Reitmeier Council 8848 in Tupelo, Miss., has been a longtime supporter of Parkgate Pregnancy Clinic. When the center’s aging ultrasound machine needed to be replaced, the council raised $11,000 for a new machine, to which the Mississippi State Council added $7,000. With a matching donation of $18,000 from the Supreme Council, the new ultrasound machine was purchased and dedicated May 23.
Breese (Ill.) Council 2869 held its annual spring cleaning of Hannah’s Playground, a play area for children of all abilities at the town's Northside Park. e playground features swings with adaptive seats, ramps for easy access to equipment and other adaptive features.
e dinner raised $1,000 for the center, which has three locations in the Boston area. As part of the ASAP (Aid and Support A er Pregnancy) program, the Supreme Council will donate an additional $200.
Itasca Council 2840 in Grand Rapids, Minn., raised $18,000 toward the purchase of an ultrasound machine for New Beginnings Pregnancy Care Center’s Deer River facility. e Supreme Council’s Ultrasound Initiative matched the amount, and members of Council 2840 presented the center with a check for $36,000.
See more at www.kofc.org/knightsinaction
Please submit your council activities to knightsinaction@kofc.org
For the 2023-2024 academic year, the Knights of Columbus awarded scholarships totaling close to $1.5 million to more than 500 students. Most recipients are the children of Knights, or Knights themselves, attending Catholic universities or Catholic colleges in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico or the Philippines. These figures include over $175,000 given to more than 70 seminarians in the U.S. and Canada. For more information about the Order’s scholarship programs, visit kofc.org/scholarships .
performance, these scholarships are renewed for a total of four years. is academic year, 17 new scholarships were awarded and 32 renewed. e following are rsttime recipients: Peter Andress, Eleanor Bogue, Milton Burlingame, Justin Caul eld, Clare Cey, Milena Colaianni, Harry Davies, Maria Draves, Brigid Gahan, Erin Gardner, Anna Krog, Gill MacDonald, Kennerly Nichols, Mary Grace Reed, Nathaniel Schoenfelder and Abigail Witherell.
Jones, Ari Kalpakgian and Samuel Monastra.
In 2000, Knights of Columbus Charities Inc. received a $100,000 donation from Frank L. Goularte. A scholarship fund in his name was established to provide $1,500 in needbased grants that are administered, in general, according to the rules of the Pro Deo and Pro Patria Scholarships. Two new scholarships were awarded for the current academic year and six were renewed. e new recipients are Bridget Holmes and Carolina Chaudoin.
JOHNis scholarship was established in 1998 in honor of the Order’s 11th supreme knight. Recipients must be enrolled at a Catholic college or Catholic university in the United States and be a Knight, the wife of a Knight, or the son or daughter of a Knight. Columbian Squires and widows and children of members who died in good standing are also eligible. In addition to the 22 new recipients listed here, 78 scholarships were renewed for the current academic year. New recipients are: Grace Ehrmantraut, Jessica Esch, Bethany Gibson, Sophia Grierson, Michaela Hine, Philip Hu man, Dominic Kaul, Brynn Kuntz, Collin Kuzelka, Damien Langfels, Catherine Mercugliano, Samantha Mouledoux, Shea Ostberg, Christine
Rasa, Jennifer Reiter, Nikaulas Smith-Goddard, Jack Stappenbeck, Britania Van’t Land, Alexis Westgate, Audrey Wi e, Elizabeth Wright and Zacharia Zikmund.
A total of 42 U.S. students received Fourth Degree Pro Deo and Pro Patria scholarships of $1,500 each. These scholarships are awarded on the basis of academic excellence to incoming freshmen in bachelor’s degree programs at Catholic colleges or Catholic universities. The recipients are Knights of Columbus or Columbian Squires, the son or daughter of a Knight in good standing, or the son or daughter of a Knight who was in good standing at the time of his death. Contingent on satisfactory academic
These scholarships are for students entering colleges or universities in Canada, with requirements regarding K of C membership that are essentially the same as for their U.S. counterparts. Eight new scholarships were awarded and 33 renewed for the current academic year. New recipients are: Iain Bulla, Nathaniel Casiano, Leo Czank, Abby Lena Johnson, Emmett Morris, Zoie Noranho, Caleb Tibbs and James Van Der Mark.
Percy J. Johnson Scholarships are awarded to young men a ending U.S. Catholic colleges or Catholic universities and are funded by a 1990 bequest of Percy J. Johnson, a member of Seville Council 93 in Brockton, Mass. Four scholarships were awarded and 18 renewed for the current academic year. e new recipients are Benjamin Jones, William
From 1995 to 1997, Knights of Columbus Charities Inc. received bequests totaling nearly $200,000 from the estate of Anthony J. LaBella. In his will, LaBella remembered the kindness shown to him by Knights when he was an orphan in Farmingdale, N.Y. The bequests have since been used to establish a scholarship fund in LaBella’s name. Earnings from the fund provide scholarships for undergraduate study in accordance with the rules and procedures of the Pro Deo and Pro Patria Scholarships. This year, three new scholarships were awarded to Caroline Masel, Sebastian Toro and Alexandra Schreffler, and seven were renewed.
In 1997, Knights of Columbus Charities Inc. received a bequest from Dr. Arthur F. Ba ista to establish scholarships for graduates of the Cornwall (Ontario) Collegiate and Vocational School. ese $1,500 and $2,000 annual scholarships are awarded on the basis of academic merit,
nancial need, community service and extracurricular activities. Preference is given to Knights; to the children or grandchildren of members; to students recommended by the Ontario State Council; and to students bound for Catholic colleges or Catholic universities. For the current academic year, 12 new scholarships were awarded and four grants renewed. New recipients are: Milik Abousharbin, Sarah Almunif, Caleb Cote, Michelle Dummond, Connor Gardiner, Abderrahmen Herchi, Andy Louis, Bradley McLellan, Isabella McEvoy-Miekley, Mu ee Mian, Abiel Verzosa and Zhongrui (Raven) Wang.
This scholarship is named for Sister Thea Bowman (1937-1990), an African American religious who inspired many people with her urgent and uplifting call for better education for children of the African American community.
In December 1996, the Knights of Columbus Board of Directors, in partnership with the Sister ea Bowman Foundation, authorized a four-year grant in the amount of $25,000 per year to support deserving African American students pursuing a Catholic college education. Periodically, the board has approved continuation of the grant program. For the 2023-2024 academic year, two new scholarships were awarded to Iyana Montana and Tracy Montana.
The Order has an endowment at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., that provides Knights of Columbus graduate fellowships. For the 2023-2024 academic year, six fellowships have been awarded to Guillermo Benitez, Lien Do, Neda Ghamari, Vincent Johnson, Laura Prejan and Jordan Raum. Six scholarships were also renewed.
Two new fellowships for the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family at The Catholic University of America were awarded for the 2022-2023 academic year to Shannon Hawkyard and Erica Kane. Two scholarships were renewed.
For the current academic year, four new scholarships were awarded to Marco Lebrón Cancel, Robwell Ian Martínez Flores, Rubén Enrique Ramos Cruz and Gabriela Marie Serrano Torres.
For the current academic year, 12 new scholarships of $500 were awarded and 24 renewed. The new recipients are: Leonezelle Archide, John Alden Bon, Nestle Marie Beatriz Buyon, Christian James Delcaro, Elbon Jardenico, Nina Mae Lara, Jhouvann Morden, Emie Grece Nicer, Vincent Degie Planos, John Paul Saenz, Ruschel Mae Sungcog and Jan Rhalf Villaruel.
The Francis P. Matthews and John E. Swift Educational Trust offers scholarships to the children of members who are killed or permanently and totally disabled by hostile action while serving with the armed forces during a covered period of conflict. In 2004, the Order declared that military conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan would be covered under the trust fund. Also eligible are the children of members who are killed as a result of criminal violence directed against them while performing their duties as full-time law enforcement officers or full-time firefighters. An application must be filed within two years of the date of the member’s death.
As of June 30, a total of 814 children have been recorded as eligible for benefits from the Francis P. Matthews and John E. Swift Educational Trust Fund scholarship program since its establishment in 1944. Thus far, 360 eligible children have chosen not to use the scholarships, three have died, and 128 who began college either discontinued their studies or fully used their scholarship eligibility before graduation. There are 15 future candidates. To date, 307 students have completed their education through the fund; J.J. Kelly and Jordan Murphy graduated in 2023. Dominic Miller, Lauren Murphy-Sweet and Kevin Wallen are continuing to work toward their degrees, making a total of three scholarships overall.
For the current academic year, seven new scholarships were awarded in the amount of $500 each, renewable for up to four years. In addition, 13 were renewed. e new recipients are: Heriberto Ayala Reynoso, Ángel Herman Gómez
Pérez, Carlos Daniel Merino Rodríguez, Diana Paola
Juan Manuel Vallejos Torres, Alejandra Abigail Zapata Llanes and Mariana Zaragoza Ibáñez.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Scholarship applications for the upcoming academic year will be available after Oct. 1. For more information, visit kofc.org/scholarships .
Commemorate a religious milestone moment in a charming way with this beautiful wall cross, which reads, “Bless this child.” Available in blue or pink.
A gorgeous gift for any new homeowner, this tumbled marbled stone is printed with the words of “Bless the four corners of this home,” a blessing by American poet Arthur Guiterman. The 6" x 6" plaque comes with both a black acrylic stand and a gold hanger.
Celebrate the birth or baptism of a new baby with a K of C burp cloth!
Display this 3' x 5' indoor Knights of Columbus flag in your home, o ce or council meeting place. Proudly made in the USA, the flag is adorned with gold tassling on three sides and made from 200-denier nylon. Flag only, no pole
Fun for all ages, this classic outdoor beach and yard game is a guaranteed hit every time!
Pinnacle Rush golf balls deliver extraordinary distance, helping golfers of all abilities hit farther with every club.
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Every day, Knights all over the world are given opportunities to make a di erence — whether through community service, raising money or prayer. We celebrate each and every Knight for his strength, his compassion and his dedication to building a be er world.
Knights from throughout Mexico and their families process to the Sanctuary of the Martyrs of Christ the King in Guadalajara June 25. The procession was part of the annual Knights of Columbus pilgrimage to the shrine, where Knights and family members venerated a relic of Blessed Michael McGivney, as well as relics of the 38 Mexican saints and blesseds housed at the shrine.
I first felt the call to the priesthood during high school, but it wasn’t a big epiphany; it just felt like the natural next step. My prayer life was developing rapidly, and I was encouraged by the youth ministry and the Knights at my parish. I knew of the need for Catholic priests, so it felt like my duty to give the vocation at least some consideration.
My discernment continued until I finally entered the seminary after graduating from university. In the end, I became a priest for the Oratory of St. Philip Neri in Toronto. It is a vibrant community of priests and seminarians, who are wonderful examples to me of virtue and sanctity.
My life has been more fruitful and challenging than I ever imagined back in high school — and, of course, much of that fruit comes from the challenges. The cross has shown itself to me in many new dimensions, and I am grateful to be able to carry it united with our Lord in the priesthood.
Father Christopher Huynh e Oratory of St. Philip Neri, Toronto St. John Vianney Council 10370, Barrie, Ontario‘I am grateful to carry the cross with our Lord.’