2010 Annual Report

A n n u A l R e p o Rt SupReme Knight of the

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Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson delivers his keynote address to state deputies and their wives during the opening session of the annual state deputies meeting, June 4, in New Haven.

Table of Contents

Knights of Charity

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Membership

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Youth, Colle ge Knights and E ducat ion

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Insurance and Investments

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Church, Vocations and Chap lains

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Four th De g ree

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Militar y and Veterans Af fair s

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Knights of Columbus Museum

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Faithf ul Citiz enship

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T his Band of Brothers

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Building a B ett er World

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Knights of Columbus Charitable Contributions, 2009

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“Only if I serve my neighbor can my eyes be opened to what God does for me and how much he loves me” (18).

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THOSE WORDS, FROM POPE BENEDICT XVI’S FIRST ENCYCLICAL, God is Love, set the

stage for one of the most insightful discussions ever written about what it means to be a faithful Christian.

Pope Benedict went on to observe that “Love of God and love of neighbor are inseparable — they form a single commandment”(18). This realization — that there are not two commandments, but one — quickly became the hallmark of Christianity in the first century.

Pope Benedict pointed out that “charitable activity on behalf of the poor and suffering was naturally an essential part of the Church of Rome from the very beginning” (23). For Christians, love was to be a new way of life — caring for those in need out of love.

In his first encyclical, God is Love, Pope Benedict says that “For the Church, charity ... is a part of her nature, an indispensable expression of her very being” (25). For the men who are Knights of Columbus, we offer an opportunity for so deepening the practice of our faith, that charity becomes such a part of our nature that we may truly say, “I am my brother’s keeper.”

KNIGHT S OF C HARITY

Moreover, it extended to those outside one’s own community. The people of Israel were accustomed to regarding themselves, in the biblical phrase, as their ‘brother’s keeper’ (Gn 4:9). Christ taught that this concept of brotherhood is so broad that it includes all of mankind, even one’s enemies.

“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?” he asked. “Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same” (Luke 6:32-33).

Clearly, to be a Christian is a very different way of living and of loving. From its earliest days, Christianity was often known simply as “The Way.” It was so unique in the first century that no further explanation was necessary. You had only to observe the manner in which the early Christians went about their daily lives — the way they cared for others — to sense that there was something very different about them. Their response to that question in the Book of Genesis, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” (cf. 4:9) was an unqualified “yes.”

Two thousand years later, it cannot always be said that today’s Christians stand out in the way the first Christians did in the days of the Roman Empire.

In some ways, our secular society seems to be a more difficult environment than the pagan society in which Peter and Paul first spread the Gospel.

And yet the continuing appeal of membership in the Knights of Columbus, with its devotion to charity inspired by faith, is undeniable: During the last fraternal year, more than 74,000 Catholic men joined our ranks. They, too, have answered “yes” to the question, “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

Squires from Sum-Ag (Bacolod City, Visayas) Circle 4651 provide food to needy children in Purok Sto. Nino, a nearby impoverished community.

WE ARE MINDFUL NOT ONLY OF OUR OWN 128-YEAR HISTORY as Knights, but of the

2,000-year history of our Church. We believe that being a follower of Christ means living lives of charity and brotherly love, of helping those in need, of being “our brother’s keeper.” For us, charity knows no national boundaries.

When a devastating earthquake struck Haiti in January, we responded as we had when Typhoon Ketsana struck the Philippines last year, when Hurricane Katrina devastated the American Gulf Coast in 2005, and when the attacks of 9/11 killed many thousands and left their families in financial peril.

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Opposite page: Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson visits with victims of the earthquake in Haiti during the distribution of Knights of Columbus wheelchairs in Port-au-Prince on April 27. Above: Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, former U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican Jim Nicholson, Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson, and Rome Mayor Giovanni Alemanno cut the ribbon officially opening the exhibit “Everyone Welcome, Everything Free. The Knights of Columbus and Rome, Celebrating 90 Years of Friendship.”

In Haiti, we provided an immediate $50,000 donation to Catholic Relief Services within hours of the earthquake. Ultimately, Knights of Columbus responded with donations of more than $600,000 to help the victims. Among those who received aid from that fund are hundreds of families who lost everything in the quake and are among the poorest of the poor in Haiti, as well as Haitian seminarians, some of whom suffered serious injuries in the earthquake.

In April, Supreme Advocate John Marrella and I joined Knights from Florida, Saskatchewan, California and the Dominican Republic in traveling to Port-au-Prince to deliver the first of 1,000 wheelchairs that the Supreme Council donated in partnership with the Global Wheelchair Mission.

California Knights raised funds for another 750 wheelchairs for earthquake victims in Haiti. Florida raised funds for 375 wheelchairs, and more have been sponsored by other states.

But the need in Haiti remains great — especially among children who have lost an arm or a leg or both as a result of the earthquake. Virtually all of these children today go without any prospect of receiving an artificial limb that would return to them

the chance to live a more normal life.

Today, I am proud to report to you that the Order’s Board of Directors has voted to provide every child in Haiti who has lost an arm or a leg the prosthetic device they need. Each and every one of these children will receive a new start in life thanks to the Knights of Columbus.

In fact, international aid is a long-standing tradition for us.

Earlier this summer, the Capitoline Museum of the City of Rome opened an exhibit on the history of our charitable work in the Eternal City and beyond. It tells the story of how the Knights of Columbus first made its mark in Europe during World War I, when our KC Huts facilities provided a respite from battle for allied soldiers in France.

Two years after the end of the Great War, a pilgrimage to Europe of the Supreme Officers and other Knights visited a number of battle sites in France.

It concluded in Italy, which had suffered much from the conflict, and where poverty was widespread. During a private audience, Pope Benedict XV welcomed the Knights, thanked them for what they had already done in Europe, and asked them

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Knight Mike Porter (at roof peak), Habitat for Humanity Construction Supervisor Phil Johnson, Knight Dan Tuel and another volunteer install roof joists at a Habitat for Humanity project supported by volunteers from St. Joan of Arc Council 12054 in Ridgely, Md.

to build a series of playgrounds for the children of Rome on land that would be donated by the Vatican. Those athletic fields — still owned and maintained by the Knights of Columbus — have served generations of grateful Romans.

The people of Rome also appreciate the many ways in which Knights have helped preserve the patrimony of Catholic art and architecture in Rome through our many restoration projects, including the restoration of the façade of St. Peter’s Basilica.

Our museum in New Haven also tells the story of our charitable work down through the years, and over the past decade much of it has involved natural or man-made disasters: the Heroes Fund we established when the attacks of 9/11 took the lives of so many first responders; and our emergency response to Hurricane Katrina, with its countless acts of service by individual Knights and councils throughout North America, and $10 million in donations.

Over the past year, we have continued in that tradition, setting new records for Knights of Columbus charitable work. During 2009, Knights donated $151,105,867 to charity, exceeding last year’s amount by more than $1 million.

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Over the past decade, charitable giving by the Knights of Columbus at all levels totaled $1,367,764,509, a dramatic testament to our commitment to charity.

In 2009, more than $34 million — a quarter of our contributions — came from the Supreme Council. All the rest — more than $116 million — came from state and local councils, assemblies and circles.

The top jurisdictions, in terms of the total amount given to charity, were Québec with $10.3 million; Texas with $6.3 million; Ontario with $5.9 million; Florida with $5 million; and Michigan with $4.8 million.

The jurisdictions ranked by the amount given to charity per member were British Columbia with donations of $183.75; Alaska with $182.25; Alberta with $166.92; Virginia with $121.11; and New Brunswick with $118.42.

Working with the Wheelchair Mission, many local councils have held “Wheelchair Sunday” fundraising drives. One notable example came from Father McGuire Council 3851 and California State Chaplain Msgr. Nestor Rebong. On one Sunday, in one parish, they raised $30,000 to provide

Members of Virgin Islands Council 6187 in St. Thomas, USVI, prepare to sell soup at Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic School in support of the Bishop’s Annual Appeal. Pictured (from left) are: Alrid Lockhart, Phillip Marcellin, Claudy Brutus Sr. and James Hunt.

wheelchairs for victims of the earthquake in Haiti.

Msgr. Rebong came with us to Port-au-Prince in April for the distribution of the first shipment of wheelchairs.

California, Florida, Georgia, Manitoba, Tennessee and Texas have similarly sponsored wheelchairs for Cuba, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico and Vietnam.

Knights and their families are hardly immune to the economic downturn, but when cash contributions become more difficult, we still give of ourselves in other ways. The number of hours of volunteer time donated by Knights last year climbed by nearly half a million, to 69,251,926 hours. Independent Sector, a foundation that encourages charitable giving, estimates that the value of a volunteer hour in 2009 was $20.85. That means that the value of the volunteer efforts of the Knights of Columbus last year was more than $1.4 billion! Over the past decade, Knights of Columbus volunteered

639,854,407 hours, and the total value of those volunteer hours is in excess of $11.6 billion.

Among top jurisdictions in volunteer hours, Luzon led the way with more than 7 million hours, followed by Texas with over 4 million, Florida with 3.6 million, Mindanao with nearly 3.5 million and Ontario with 2.7 million hours.

The top jurisdictions ranked by volunteer hours per member were Guam with 162.2 hours, Alaska with 132.1 hours, Mexico Northwest with 130 hours, Prince Edward Island with 121 hours, and Nova Scotia with 89.5 hours.

The range of council volunteer projects undertaken by our councils over the past year is truly extraordinary.

When Police Sgt. Kimberly Munley was seriously wounded last November at Fort Hood, Texas, while bringing down the shooter who had already killed 13 soldiers, she found that recovery from her

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injuries would take more than a year, most of it in a wheelchair. So the Knights of Council 6453 in Georgetown, Texas, teamed up with soldiers from Fort Hood to design and build a wheelchair ramp and a 10-foot gazebo at Sgt. Munley’s home.

Teresa of Calcutta Council 12117 in Virginia Beach, Va., recite the rosary with and provide companionship to residents of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Health Center, which provides care to Alzheimer’s and dementia patients.

About 200 miles north of Fort Hood, the Knights of Holy Cross Council 8493 near Dallas learned that a blind widow in their community was about to lose her home. Members of the council stepped forward to head off foreclosure and restructure her mortgage. But that depended on replacing her roof, with the $10,000 expense well beyond her reach.

So they obtained donations and building materials, and 40 Knights turned out one Saturday for an allday work detail that finished the job. With a new mortgage and a new roof, she has a secure future in her own home, thanks to Texas Knights.

In addition to purely local projects like these, much of our charitable work is done in partnership with national and international organizations whose goals we share.

Knights of Columbus donated more than 227,000 hours of volunteer time last year to Habitat for Humanity projects. Saints Gabriel and John Vianney Council 12335 in Colorado Springs, Colo., helps build homes at Woodmen Vista at the Pike’s Peak Habitat for Humanity Neighborhood, and Resurrection Council 11692 in Wichita, Kan., partnered with the Catholic Diocese of Wichita in its “Apostle Build” program in the Habitat Neighborhood there. They are among the many councils that work with Habitat for Humanity to help lowincome families build homes of their own, giving them a stake in their futures and stabilizing and improving their neighborhoods at the same time.

Knights are pretty good at other construction projects as well. Members of Council 1620 in Pasco, Wash., remodeled a convent that they converted into a rectory and donated an additional $50,000 for a new garage.

And five years after Hurricane Katrina devastated parts of the U.S. Gulf Coast, much rebuilding remains to be done. Recently, Knights from Council 14463 in Yorkville, Ill., traveled to Pass Christian, Miss., to help with ongoing reconstruction efforts there.

A child in Marikina City, Philippines, was one of thousands to receive relief from the Knights of Columbus after Tropical Storm Ketsana struck the region in September 2009.

Recently, a Knights of Columbus round table was established at Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan, through the efforts of U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Patrick Narango, with sponsorship and support from Council 12191 in Berkeley Springs, W.Va. They distribute much needed medical and school supplies and organize activities for Afghan children.

Meanwhile, each Saturday, members of Mother

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Knights from seven councils in Connecticut got together to install new insulation at the motherhouse of the Sisters of Charity of Our Lady, Mother of the Church, helping the sisters save on future heating and cooling costs.

One of the most remarkable Knights construction projects took place in the Philippines, where, over the past three years, 25 new homes have been built for people in need at the “Knights of Columbus Village” in Luzon. The first 10 houses were completed in 2008; 10 more houses and a Catholic chapel followed in 2009; and five more homes were made available to families in April. Many individual Knights and their families provided the labor to build the homes, and building materials were purchased by the Knights of Columbus Fraternal Association of the Philippines.

Above: A boy shows off his new coat during a Coats for Kids distribution at St. Francis/St. Rose of Lima School in New Haven.

For more than 70 years, the Knights of Columbus has partnered with the Red Cross in running blood drives. Delegates to our 56th annual convention in 1938 were invited to organize groups of blood donors, and that quickly produced one of the first national blood drives in history. By the time the next convention was held, more than 200 councils were participating, and by the 1940 convention, the number of councils had climbed to 600.

St. Peter Council 14590 in Haddam, Conn., is one of thousands of councils whose blood drives together drew more than 413,000 blood donors during 2009.

Our partnership with Special Olympics began with the very first games held in Chicago in 1969.

Founded by brother Knight Sargent Shriver and his wife, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, Special Olympics provides an opportunity for people with intellectual disabilities to compete and succeed in

an environment that respects their human dignity and builds self-confidence. During 2009, a total of 1,408 councils in the U.S. and Canada provided 40,296 volunteers and financial support totaling $2,681,440 for 9,387 Special Olympics events in every state in the United States and five of the 10 provinces of Canada.

I mentioned earlier that one of our councils in California raised $30,000 for wheelchairs in Haiti over a single weekend. It was one of the largest, but by no means the only, instance of a very fruitful partnership between the Knights of Columbus and the Global Wheelchair Mission, which is run by brother Knight Chris Lewis.

Over the past year, Knights and the Wheelchair Mission have teamed up to provide 3,800 wheelchairs in 11 countries. Knights in the Washington, D.C., area distributed 110 wheelchairs to disabled

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Knights visit with a Special Olympics athlete June 25, 2010, during the Ohio Summer Games.

veterans at the Veterans Affairs Hospital on Veterans Day last November. Knights in Poland distributed wheelchairs to disabled people in three parishes in Warsaw in February.

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States and Canada, and 1,993 local councils participated.

Finally, our long-time relationship with the Boy Scouts of America continues to benefit thousands of boys, some of whom are also Squires. During the past year, councils in the United States and Canada sponsored 33,282 Scouts in 1,503 Scouting units.

The Supreme Council set up a $1 million fund to supplement the efforts of our local councils.

Money from the fund — to be passed along to food banks located in 107 dioceses — was distributed to 31 state and provincial jurisdictions with the highest participation rates in the program.

California is distributing $300,000 to food banks in the state’s 12 dioceses.

As the recession has continued to make it difficult for people who have become unemployed or underemployed, or otherwise get by on lower incomes, the Knights of Columbus has stepped in to help. Last fall, we launched our Food for Families program, collecting food and providing financial support for food banks throughout the United

Our Coats for Kids program entered its second season this year, and more than 10,000 needy children in cold-climate cities in the United States and Canada received brand-new coats. Distributions took place in more than 20 cities, including Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Newark, Trenton, Detroit, Milwaukee, Sudbury, Windsor, East Cleveland,

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Baltimore, and here in Washington, D.C. Deputy Supreme Knight Dennis Savoie was among those taking part in a distribution not far from our offices in New Haven. The KC Coats for Kids program is rapidly becoming one of our most popular charitable programs, and we expect it to grow significantly.

A good explanation of our charitable activity comes from the Second Vatican Council document Lumen Gentium: “The laity, by their very vocation, seek the kingdom of God by engaging in temporal affairs and by ordering them according to the plan of God. ... They are called there by God that by exercising their proper function and led by the spirit of the Gospel they may work for the sanctification 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” (31).

Volunteer Hours Million

2009

Lives filled with charity, motivated by faith and hope, the two themes stressed by Pope Benedict XVI in his three encyclicals, are what will make “Christ known to others.”

For 128 years, the Knights of Columbus has led by its example of charity in many areas. People witness our example every day as Knights work as neighbors helping their neighbors in thousands of communities around the world.

It is this spirit that has always propelled the Knights of Columbus. It is the reason our history is one of service: helping the widows and orphans of the late 19th century; providing free necessities to the American and Canadian troops during two world wars; writing books on the contributions of African Americans and Jewish Americans in the 1920s — four decades before the civil rights movement; working in support of Catholics of Mexico when the government there persecuted the Church in the 1920s; protecting parents’ rights to send their children to a Catholic school against the attack of the anti-Catholic Ku Klux Klan; helping the hungry

68.8

2008 2007

68.7

2006

68.3

2005

64.0

Contributions $Millions

These words truly serve as our mission statement.

Working in this world “as a leaven” is precisely the work of the Knights of Columbus. Our first principle, charity, combined with unity — with our Church and with our neighbor — provide us with the means to fulfill the two great commandments of Jesus Christ: to love God and to love our neighbor as ourselves. This is what it means to be “in service to One, in service to all.”

69.3

2009

151 150

2008 2007

145

2006

144 140

2005

in the city of Rome during and after World War II; adding the words “under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance; pioneering nationwide blood drives; supporting the dignity of people with intellectual disabilities through Special Olympics; supporting mothers and their unborn children; providing coats to poor, cold children; offering mobility to the disabled with our wheelchair distributions; providing food for families in need; and, in general, being a force for the love of our neighbor, wherever and whenever there is a need.

In these ways and many others we seek to “make Christ known to others” through the testimony of lives “resplendent in faith, hope and charity.”

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Above: In May 2010, Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson joined hundreds of Polish Knights at the Pilgrimage of Men and Youth to the Shrine of Our Lady of Piekary Śląskie. A Fourth Degree honor guard of Polish-American Knights from John Paul II Assembly 3148 in Phoenix also participated in the procession from Radzionków to the pilgrimage site on Calvary Hill in Piekary Piekary Śląskie. Opposite page: Fraternal leaders gather at the 8th National Convention in the Philippines on April 17. Pictured are (left to right): Supreme Council Director of Philippine Affairs Eduardo Laczi, Supreme Director Alberto Solis, Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson, Visayas Deputy Dionisio Esteban Jr., Luzon Deputy Alonso Tan, and Mindanao Deputy Sofronio Cruz.

MEMBE RSH I P WE HAVE ACCOMPLISHED EXTRAORDINARY THINGS AS KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS, but we have the potential — and

the responsibility — to do far more. If we are to meet and exceed that potential, we must do everything in our power to bring every eligible Catholic man into our ranks. Membership growth is an absolutely essential part of our mission.

The good news in this regard is that as of June 30 our membership reached 1,808,671.

This represents a net gain of 23,278 over the past year. It is the 39th consecutive year in

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which our membership has grown.

We added 286 new councils during the past fraternal year, and we now have 13,957 active councils around the world. The number of round tables has grown to 4,326, and both are all-time records.

Brother Knights in the Philippines once again had a very successful year in recruiting new members, as did states like Texas, California, Florida, Georgia and Illinois. There are strong indications of renewed vitality in Mexico, where all four jurisdictions will be in the Circle of Honor this year for

having met their membership goals.

Poland had one of the highest percentage gains in membership of any jurisdiction, and will also be in the Circle of Honor. In May, I had the pleasure of joining hundreds of Polish Knights at the Pilgrimage of Men and Youth to the Shrine of Our Lady of Piekary Śląskie. We are very excited about the enthusiasm and growth of our newest jurisdiction in Poland.

We need to think creatively and expansively when it comes to membership growth. Demographic patterns are constantly changing, urbanization is changing the face of every country, and migration across national borders has brought millions of Catholics far from their places of birth to our shores. And it’s not limited to migration from Latin America. There are large Catholic communities throughout the United States and Canada that are predominantly Korean, Vietnamese, Filipino and Chinese, as well as from Eastern Europe, including Ukraine. There are many opportunities for growth that remain untapped.

Where there is a Catholic parish, we must strive to establish a Knights of Columbus council. Where there are Catholics who speak a different language, we must strive to be what the Knights of Columbus has always been: a place where immigrants can find faith, friendship and help in adjusting to a new life in a new land. Always remember — as Catholics, we have the most fundamental things of life in common. The faith that unites us is far greater than anything that might divide us.

Membership Million

2010

1.81 1.79

2009

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2008 2007

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2006

1.72

Councils Thousand

2010

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2009

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2008 2007 2006

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YOU TH , COLLEG E KNI GHTS AND E DUC ATION

Members of St. Thomas Aquinas Council 11949 at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn., prepare to distribute food bags to needy members of the community Nov. 11, 2009. Under the direction of the Franciscan Brothers of Peace Food Shelf, Knights collected and distributed more than 800 bags of nonperishable food items.

YOUTH ACTIVITIES SPONSORED BY THE KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS span a broad range

of events, programs and age groups. Last year, state and local councils spent nearly $17 million on youth activities. Some of these activities included our annual Free Throw and Soccer Challenge contests. Many involved sponsorship of Boy Scout troops and still more went to our Columbian Squires program, for boys 10-18 years old.

As of June 30, we had a total of 1,483 active Squires circles, an all-time high. The number of circles grew by 23 last year, and the number of Squires grew to 27,983.

Over the last few years, we’ve seen a noticeable increase in interest among Catholic high school administrators in having Columbian Squires circles at their schools. This is a very positive development, and if there is a Catholic high school in your area, don’t miss an opportunity to propose establishment of a circle there.

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Our college council program continues to grow as well. Over the past year, we established 16 new college councils: 10 in the United States, five in the Philippines and one in Mexico. New college councils in the United States are at Vanderbilt, Dartmouth, Louisiana State, Drake, Loyola University in Baltimore, the University of Northern Iowa, St. Meinrad Seminary in Indiana, Ave Maria School of Law in Florida, and the Pontifical College Josephinum in Ohio. The new college council in Mexico is at Universidad La Salle in Tamaulipas, and new Philippines college councils are at Palawan State in Luzon, Saint Joseph College in Mindanao, and three schools in Luzon: San Agustin College, Capiz State University and Naval State University.

College council membership grew to 22,843 during the last fraternal year.

One of our highest priorities must be to keep these young men active in the Knights of Columbus when they graduate.

I NSURANCE A N D IN VE STMENTS IT IS SOMETIMES SAID THAT “CHARITY BEGINS AT HOME” and that is certainly true for

members of the Knights of Columbus, when we make certain that our families’ financial futures are secure.

This year, we adopted a new theme for our life insurance program: “Your Shield for Life.” The shield represents the protection K of C Insurance provides to you and your loved ones, and the strength of the program that stands behind it. This year, we climbed to number 929 on the Fortune 1000 list of America’s largest corporations. And A.M. Best ranked us 49th among U.S. life insurance companies.

For the 18th consecutive year, Standard & Poor’s has rated us “Extremely Strong,” and has given us their top rating of AAA. For the 35th consecutive year, A.M. Best has rated us “Superior,” and has given us their top rating of A++.

The year 2009 was our best ever for insurance sales, growing by 13.3 percent, even as the industry as a whole was shrinking by nearly 5 percent. By Dec. 31, our insurance in force was more than $74 billion, and as of today we have $77 billion in force. Our insurance in force has nearly doubled over the past decade. We set new records for life insurance sales in nine out of 12 months last year.

Last year, we issued 67,945 new life insurance certificates, which was more than all other fraternal benefit societies combined. The face value of those new certificates was more than $7.5 billion.

Once again in 2009, our lapse rate was one of the lowest in the entire industry, at 3.8 percent. The industry average is more than twice as high, at 7.9 percent. That kind of stability, member loyalty and customer satisfaction is one more reason why we are so successful.

If our life insurance sales were exceptional in 2009, our annuity sales were spectacular. The 19,000 Knights of Columbus annuity contracts issued last year were more than double the number issued in 2008.

Obviously, a tremendous amount of credit goes to our field force of more than 1,400 professionally trained general and field agents, whose expert knowledge, energy and enthusiasm combine with a strong commitment to the Knights of Columbus.

Our agents stay with us over the long haul; our agent retention rate is nearly double the industry average.

At the basis of our success in life insurance, annuities and long-term care is our well-deserved reputation for strength, stability and sound investment policies that put the interests of our members first.

Most other insurance companies have not fared as well over the past few years. It has been a difficult environment for everyone, of course. Every company has been affected by situations where investment-grade bonds have been sharply downgraded virtually overnight, sometimes because of government intervention in ways that no one could foresee.

But economic ups and downs are a fact of life. In the 18 years that Standard & Poor’s has been rating the Knights of Columbus, there have been three recessions. In the 35 years that the Order has been rated by A.M. Best, there have been five recessions.

And in every single one of those years, the Order earned the highest rating that those companies award.

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The Standard & Poor’s description of our insurance program could hardly be more enthusiastic:

“Extremely strong capital” “Very strong competitive position” “Unique strategic advantage” “Historically strong profitability” “Extremely strong liquidity”

What sets us apart is what Standard & Poor’s refers to as the “very conservative” approach we take in managing our $16 billion in assets. S&P says that our investment portfolio “has very strong credit quality,” and that our capital adequacy “is among the strongest in the industry.”

We have what they call “a very low risk tolerance,” and we place “a very high value on the society’s reputation.” What ties all these things together is that we are completely dedicated to following the vision of the Catholic priest who founded the Knights in 1882. Father Michael J. McGivney wanted to safeguard both the faith and the finances of Catholic families.

His vision was both religious and financial, tied closely to what would soon become known as Catholic social teaching. For more than 128 years, the Knights of Columbus has never deviated from that vision, and we have shown throughout our history that it is possible to be both financially successful and ethically responsible. We don’t need a special set of “business ethics.” We simply adhere to a single set of moral standards that govern everything we do.

Earlier this year, the Insurance Marketplace Standards Association recognized this fundamental fact when it renewed our certification for maintaining the highest ethical standards in the industry. And once again we were also recognized for best practices in the industry.

When it comes to investments, we simply take the position that there is no transaction that we have to undertake. If there’s anything about an investment decision that makes us ethically uncomfortable, we walk away from it. That was certainly our approach when much of the rest of the financial world was buying up sub-prime mortgage securities. We avoided them.

We also have very specific guidelines governing the kinds of securities that we will not invest in. We exclude any company engaged in activity that conflicts with Catholic moral teaching: companies directly involved in abortion, contraception, human cloning, embryonic stem cell research, for-profit health care that pays for any of these, or pornography. There are many companies in the pharmaceutical and communications industries that would undoubtedly provide excellent returns for us, but which are not in our portfolio because they engage in research and development or programming that violate the sanctity or dignity of human life. We find our investment returns elsewhere.

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Faithful Catholics have choices when buying life insurance. But they know that at the Knights of Columbus, their policy is supplied by an insurer that shares their moral and ethical values and is guided in all of its investment and sales practices by those values.

Last year, our professional staff invested nearly $11 million every day, and the overall yield on newly issued bonds was 4.7 percent. We bought $2.7 billion in bonds in 2009, with an average rating of AA, and we had no issues in default at the end of the year.

A relatively small portion of our assets is invested in common and preferred stocks. With the recovery of the stock markets last year, we were able to realize approximately $6 million in profits from stock sales.

Our ChurchLoan program allows churches and Catholic schools to finance major construction projects at very competitive rates, and as of the end of 2009, we had outstanding ChurchLoan mortgages totaling more than $117 million.

Altogether, our investment income last year reached $799,661,694. Our total income from all sources was $1.794 billion.

Many factors contributed to these accomplishments: an excellent, motivated and highly trained sales force, supported by a strong home office staff of insurance professionals; a shared sense of vision; efficiency upgrades at the home office; new products that have proved to be very popular; and a relationship with our members that is second to none.

Insurance In Force $Billion

2009

During a decade in which the stock market has been extremely volatile, and when retirement funds have fluctuated wildly, the rock-solid stability of the financial protection we offer stands head and shoulders above the rest. In times like these, Knights of Columbus insurance is a shield that your family, like mine, can rely upon.

70.1

2008

66.1

2007

61.5

2006

57.7

2005

New Insurance Issued $Billion

2009

7.6 6.7

2008 2007 2006 2005

Finally, during 2009, we paid dividends to our insurance members totaling $318,010,356, and over the past decade those dividends have added up to $3.2 billion.

And here’s the bottom line that really matters: Last year we paid $243,052,431 in death benefits to survivors, and the total paid to survivors over the past decade comes to $1.7 billion. We have kept our promise of insurance by brother Knights for brother Knights.

74.3

6.6 6.5 6.4

Life Certificates Million

2009

1.68 1.67

2008

1.65

2007 2006 2005

1.63 1.60

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Above: More than 20,000 people filled the Jobing.com Arena in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale for the Guadalupe Festival held following the 127th Supreme Convention. The celebration featured musical performances, meditations and prayer. Above, right: Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson delivered remarks during the Guadalupe Festival.

CHURCH , VOCATIONS AND CHAPLA INS FOLLOWING LAST YEAR’S SUPREME CONVENTION, we sponsored a three-day Interna-

tional Marian Congress on Our Lady of Guadalupe, which concluded with a Guadalupe Festival. More than 20,000 people participated in these two events, which were co-sponsored by the Diocese of Phoenix, the Archdiocese of Mexico City and the Institute of Guadalupan Studies.

Speakers included experts from throughout Latin America and Europe, and featured Msgr. Eduardo Chávez, the postulator for St. Juan Diego’s canonization cause and co-author with me of Our Lady of Guadalupe: Mother of the Civilization of Love.

Last December, Supreme Chaplain Bishop William E. Lori and I were honored to meet pri-

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vately with Pope Benedict XVI and to present him with a check for $1.6 million, representing the year’s earnings from our Vicarius Christi Fund. The money is given to the Holy Father each year, and is used to support his personal charities.

Since becoming supreme knight, I have had the privilege to meet each year with our Holy Father in private audience for this purpose. Each time I have done so I am convinced more than ever that what was said long ago remains true today: “Where Peter is, there is the Church; and where the Church is, there is eternal life.”

This is what we believe as Catholics. This is where we stand as Knights of Columbus.

On Dec. 10, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI met privately with Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson and Supreme Chaplain Bishop William E. Lori of Bridgeport, Conn.

During the meeting, the supreme knight presented the Holy Father with a $1.6 million donation, representing the annual earnings from the Order’s Vicarius Christi Fund.

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Supreme Officers and Knights of Columbus chaplains gather in St. Peter’s Square during a Knights of Columbus pilgrimage to Rome at the conclusion of the Year for Priests.

I wish to thank all those who participated in our special Novena for the Holy Father last April.

Since our last convention, the cause for sainthood of our founder took an important step forward when a tribunal of the Archdiocese of Hartford sent a supplemental report to the Vatican’s Congregation for the Causes of Saints regarding a possible miracle attributed to the intervention of Father McGivney. The postulator of the cause, Dr. Andrea Ambrosi, personally carried the report from Hartford back to Rome, where it is now under evaluation.

Earlier this summer, several of your supreme officers joined chaplains representing 60 jurisdictions

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from every country in the Order on a very special pilgrimage to Rome for the conclusion of the Year for Priests. It provided a once in a lifetime opportunity for our state chaplains to come together as brother Knights and brother priests and to stand in solidarity with our Holy Father and thousands of other priests from around the world.

A great many chaplains are here with us in Washington this week, and I want to assure them all of our tremendous appreciation for all that they do.

We pledge solidarity and support for our priests who have remained holy, faithful and dedicated servants of God. We must not permit our priests to become isolated from the people they serve.

Our priests need — and deserve — our friendship and support.

Several of our Canadian councils are among many that have put special effort into supporting priests and seminarians. Brother Anthony Council in Alberta created a special year-long “Supporting Our Seminarians” program for men studying for the priesthood at St. Joseph’s Seminary. The program provides financial, spiritual and social support for the seminarians, including birthday and Christmas presents, and biographical articles introducing the seminarians in the council newsletter. In British Columbia, Victoria Council raised more than $10,000 for the Bishop’s Vocation Fund and hosted a large vocations appreciation event, attended by nearly 300 people, that honored Bishop

Richard J. Gagnon and 30 priests and sisters.

I call on every one of our nearly 14,000 councils to develop projects like these to support our bishops, priests and seminarians. For the Knights of Columbus, every year must be a Year for Priests.

I am very happy to report to you that our Chaplain’s Program, overseen by our supreme chaplain, Bishop William E. Lori, and directed by Augustinian Father John P. Grace, is making great strides in enhancing the work of these fine priests in the Knights of Columbus.

Many of the priests who now serve as chaplains received assistance from us when they were studying for the priesthood. Our support for vocations has a history that is as long as that of the Order, and

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State chaplains await the arrival of the Holy Father at a prayer vigil in St. Peter’s Square on the eve of the conclusion of the Year for Priests. our vocations programs have become extremely important to the Church in recent decades.

We have two major vocation scholarship programs, one based on need and the other on merit and academic excellence.

The Father Michael J. McGivney Vocations Scholarships provide $2,500 grants to seminarians on the basis of need, and preference is given to members, or sons of members, of the Knights of Columbus.

Twenty-four of the 86 seminarians receiving support through this program during the past academic year are Knights or sons of Knights. During the 2009-2010 academic year, we awarded 33 new McGivney scholarships and renewed 53 more. The program supported seminarians at 25 major schools of theology, studying for 22 dioceses in the United States and four dioceses in Canada. Since the McGivney scholarship program was launched in 1992, it has provided $4,383,750 to 789 seminarians, of whom 527 graduated from a major seminary and were ordained to the priesthood.

The Bishop Thomas V. Daily Vocations Scholarships, named after our supreme chaplain emeritus, were established in 1997, and also provide $2,500 grants for tuition, and room and board based on academic excellence. Last year, we awarded nine new scholarships, seven in the United States and two in Canada, and renewed 22 others for a total of 31. All nine of the new recipients are members or sons of members. Since its inception 13 years ago, the Bishop Daily Scholarship Program has distributed $887,500 to 147 seminarians.

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Our largest vocation support program, and the one that has touched the lives of more than 75,000 seminarians, postulants and novices since it was established in 1982, is RSVP, our “Refund Support Vocations Program.”

Any council that makes a contribution of $500 or more to an individual seminarian to help with his expenses receives a refund from the Supreme Council of $100, and gets an additional refund for each $500 contribution it makes. Squires circles can also participate, getting a rebate of $20 for each $100 contribution.

During the past year, 2,601 councils, assemblies and circles provided seminarians, postulants and novices with $2,857,560 to support their studies.

During the 28 years the program has been in place, it has provided $47 million for vocations.

Our support for the Church, and for evangelization, takes many other forms as well. Our Catholic Information Service (CIS) offers 74 different booklets on various topics involving Catholic faith, worship and life. During the past fraternal year, CIS distributed 145,000 of these booklets at little or no cost to Knights, dioceses, parishes and campus ministries. Through its Faith Formation Home Study Course, CIS brought evangelization and catechesis to 5,241 men and women who are incarcerated in prison last year.

We also offer CIS materials online as electronic, downloadable documents, and as podcasts in English, Spanish and French. In the very near future, they will be available in Polish as well.

Fourth Degree Knights from the greater Washington, D.C., area participate in the annual Columbus Day ceremonies held in front of the statue of the Order’s namesake located at Washington’s Union Station.

FOURTH DEG REE MENTION THE KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS,

and many people think of the members of the Fourth Degree. That’s especially true, of course, at confirmations and other special Masses and at events like the annual Columbus Day celebration at the statue of the great explorer in front of Union Station in Washington, D.C. President William Howard Taft personally gave the keynote speech at the dedication of that statue in 1912, and we will be celebrating the 100th anniversary of the dedication in just two years.

The Patriotic Degree formally became a part of the Order in a ceremony on George Washington’s Birthday in 1900, and I am pleased to report to you that as of June 30, membership in the Fourth Degree had grown to 317,939, an increase of 7,220 over last year. We held 288 exemplifications.

The number of new assemblies grew by 54 over the past fraternal year, bringing us to a grand total of 2,916 assemblies Orderwide.

Members of the Fourth Degree have taken the lead in raising funds for many major projects down through the years, including the World War II Memorial on the National Mall, and the Incarnation Dome at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

The portion of our Supreme Council website that is devoted to the Fourth Degree is being updated and improved, and will soon do a much better job of telling the story of our history, our uniform, and why every Knight should consider joining the Fourth Degree. Also in preparation is an electronic version of the Fourth Degree Drill Manual, and a new Flag Presentation Program to be used in schools.

Knights who join the Fourth Degree are statistically very likely to remain lifelong members of the Order. Encouraging men to join is an excellent way of improving membership retention.

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KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS HAVE BEEN SOLDIERS ON THE FRONT LINES in all of the

major wars of the 20th and 21st centuries, and our support for them, beginning with the KC Huts of the First World War, has never wavered. We have programs serving both active duty personnel and veterans, as well as the families of soldiers who died in combat.

There are 1.5 million Catholics who are on active duty in the U.S. Army, Air Force, Navy and Marines, as well as the National Guard and Reserves, and their families. They are found at 220 military installations in 29 countries. VA Medical Centers have more than 29,000 Catholic patients, and all of them deserve our support.

Over the past decade, we have greatly increased our efforts on behalf of this vitally important segment of our society. Four years ago, I established the position of assistant for military and veterans affairs, and since then we have made especially robust progress.

Today, 50 of our nearly 14,000 active councils are on U.S. military bases. Three more are being developed, in Virginia, Colorado and Germany. We have 13 overseas military councils in Europe and the Far East, and a district deputy for each region. Our European military councils are in Germany, the United Kingdom and Italy. In the Far East, the councils are all in Japan and Korea. In some areas, including Iraq and Afghanistan, we rely on round tables.

Master Chief Petty Officer Larry Forsythe, Deputy Grand Knight of Yokosuka Council 12488, escorts Supreme Knight Carl Anderson on a tour of the aircraft carrier USS George Washington.

MILI TARY AND VET ERA N S AFFAI RS

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Earlier this year, I had an opportunity to visit our military Knights at one of our newest military councils, St. Francis Xavier Council 14853 at Camp Zama, and Yokosuka Council 12488, both in Japan. The deputy grand knight at Yokosuka, Master Chief Petty Officer Larry Forsythe, gave me a personal tour of the aircraft carrier USS George Washington, and I had the pleasure of formally installing Roger Avery as the district deputy of Far East Overseas Military District No. 2 at the Shrine of Our Lady on Mount Fuji.

Our military councils and round tables fill a real need in the armed forces, because there is a serious shortage of Catholic chaplains, and we often provide the only way that Catholic soldiers, sailors and airmen can share and sustain their faith while on deployment.

We work closely with Archbishop Timothy Broglio and the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA. Our support includes providing military prayer books that are printed on special stock de-

Connecticut State Deputy Scott Flood was among the Knights celebrating delivery of a new wheelchair-accessible van for amputee veterans, presented to the VA Medical Center in West Haven in December. District Deputy Gary Thomas organized the project, which raised $100,000 to purchase the van, and was named Volunteer of the Year by the Department of Veterans Affairs. signed to withstand the rigors of the battlefield, and sized to fit in the pockets of battlefield uniforms.

Last January, we delivered a new shipment of an additional 100,000 copies of the Armed with the Faith to the Archdiocese, bringing the total number of prayer books we have provided over the past six years to half a million. We have supplied 30,000 copies of a bilingual version, Armour of Faith, to Catholics in the Canadian armed forces.

Our programs for veterans rely heavily on the men of the Fourth Degree, who are the backbone of our relationship with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and its Veterans Affairs Voluntary Services program.

During the past fraternal year, the Knights of Columbus had representatives at 125 of the 153 VA Medical Centers around the United States. Our 873 VAVS volunteers donated nearly 75,000 hours of their time to serve the veterans at these facilities.

began after 9/11, a total of 1,278 members of the Knights of Columbus have served there, or are serving there now. And a total of 36 Knights and two former Squires have lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan. Four Knights died in Afghanistan in the past year.

Army Captain Paul PeĂąa, a member of Msgr.

O’Keefe Council 8250 at West Point, was killed in an IED attack in January. He was an officer in the 82nd Airborne Division. Marine Corporal Matthew Lembke died last month at Bethesda Naval Hospital from injuries suffered in an explosion in Helmand Province in June. He was a member of Knights of the Resurrection Council 13851 in Tualatin, Ore., where 800 people attended his funeral Mass at the Church of the Resurrection.

One especially ambitious project to benefit veterans this past year involved Connecticut Knights, who raised money to purchase a specially equipped van for disabled veterans who are amputees. The brand new $100,000 van was delivered in December, and District Deputy Gary Thomas, who managed the project from start to finish, was selected by the Department of Veterans Affairs as its outstanding Volunteer of the Year for the entire United States.

The most recent casualty was Sgt. Major John Laborde, a member of our newly formed Kandahar round table in Afghanistan. He was a member of St. Vincent de Paul Council 12191 in Berkley Springs, W.Va., which sponsors the Kandahar round table.

He is survived by his wife, Lori, and five grown children. We also mourn the loss of former Army intelligence officer Harold Brown, who was killed in a suicide bombing attack in eastern Afghanistan. He was a member of St. Mary of Sorrows Council 8600 in Fairfax Station, Va., and is survived by his wife, Janet, and three young children.

Each year, we report on those who have lost their lives during the war on terrorism in the Middle East. Since the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan

We honor the sacrifice that these men have made, and all those who have given the last full measure of devotion in our defense.

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KNIG H TS OF COLUMBUS MUS EUM THE BEAUTIFUL BASILICA OF THE NATIONAL SHRINE OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, where the convention opening

Mass was held, is a magnificent house of worship and a tribute to the many who gave generously to fund its construction throughout the 20th century.

We have contributed to the Shrine in many ways, of course, from building the Knights’ Tower and supplying the bells of its carillon to serving as ushers for every Sunday and holy day Mass there.

Our most recent contribution was the $1 million Incarnation Dome, funded by the Supreme Council and the Fourth Degree, each contributing half the cost. From the main floor of the basilica, it looks very much like a painting. But up close, it becomes clear that it is, in fact, a mosaic of more than one million small colored glass tiles. The next time you are in New Haven, you can get a very close look at the tiles as they were used in creation of the mosaic at a special exhibit at the Knights of Columbus Museum: “Majestic Mosaics.”

The museum is also featuring a very special exhibition to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of Mother Teresa. The exhibit includes a full-size reproduction of the cell in which she lived in Calcutta, and many additional artifacts and other ma-

terials from her life. Mother Teresa visited our headquarters in 1988, and accepted our first Gaudium et Spes Award at the Supreme Convention in New York in 1992.

We sponsored two lectures at the museum by Father Brian Kolodiejchuk, MC, the postulator of her canonization cause, and each presentation drew huge overflow crowds. Many of the Missionaries of Charity have come to see the exhibit since it opened, including Mother Teresa’s successor, Sister Nirmala. They have all been enthusiastic about the way in which this wonderful exhibit gives every visitor a touching insight into Mother Teresa’s life.

Also on display was an exhibition of some of the finest and oldest-known works representing the original image of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Our annual displays of Christmas crèches have become a popular tradition at the museum. Last Christmas we presented crèches from Latin America, and the display for this year is titled “Christmas Crèches from Asia.”

The special council chamber at the museum is furnished as a late 19th-century council home would have been, and it is used for degree ceremonies and council meetings.

Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson joins members of the Missionaries of Charity, including Sister Nirmala (wearing sweater), as they tour the Knights of Columbus Museum exhibition “Mother Teresa: Life, Spirituality and Message.” Sister Nirmala succeeded Mother Teresa as Superior General of the Missionaries of Charity.

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Virginia Knights joined with the Supreme Council in donating a new ultrasound machine to the Tepeyac Family Center, which provides ultrasounds to women referred by a number of Northern Virginia pregnancy centers. Pictured are (left to right): Dr. Marie Anderson, medical director; Fran Black, nurse practitioner; Dr. John Bruchalski, founder and member of Padre Pio Council 10754; Dr. Miriam Pereira; and Dr. Lorna Cvetkovich.

FAITHFUL CI TIZEN S H IP THE VAST MAJORITY OF KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS ACTIVITY is directed toward mat-

ters of faith, charity and family life. We are not a political organization, and partisan politics is expressly prohibited by the Constitution and laws of the Order. Our members include people of many political persuasions, and our goal is unity in faith and fraternity, whatever our political differences might be.

We do, however, take positions on a limited number of key issues that we believe are fundamental to faithful Catholic citizens and involve matters that must transcend partisan politics.

Our guides in this area are two of the great documents of the Second Vatican Council: Gaudium et Spes, which addressed the role of the Church in the modern world, and Dignitatis Humanae, with its

teaching on religious freedom and the fundamental dignity of the human person.

Recently, Pope Benedict XVI announced that the theme for the 2011 World Day of Peace — Jan. 1 — will be “Religious freedom, the path to peace.”

Recalling the message he delivered before the United Nations General Assembly during his visit to the United States two years ago, he reminded us all that “Human rights must include the right to religious freedom,” which is, after all, guaranteed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. “It is inconceivable,” the Holy Father declared at the U.N., “that believers should have to suppress a part of themselves — their faith — in order to be active citizens. It should never be necessary to deny God in order to enjoy one’s rights.”

In some parts of the world today, Christians are tar-

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geted precisely on account of their faith. But even in countries where the free exercise of religion and freedom of conscience are protected in law, medical professionals too often find their rights violated. As Pope Benedict said in July, “The rights associated with religion are all the more in need of protection if they are considered to clash with a prevailing secular ideology.”

Last September, the Order co-sponsored, with the Archdiocese of Mexico City, a major international conference on religious liberty, the first of its kind to be held in Mexico. Scholars and experts from throughout the Americas participated in the twoday event, exploring the many ways and places in which religious freedom is threatened in the Western Hemisphere and around the world.

The defense of religious liberty has been a top priority of the Knights of Columbus since our founding and we will continue to defend this fundamental human right.

This evening, we will recognize with our highest honor — the Gaudium et Spes Award — an individual who has devoted a lifetime of service to the Catholic Church’s mission of charity and to the defense of religious freedom: the archbishop of Havana, Cuba, His Eminence Jaime Cardinal Ortega y Alamino.

In 1954, the U.S. Congress voted — at our urging — to put the words “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance, but in recent years, the phrase has been challenged several times in federal courts. Beginning in 2005, we decided to ask the courts to allow us to participate directly in these cases as “defendant-intervenors.” I am happy to report to you that during the past year we have won victories in two of these cases, in California and New Hampshire, where courts affirmed the constitutionality of the Pledge.

Appeals are now pending in both the First and Ninth Circuits, and we will continue to defend the Pledge, and the words “under God,” all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary. Laws protecting the institution of marriage are also a top priority.

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In fact, in defending religious freedom and marriage, we are consistent with Catholic teaching, and we devote no small amount of our time and resources to advancing these positions in the public square.

Since last year’s convention in Phoenix, our brother Knights in Maine played an important role in winning passage of a referendum that overturned legislation legalizing same-sex marriage in that state.

As was the case in California one year earlier, Knights made an important difference in the successful defense of marriage at the polls.

In the United States, judges have forced same-sex marriage on the people of Massachusetts, Connecticut and Iowa, and earlier, Canadian courts did the same thing in a majority of provinces there. But wherever the people themselves have had a chance to vote, clear majorities have voted to protect traditional marriage in every single case.

We stand ready to work hand in hand with the Catholic Church to safeguard marriage. We are directly supporting the work of the U.S. Bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee for the Defense of Marriage, chaired by Archbishop Joseph Kurtz.

The committee is producing pastoral materials on the meaning of marriage directed specifically at Catholics. Their new initiative, “Marriage: Unique for a Reason,” is designed to help Catholics everywhere understand and articulate “why marriage is, and can only be, the union of one man and one woman.” I encourage every council to work with pastors and chaplains to ensure that millions of Catholics have an opportunity to view the committee’s first video on marriage, titled “Made for Each Other.”

We have been making another important contribution to the Catholic understanding of marriage for more than 20 years. Since 1988, the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family in Washington, D.C., has been offering graduate-level education in this area, and our support has made the institute’s operation possible. It

Opposite page: Canadian Knights and their families were among tens of thousands of participants in the March for Life in Ottawa on May 13. Above: Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson addresses participants at the pro-life rally held on Ottawa’s Parliament Hill prior to Canada’s annual March for Life. moved into its permanent home in McGivney Hall on the campus of The Catholic University of America in 2008, and in May it was my pleasure once again to join the graduating class at its commencement Mass. More than 300 graduates of the Institute are now teaching in schools, working on diocesan staffs, and in scores of other professions where their work on marriage and family is serving the Church, strengthening families and changing lives.

Laws, legislative proposals and judicial decisions that directly impact human life and dignity are at the top of our list of priorities. We believe that Thomas Jefferson was exactly right when he wrote, “The care of human life and happiness and not their destruction is the first and only legitimate object of good government.”

In May, Deputy Supreme Knight Dennis Savoie and I were both privileged to join the then-primate of Canada, Cardinal Marc Ouellet, at the annual Canadian March for Life in Ottawa, which grows bigger every year. Thousands of Filipino Knights and their families were at the heart of pro-life

marches throughout their country in March. And much the same can be said for similar marches in Washington, D.C. and Mexico City.

Pro-life marches and rallies are all important, because they remind everyone that the pro-life cause is here to stay — that we seek to defend the unborn until we have secured their right to life, protected in law and respected by all. We urge the United States Congress to enact bipartisan legislation sponsored by Reps. Daniel Lipinski (D-IL) and Joseph Pitts (R-PA) to extend needed conscience clause protection and Hyde Amendment restrictions on abortion in the new national health care program. We also urge Congress to enact the No Taxpayer Funding of Abortion Act, authored by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) to permanently establish Hyde Amendment restrictions on taxpayer funding of abortion throughout the federal government.

But legislative action and education are not enough. There is more that we must do.

Recently, we launched an initiative to save the lives of thousands of unborn children, one by one.

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Every day, thousands of women are making individual decisions to have an abortion under great pressure, and often with little knowledge about the precious new human life within them. Modern ultrasound technology now provides clear, welldefined, full-color images of the child in the womb.

The opportunity to see such images, and to understand in detail the development of a child even in the early weeks of pregnancy often has a dramatic effect on a woman’s decision regarding her pregnancy.

Through our ultrasound program, the Supreme Council provides a matching grant for every state or local council that raises half the cost of a new machine. Since the program began in Iowa, Georgia and Florida 19 months ago, Knights in 25 states have enabled the purchase of 53 ultrasound machines. Together, we have so far donated $1,627,855 to buy these machines, and it is the single largest and most important project of our Culture of Life Fund.

From Jacksonville to Cincinnati, from Baton Rouge to Los Angeles, and Boise to Dallas, these new Knights of Columbus-supplied ultrasound machines are saving the lives of unborn children each and every day.

I want to thank every council that has embraced this vitally important program and to encourage every state that is not yet involved to make it an important part of your pro-life efforts. We will help save thousands of lives this year by ensuring that women make an informed decision. And I also ask that you support the important work many pregnancy centers do in helping women after their child is born. For many lower-income women, having few resources that would enable them to support a young child is compounded by the absence of a supportive family at home. They will need many different kinds of help, not all of them financial. We must be pro-life in the broadest sense of the term.

Msgr. Eduardo ChĂĄvez, postulator for the cause for the canonization of St. Juan Diego, speaks about the significance of the tilma at a Guadalupe celebration in New Haven.

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Our effort to help change hearts takes many forms.

One of them is our support for the Sisters of Life, a community of women religious founded in the Archdiocese of New York by the late Cardinal John O’Connor. Last fall, the Sisters of Life celebrated the fifth anniversary of the dedication of Villa Maria Guadalupe, which we purchased for use as an international pro-life retreat center in Stamford, Conn. Villa Maria Guadalupe is a cooperative venture between the Knights and the Sisters of Life, and activities there have grown dramatically since

Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson addressed the 25th anniversary celebration of Project Rachel in Milwaukee. Also shown are founder Vicki Thorn and her husband, William Thorn. its opening. Last year, 38 pro-life retreats drew 1,033 participants. When you add the 1,150 people who attended special events. Villa Maria Guadalupe hosted nearly 2,200 people in 2009.

As I said at its dedication five years ago, Villa Maria Guadalupe “is a center for all those seeking to be inspired by the culture of life and love: of women facing crisis pregnancies and whose pregnancies have ended in tragedy, of couples contemplating marriage, of young adults seeking an authentic understanding of sexuality, chastity and love, of married couples, of priests and religious, and of all those seeking to deepen their commitment to the service of life and of its defense.”

Another pro-life initiative we are proud to support is Project Rachel, and I had the pleasure of joining founder Vicki Thorn and her associates at the celebration of the organization’s 25th anniversary in Milwaukee last fall. They have done pioneering work with the often silent walking wounded, those who suffer from a decision to have an abortion, and who can now warn others of the consequences.

Slowly but surely, our work and that of so many others in the pro-life movement is building a culture of life and is changing hearts and minds.

Our Marist College/Knights of Columbus poll was the first to measure a strong surge in pro-life sentiment in the United States two years ago. Since then, the Gallup Poll and other surveys have confirmed that there is now a pro-life majority in America for the first time in decades. Gallup calls it “the new normal” in America. Our task now is to do what we can to accelerate that trend, to build momentum, and build a new culture of life.

Still, there are those who insist that we must accept Roe v. Wade as settled law. But on this question we heed the words of Abraham Lincoln who said: “The candid citizen must confess that if the policy of the Government upon vital questions affecting the whole people is to be irrevocably fixed by decisions of the Supreme Court, the instant they are made in ordinary litigation between parties in personal actions the people will have ceased to be their own rulers, having to that extent practically resigned their Government into the hands” of the judiciary.

Abraham Lincoln could not accept that the Supreme Court’s decision in the Dred Scott case had settled the issue of slavery. And we cannot accept that Roe v. Wade has settled the issue of abortion.

As we go about this work, we must always remember that we want to persuade, not alienate, those who feel differently. As St. Paul wrote in his Letter to the Galatians, “For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ But if you bite and devour one another take heed that you are not consumed by one another” (5:14).

You may ask, “What, then, is our strategy?” And I will answer with the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: “Always be sure that you struggle with Christian methods and Christian weapons ... As you press on for justice, be sure to move with dignity and discipline, using only the weapon of love.”

Our fundamental principle comes to us from the earliest pages of recorded history: “Thou shall not kill.” When God gives the gift of life, no one has the right to take it away.

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Delegates to the 1897 Knights of Columbus convention.

THIS BAND OF BROT HE RS MANY OF THE MEN WHO FOUNDED THE KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS were veterans of the

American Civil War. James T. Mullen, the first supreme knight, was a sergeant in Company C of the Ninth Regiment, Connecticut Volunteers, having become a soldier when the war began, at the age of 18.

Nearly two decades passed between the end of the Civil War and the founding of the Knights of Columbus, but our Order was unquestionably influenced by the charter members’ experience of the war and its aftermath.

War is always a wrenching and terrible experience, but this one took more than half a million lives in a country whose total population was just 30 million. More than 8,000 were killed in a single battle just 75 miles north of Washington, at Gettysburg.

They were, in the words of historian Bruce Catton, “citizen soldiers who, even after two years of war, would insist on remaining more citizen than soldier.” The men who fought it were volunteers, and units were formed from local communities where the men had known one another all their lives.

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North or South, blue or gray, at war’s end the survivors were determined to build a better world. It would be a world where the ideals expressed in the Declaration of Independence — that all men are created equal, and that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights — would finally be realized.

In his second Inaugural Address, just weeks before the end of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln vowed that despite the terrible slaughter, reunited America would rebuild “with malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right,” and that we would “care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.”

Who can doubt that young Michael McGivney, age 12, and James Mullen, age 21, were profoundly influenced by that speech? When they joined to form the Knights of Columbus in 1882, “charity for all” became our first principle. Where their young lives had been threatened by division and war, unity became our second principle. And what

College Knights pose on the frame of a house they helped to build in the Gulf Coast area devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

is “a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations,” but a concise description of universal brotherhood, also known as fraternity.

Father McGivney, James Mullen, and the other men who gave life to the Knights of Columbus were a “band of brothers” with a vision of what our world could become, a vision informed by both the experience of war and their deep faith in Divine Providence. They envisioned a society built on a foundation of brotherhood and love of neighbor, of being “our brother’s keeper.” It was no easy path in a nation that had been torn from one end to the other by war, but no doubt they felt deeply Lincoln’s words, spoken during his address at Gettysburg, “that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom.”

Today, we follow in their footsteps — more resolute than ever. We remain a band of brothers, working together to build a civilization of love that brings charity, unity and brotherhood to a world in desperate need.

During the past year, I have walked with brother Knights on pilgrimage in Poland and visited councils in Japan, attended our national convention in

Cebu City in the Philippines and met with brother Knights in Guadalajara, in Edmonton and in Parliament House in Ottawa, as well as Los Angeles, Milwaukee and Philadelphia.

I have heard the Knights of Columbus praised by the former prime minister of Italy for the many contributions we have made to his country, and I have heard the Knights of Columbus thanked by homeless families in Luzon and by the poor and suffering in a tent hospital in Haiti.

My brother Knights, I report to you today that our Order is strong; it is vibrant, and it is changing lives for the better in thousands of different ways around the globe.

Our work continues. Our mission continues.

Father McGivney’s vision continues.

Let us so resolve this week that together we will continue this great work of building a global culture of life and love where the pledge, “I am my brother’s keeper” will be a reality for all — a civilization of brotherhood, unity and charity.

Vivat Jesus!

ANNUAL REPORT

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N. 156.150

From the Vatican, 28 July 2010

Dear Mr. Anderson, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI was pleased to learn that from 3-5 August 2010 the 128th Supreme Convention of the Knights of Columbus will be held in Washington, D.C. He has asked me to convey his warm personal greetings and good wishes to all in attendance, and in a special way to you as you celebrate the tenth anniversary of your election as the Supreme Knight.

The theme of this year’s Supreme Convention – “I Am My Brother’s Keeper” – calls to mind the spirit of fraternal solidarity which inspired the founding of the Knights of Columbus and continues to guide its manifold activities. It was concern for the welfare of working men and their families, born of Christ’s teaching and the Church’s long tradition of social engagement and charitable service, that led the Servant of God Father Michael McGivney and his associates to organize the Knights as a benevolent and fraternal association. From the beginning, this commitment to the Gospel imperative of love of neighbor has directed the various activities and programs of your Order, and today too, it is seen most evidently in the concrete gestures of charity and community service undertaken by the members of local Councils the world over. His Holiness wishes before all else to express his gratitude for this great outpouring of solidarity and love, which represents an outstanding witness to the charity of Christ and the saving truth of the Gospel. “Openness to God makes us open towards our brothers and sisters and towards an understanding of life as a joyful task to be accomplished in a spirit of solidarity” (Caritas in Veritate, 78), and this, in turn, enables Christians, in the concrete circumstances of their daily lives, to become convincing signs of God’s goodness and the attractiveness of the Christian message.

34

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His Holiness is personally grateful for the generous support which the Knights have given him in recent months, especially through their constant prayers and particularly in the Novena conducted on the eve of the fifth anniversary of his election. He remains deeply consoled by this testimony of fidelity to Christ’s vicar amid the turbulence of the times, and he asks that prayers continue to be offered up for the unity of the Church, the spread of the Gospel and the conversion of hearts. In a particular way he expresses his appreciation to the members of your Order for their spiritual solidarity with the clergy throughout the recently concluded Year for Priests. Here too, your traditional spirit of faith and fraternity found ready expression in the desire to stand, as your “brother’s keeper,” alongside your priests and to confirm them in their vocation to holiness and the generous service of God’s People. In the face of often unfair and unfounded attacks on the Church and her leaders, His Holiness is convinced that the most effective response is a great fidelity to God’s word, a more resolute pursuit of holiness, and an increased commitment to charity in truth on the part of all the faithful. He asks the Knights to persevere in their witness of faith and charity, in the serene trust that, as the Church embraces this period of purification, her light will come to shine all the more brightly (cf. Mt 5:15-16) before men and women of fair mind and good will.

In the encyclical Caritas in Veritate, the Holy Father saw the present world economic crisis as a timely reminder that no area of human activity is exempt from moral responsibility (No. 2). At a time when fundamental moral norms, grounded in truth and inscribed in the human heart, are increasingly called into question and at times overturned by positive legislation, he is grateful for the efforts made by the Knights, in cooperation with other men and women of good will, to uphold the reasonableness of the Church’s moral teaching and its importance for a sound, just and enduring social order. He once more thanks your Order for its witness to the sanctity of human life and the authentic nature of marriage, and for its efforts to promote in the Catholic laity a greater consciousness of the need to overcome every separation between the faith we profess and the daily decisions which shape our lives as individuals and the life of society as a whole.

With these sentiments and with great affection in the Lord, His Holiness commends all assembled in Washington to the loving intercession of Mary, Mother of the Church. To the members of the Supreme Council, and to all the Knights and their families, he cordially imparts his Apostolic Blessing as a pledge of abundant heavenly graces.

With personal good wishes for the success of the meeting, I remain

Yours sincerely,

Tarcisio Card. Bertone Secretary of State

ANNUAL REPORT

OF THE

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35

BUI LDIN G A B ETT ER WORLD

12.

2.

7.

10.

11.

1.

16.

6.

3.

5.

36

ANNUAL REPORT

OF THE

4.

9.

SUPREME KNIGHT

v

2010

JURISDICTIONS

15.

14.

1. United States 2. Canada 3. Cuba 4. Dominican Republic 5. Guatemala 6. Mexico 7. Poland 8. Philippines

13.

ACTIVITIES 9. Panama 10. Germany 11. Italy 12. England 13. Japan 14. Korea 15. Afghanistan 16. Iraq

8.

ANNUAL REPORT

OF THE

SUPREME KNIGHT

v

2010

37

CH URCH VATICAN Apostolic Nunciature, Washington, D.C.

$24,382

Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline for the Sacraments — Vox Clara Committee for English translation of the liturgy

100,000

Pontifical Council for Social Communications — Uplink project televising papal Midnight Mass and Easter Triduum liturgies

22,000

Pope Benedict XVI — Vicarius Christi Fund

1,600,000

Vicarius Christi Fund, increase in endowment

5,000,000

TOTAL

$6,746,382

NATIONAL BISHOPS CONFERENCES

Knights of Columbus Charitable Contributions 2009

Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (Bishop de Laval Fund)

$34,184

Projects Passages (Catholic Initiatives in Canada Fund)

100,000

Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines — News Service

30,000

U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Diocesan Development Program for Natural Family Planning

100,000

TOTAL

$264,184

DIOCESES v PARISHES v CLERGY Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, Washington, D.C. — "Catholics Seeking Christ" evangelization program Clergy support

$200,000 551,241

Our Lady of Guadalupe Shrine, La Crosse, Wis.

62,500

St. Coleman’s Society for Catholic Liturgy, Co Cork, Ireland

14,132

St. Mary’s Church, New Haven — Stipend for daily Mass for deceased members, spouses and Columbian Squires General support

5,430 67,516

TOTAL

$900,819

OTHER RELIGIOUS Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious, Washington, D.C. Little Sisters of the Poor, Enfield, Conn.

8,000

National Association of Hispanic Priests, Richmond, Texas

5,000

St. Aloysius Seminary, Cameroon, Africa

TOTAL

ANNUAL REPORT

OF THE

SUPREME KNIGHT

24,500 $62,500

TOTAL CHURCH GRANTS

38

$25,000

v

2010

$7,973,885

PROGRAMS MARIAN DEVOTION Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception Washington, D.C. — General support

$10,000

Luke E. Hart Fund earnings

50,000

Broadcast Mass to shut-ins

75,000

Ushers ministry

21,000

TOTAL

$156,000

F A M I LY L I F E Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops — Catholic Organization for Life and Family Family Institute of Connecticut

$275,000 194,543

Knights of Columbus Family Life Bureau — Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family at The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C. Malta House and Family Center, Norwalk, Conn.

1,577,484 100,000

National Organization for Marriage, Princeton, N.J.

1,430,000

New Jersey Catholic Conference, Trenton

25,000

Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family, Rome — International Congress – 30th Anniversary of “Redemptor Hominis “

87,070

Project East Scholarships

75,000

U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Ad Hoc Committee for Defense of Marriage

418,061

Committee for Protection of Children and Young

125,000

World Meeting of Families, Mexico City

350,000

TOTAL

$4,657,158

PRO-LIFE Birthright USA, Atlanta

$30,000

Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops — Pro-life activities

25,000

Chicago Catholic Men’s Conference — Post-Abortion Healing and Men

43,000

Knights of Columbus Ultrasound Machine Reimbursement Program

230,938

Life and Fertility Foundation, Krakow, Poland

10,059

Life Athletes, South Bend, Ind.

100,000

Life Haven, Inc., New Haven

2,500

Life Issues Institute, Inc., Cincinnati — Parliamentary Network for Critical Issues

50,000

March for Life, Canada

27,250

March for Life Education and Defense Fund-Washington, D.C.

3,000

Mary and Joseph's Place, North Haven, Conn.

3,000

National Catholic Bioethics Center, Philadelphia — Bishops' workshop on medical-moral issues

260,000

National Life Center, Woodbury, N.J.

50,000

National Right to Life Committee

10,000

ANNUAL REPORT

OF THE

SUPREME KNIGHT

v

2010

39

Pontifical Universidad Catolica de Chile, translation of Humanitas into Spanish for Latin American Bishops

12,500

Sacred Heart Major Seminary, Detroit — Father Michael J. McGivney Endowed Chair in Life Ethics

50,000

U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops — Pro-Life Education and Information Campaign Various State Councils — Grants for pro-life campaign

TOTAL

964,324 30,780 $1,902,351

VOCATIONS American College, Louvain — Scholarships and general aid (Bishop Charles P. Greco American College Fund)

Knights of Columbus Charitable Contributions 2009

$27,943

Bishop Thomas V. Daily Scholarship Fund — Scholarships granted

76,250

Canadian Pontifical College, Rome (Father Michael J. McGivney Fund)

38,745

Diocese of Lake Charles, La., scholarships

25,000

Diocese of Radom, Poland, scholarship aid

10,000

Knights of Columbus Vocations Scholarships

206,250

Philippine Scholarships (Father McGivney Fund for Advanced Studies for Priests from the Philippines) — Study at the Pontifical Philippines College, Rome, increase in endowment

100,000

Scholarships granted

36,000

Pontifical Mexican College, Rome (Our Lady of Guadalupe Fund)

45,500

Pontifical North American College, Rome

11,700

Scholarships and general support (Count Enrico P. Galeazzi Fund)

140,000

Increase in Count Enrico P. Galeazzi Fund endowment

400,000

Promotional support of vocations

415,845

Refund Support Vocations Program — Refunds to Knights of Columbus units for grants to individual seminarians

567,367

Seminary of the Immaculate Conception, Huntington, N.Y.

TOTAL

4,000 $2,104,600

EVANGELIZATION Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, Washington, D.C. — “Armed With the Faith”prayer books Catholic Information Service, administrative support

216,537

Catholic Information Service, supported by per capita levy (Catholic Advertising Fund)

435,695

Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem International Center for Study and Research at the Studium Generale Marcanium, Venice (OASIS) International Week of Prayer and Fasting

OF THE

198,000 1,250 120,000

Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem — Support for visit by Pope Benedict XVI to the Holy Land

200,000

North American Congress on Mercy

ANNUAL REPORT

2,500

Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem — Proceeds of Pacem in Terris Fund

New Evangelization of America, Dallas

40

$105,193

SUPREME KNIGHT

v

2010

4,000 10,000

Salt and Light Catholic Media Foundation, Toronto

500,000

University of Dallas, Irving, TX, Ministry Conference

20,000

Villa Maria Guadalupe Retreat Center, Stamford, Conn.

1,555,459

TOTAL

$3,368,634

TOTAL PROGRAMS GRANTS

$12,188,743

TOTAL CHURCH AND PROGRAMS GRANTS

$20,162,628

Community, eDuCational & Cultural COMMUNITY PROJECTS American Jewish Committee

$5,000

American Wheelchair Mission, Camarillo, Calif.

250,000

Arte Inc., New Haven

10,000

Beacon on the Hill, West Haven, Conn.

2,500

Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, Washington, D.C.

530,000

Caring Cuisine — Meals for people with AIDS, New Haven

2,500

Caritas Philippines — Typhoon relief

150,000

Christian Community Action Soup Kitchen, New Haven

3,500

Christopher Fund — Matching funds from Supreme Council

313,550

Columbus House, homeless shelter, New Haven

3,000

Community Dining Room, Branford, Conn.

2,000

Community Soup Kitchen, New Haven

3,000

Connecticut Food Bank

10,000

Connecticut Hospice

3,500

Connecticut Public Broadcasting, Inc.

100,000

Disaster Relief — Indiana

5,000

Downtown Evening Soup Kitchen, New Haven

2,500

Easter Seals Rehabilitation, New Haven

5,000

Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce

20,600

Hospital of Saint Raphael, Father Michael J. McGivney Center for Cancer Care, New Haven

71,200

Hospital of Saint Raphael, Father Michael J. McGivney Center Increase in endowment fund

500,000

Immanuel Baptist Church Shelter and Soup Kitchen, New Haven

2,750

John Carroll Society, Washington, D.C.

3,800

Knights of Columbus United in Charity Fund, increase in endowment

763,420

Loaves & Fishes, food pantry, New Haven

3,000

Market New Haven

25,000

Mary Wade Home, New Haven

1,500

National Apostolate for Inclusion Ministry

20,000

National Catholic Council on Alcoholism

50,000

ANNUAL REPORT

OF THE

SUPREME KNIGHT

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2010

41

National Catholic Partnership on Disability National Catholic Prayer Breakfast, Washington, D.C.

15,000

National Organization for Continuing Education of Roman Catholic Clergy, Chicago

10,000

New Haven Regional Leadership Council

30,000

Other amounts including community-based organizations Special Olympics North America

3,000

St. Luke Institute, Silver Spring, Maryland — Health and well being of clergy and religious

3,000

St. Ann Christian Union Soup Kitchen, Hamden, Conn.

4,500

St. Thomas More Soup Kitchen, New Haven

3,000

The Salvation Army, New Haven

3,000

TOTAL

EDUCATIONAL Academy of Our Lady of Mercy, Milford, Conn.

(New Haven Catholic High School Fund) Albertus Magnus College, Hamden, Conn.

Belmont Abbey College, Belmont, N.C. Black Catholic Education Foundation — Scholarships Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee for National System of Residential Schools for Native Children

1,500 3,500 41,658 100,000

College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, Mass.

1,215 7,500

209,710

Lumen Gentium Catholic University, Mexico City

52,549

National Catholic Educational Association — Father Michael J. McGivney Fund for New Initiatives in Catholic Education

32,908

New Haven Chorale

7,500

Notre Dame High School, West Haven, Conn.

(New Haven Catholic High School Fund)

8,000

Pontifical Institute for Mediaeval Studies, Toronto

10,000

Printing costs — Educational program pamphlets

148,372

Sacred Heart Academy, Hamden, Conn.

(New Haven Catholic High School Fund and general support)

12,030

St. Catherine Academy, Bridgeport, Conn., support for new school

25,000

St. Rita School, Hamden, Conn.

1,000

St. Rose of Lima School, New Haven

1,250

The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C. — Bicentennial of the U.S. Hierarchy Fund Voices: The Lay State and Religious Liberty International symposium, Mexico City

TOTAL

OF THE

$7,000

Foundation for the Advancement of Catholic Schools, Hartford, Conn.

Selesians of Don Bosco, equipment for new school in the Holy Land

ANNUAL REPORT

140,000 $3,496,554

Knights of Columbus Family Life Bureau — Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family at The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C. — Fellowships

42

57,421 265,313

St. Luke’s Lunch for Women and Children, New Haven

United Way — Corporate gift

Knights of Columbus Charitable Contributions 2009

100,000

SUPREME KNIGHT

150,000 60,000 146,067 $1,026,759

v

2010

C U LT U R A L Arts Council of New Haven

$2,500

Knights of Columbus Museum, New Haven

5,572,036

Path to Peace Foundation, Vatican Permanent Observer Mission to the United Nations – General support Pope John Paul II Cultural Center, Washington, D.C.

10,000 159,351

TOTAL

$5,743,887

TOTAL COMMUNITY/ EDUCATIONAL/ CULTURAL GRANTS

$10,267,200

YOUTH Catholic Campus Ministry Association — Dayton, Ohio

$17,500

Catholic Christian Outreach, Ottawa

20,000

Columbian Squires

327,261

Coats for Kids Program

276,072

Junior Achievement, New Haven

20,000

Literacy Volunteers, New Haven

5,000

Rome Youth Centers (Italian Welfare Fund)

1,579,656

Scott Richards Northstar Foundation, St. Louis, Bikes for Kids Program

2,000

Tuesday’s Children, New York City

1,250

World Youth Alliance, New York City

1,000

TOTAL

$2,249,739

TOTAL YOUTH GRANTS

$2,249,739

COUNCIL Arthur F. and Anna Battista Scholarship Fund

$87,107

Frank L. Goularte Scholarship Fund

6,000

Bishop Greco Fellowships

1,000

Anthony Labella Scholarship Fund

18,750

Francis P. Matthews and John E. Swift Educational Trust Fund

218,155

John W. McDevitt Scholarship Fund (Fourth Degree Fund)

199,500

Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family at The Catholic University of America — Fellowship fund

12,500

Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family Increase in fellowship endowment fund

20,000

Member Fraternal Benefits Program

664,957

Mexico Scholarships

3,000

Percy Johnson Scholarships

36,750

Philippines Scholarships

18,000

ANNUAL REPORT

OF THE

SUPREME KNIGHT

v

2010

43

Pro Deo and Pro Patria Scholarships Puerto Rico Scholarships The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C — Five fellowships Virgil C. and Ann L. Dechant Scholarship Fund

TOTAL

44

ANNUAL REPORT

OF THE

8,000 268,150 20,250 $1,948,329

TOTAL COUNCIL GRANTS

Knights of Columbus Charitable Contributions 2009

366,210

$1,948,329

GRAND TOTAL OF ALL CONTRIBUTIONS

$34,627,896

TOTAL STATE/LOCAL UNITS CONTRIBUTIONS

$116,477,971

TOTAL CONTRIBUTIONS

$151,105,867

TOTAL HOURS OF VOLUNTEER SERVICE

69,251,926

SUPREME COUNCIL PUBLICATIONS (COLUMBIA AND OTHERS)

$6,280,753

GENERAL SUPPORT OF MEMBERSHIP OPERATIONS

$54,216,173

TOTAL GENERAL SUPPORT

$60,496,926

SUPREME KNIGHT

v

2010

VOCAT ION ENDOW MENT FUNDS FUND Bishop Thomas V. Daily Vocations Scholarship Fund Bishop Charles P. Greco American College Fund (Louvain, Belgium) Count Enrico P. Galeazzi Fund for North American College in Rome

CORPUS

CURRENT YEAR DONATIONS

CUMULATIVE DONATIONS

$1,500,000

$76,250

$850,000

400,000

13,100

497,343

3,600,000

140,000

3,545,216

Father McGivney Fund for Advanced Studies for Priests in Puerto Rico

125,000

--

31,860

Father Michael J. McGivney Fund for Advanced Studies by Priests from the Philippines

800,000

36,000

435,023

Father Michael J. McGivney Fund for Advanced Studies for Priests in Canada (Pontifical Canadian College in Rome)

600,000

35,000

763,214

5,000,000

176,250

3,657,579

Father Michael J. McGivney Vocations Scholarship Fund (Canada)

800,000

30,000

559,250

Knights of Columbus Vocations Fund (Canada) Refund Support Vocations Program (RSVP)

625,000

24,480

522,938

4,000,000

542,887

8,706,753

700,000

45,500

657,703

$18,150,000

$1,119,467

$20,226,879

Father Michael J. McGivney Vocations Scholarship Fund

Knights of Columbus Vocations Fund (RSVP) Our Lady of Guadalupe Fund — Advanced Studies for Priests in México (Pontifical Mexican College in Rome) TOTAL VOCATION ENDOWMENT FUNDS

EDUCAT ION FUNDS FUND

CORPUS

CURRENT YEAR DONATIONS

CUMULATIVE DONATIONS

Albertus Magnus College Fund

$150,000

$1,500

$288,059

Arthur F. and Anna Battista Scholarship Fund

1,584,495

87,107

851,345

Bicentennial of the U.S. Hierarchy Fund

2,000,000

60,000

2,817,619

Bishop Charles P. Greco Graduate Fellowship Trust

105,000

1,000

70,082

The Catholic University of America Fellowships

500,000

233,150

2,266,345

Estate of Anthony La Bella Fund

202,234

18,750

113,250

Estate of Percy Johnson Scholarship Fund

353,000

36,750

408,000

Father McGivney Memorial Fund for New Initiatives in Catholic Education

1,000,000

32,908

2,837,352

Fourth Degree Pro Deo and Pro Patria (Canada) Scholarship Fund

1,000,000

66,360

1,048,378

Fourth Degree Pro Deo and Pro Patria Scholarship Fund

3,000,000

299,850

6,692,676

Francis P. Matthews and John E. Swift Educational Trust Fund

1,000,000

218,155

5,077,973

100,000

6,000

45,000

John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family Fellowship Fund

1,054,738

12,500

88,600

John W. McDevitt (Fourth Degree) Scholarship Fund

3,124,604

199,500

1,841,250

--

6,000

85,145

500,000

21,000

654,348

--

18,000

167,341

250,000

5,961

215,147

--

8,000

113,000

422,538

20,250

187,750

$16,346,609

$1,352,741

$25,868,660

Frank L. Goulart Scholarship Fund

Mexico Scholarships New Haven Area Catholic High Schools Fund Philippines Scholarships Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies Fund Puerto Rico Scholarships Virgil C. and Ann Dechant Scholarship Fund

TOTAL EDUCATION FUNDS

ANNUAL REPORT

OF THE

SUPREME KNIGHT

v

2010

45

MISCELL AN EOUS FU ND S FUND Bishop de Laval Fund Catholic Initiatives in Canada Fund Christopher Fund Fourth Degree Fund for Religious Liberties General Charity Fund Historic Sites Fund Hospital of Saint Raphael Fund Italian Welfare Fund Luke E. Hart Memorial Fund for the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception Military Vicariate Fund

CORPUS

CURRENT YEAR DONATIONS

CUMULATIVE DONATIONS

$1,000,000

$58,200

$1,496,484

150,000

--

316,800

17,403,452

554,150

9,351,439

1,000,000

105,000

1,078,685

585,328

1,875

96,199

--

5,585

3,202,912

2,000,000

--

--

331,518

1,177,422

22,082,219

1,000,000

50,000

1,620,900

900,000

--

2,324,964

Pacem in Terris Fund

2,000,000

120,000

1,020,000

Pope John Paul II Cultural Center Fund

2,500,000

138,500

1,345,037

United in Charity Fund

5,936,007

1,029,427

1,181,004

Vicarius Christi Fund

TOTAL MISCELLANEOUS FUNDS

FUND CORPUS $94,302,914

CURRENT YEAR DONATION $7,312,367

TOTAL CUMULATIVE DONATIONS $137,627,182

46

ANNUAL REPORT

OF THE

SUPREME KNIGHT

v

2010

25,000,000

1,600,000

46,415,000

$59,806,305

$4,840,159

$91,531,643

FinanCial & Fraternal highlightS SUMMARY OF OPERATIONS

2009

2008

$980

$1,000

(IN MILLIONS) Year ended December 31 Premiums and fees Net Investment income

TOTAL REVENUE Death and other benefits

814

793

$1,794

$1,793

$431

$392

Increase in benefit reserves

665

710

Commissions and expenses

294

266

$1,390

$1,368

GAINS BEFORE DIVIDENDS

$404

$425

REFUNDS TO MEMBERS

$318

$312

TOTAL BENEFITS AND EXPENSES

Net gain from operations

$86

$113

Net realized capital gains

(102)

(102)

$11

$11

NET INCOME

SUMMARY OF FINANCIAL POSITION (IN MILLIONS) December 31 Bonds and short-term investments

$13,949

$12,362

Contract loans

784

721

Common and preferred stocks

391

573

Other assets

425

395

TOTAL ASSETS

$15,549

$14,051

Benefit reserves

$13,152

$11,997

Member refunds payable

323

309

Other liabilities

122

122

$13,830

$12,428

TOTAL LIABILITIES EXCEPT AVR Asset valuation reserve (AVR) Surplus

TOTAL SURPLUS AND AVR TOTAL LIABILITIES AND SURPLUS New Life insurance issued Insurance certificates in force Life Insurance in force Persistency Rate Solvency Ratio (assets to liabilities)

$71

$4

1,648

1,619

$1,719

$1,623

$15,549

$14,051

$7,563

$6,674

1,677

1,668

$74,341

$70,052

96.2%

96.5%

111.9%

113.0%

Knights of Columbus Charitable Contributions 2009

YEAR ENDED DEC. 31 Charitable Contributions

$151,105,867

$150,036,865

Hours of Service

69,251,926

68,783,653

AS OF JUNE 30

2010

2009

Number of Councils Membership

13,957

13,706

1,808,671

1,785,393

ANNUAL REPORT

OF THE

SUPREME KNIGHT

v

2010

47

48

ANNUAL REPORT

OF THE

SUPREME KNIGHT

v

2010

1 2 8 th S u pReme Co nv entio n WAS hingto n, D. C. Au gu S t 3 , 2 0 1 0 ANNUAL REPORT

OF THE

SUPREME KNIGHT

v

2010

www.kofc.org