An Interview with Supreme Knight Patrick E. Kelly

MATTHEW LUDWIG '24, ARCHDIOCESE OF WASHINGTON

Throughout your life, you have served in the military, the government, and the Church. How has your faith been impacted by these experiences?

My experiences serving in the military and government and for the Church have, each in different ways, served to deepen my faith and to strengthen my conviction about the importance of the Church’s voice in society. Serving in the Navy puts your mortality front and center. It forces you to reflect on what you believe about the most im- portant things — and how you think about death. This raises the question — do I really believe? And for me, it drew me closer to Christ.

When I was serving in government, I was struck by how important the faith has been to the formation of our culture in the United States. A society needs to share certain fundamental values and ideals in order to remain coherent. I saw just how much the values that have long defined our nation originated from the Christian tra- dition — for example, the dignity of every human life.

I know the Church must continue to speak the simple truth to the modern world: Jesus Christ is the answer to all our problems. I have grown to appreciate the long history of our faith and its ability to bring the truth to the world. I am more convinced than ever that the Church is the divine institution that it claims to be, and that it is the “pillar of truth” as St. Paul says.

From 2011 to 2020 you were the Executive Director of the Saint John Paul II National Shrine and oversaw its renewal. How was the Eucharist at work in this renewal?

In 2011, I was given the task of taking what was then a “cultural center” and turning it into a place of prayer and pilgrimage. The Eucharist was central to that transformation. After all, the Eucharist is the heart of all renewal in the Church, whether it’s a shrine, a person’s life, or an ecclesial movement.

I think the combination of honoring the legacy of John Paul II and centering the shrine on the Eucharist is what brings so many thousands of people there each year. I have heard many powerful stories of personal renewal of people—priests included—who have had a deep encounter with Christ in the Eucharist and gained insight or conviction from reflecting on the life of John Paul II. To this day, I am filled with gratitude for that special place and I try to go to Mass there when I am in D.C.

The Knights are an important part of the Eucharistic Revival in the United States. What do you see as the role of the Knights in the U.S. Church? Has your faith been impacted in helping with the Eucharistic Revival?

The Knights of Columbus empowers Catholic men to live their faith and serve their family, parish, community, and country. So it was an easy decision to support the U.S. bishops with the National Eucharistic Revival. We’ve now experienced multiple generations of Catholics whose formation has been less than what it needs to be—many polls point to a lack of faith in Christ’s real presence in the Eucharist. We are entering a missionary phase for the Church in the U.S. and given our mission, it was clear that the Knights had to be engaged.

What the Knights can do first is strengthen men in their vocation and thereby strengthen the family. We view ourselves in constant service to the Church—our men and our councils should be the first ones our priests turn to when it comes to strengthening Eucharistic devotion in the parish. I think many people know of the extensive charitable work of the Knights of Columbus, but we welcome the opportunity to live out our commitment to spreading the faith. A great way to do that is by participating in this national revival effort.

The Knights of Columbus has a long history of support for the North American College, which you are continuing. Why do you think the mission of the College is so important?

The connection of support between Knights of Columbus and seminarians speaks to our care for the Church. Knights of Columbus love our priests and we love our future priests. That love was fundamental to our founding by Blessed Michael McGivney, whom successive popes have praised and pointed to as an exemplary priest.

And K of C support for our bishops’ seminary in Rome goes all the way back to the Via dell’ Umiltà. There is indeed something special about the NAC. The men who come here are imbued with a sense of the universality and the history of the Church, as well as with a strong tie to the Successor of St. Peter in a way that can’t be gained anywhere else. My sense is that studying in Rome is not for every man, and we most certainly support our seminarians wherever Knights of

Columbus are present, but in my opinion there’s real value in having a regular flow of men at work in the parishes of the U.S. with a very real and lived sense of the Church as catholic and who have lived here at the threshold of the Apostles.

How can individuals and families best participate in the Eucharistic Revival?

The first thing I would recommend is that people check in with their parishes and dioceses. As this is an initiative of the U.S. bishops, the bishops and priests are leading the way and we encourage a few different things: first, make certain Sunday Mass has pride of place and invite others to do the same. We must reclaim Sundays. They are essential for families and the Christian community.

Second, spend more time in personal and communal Holy Hours and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. Time before the Lord changes everything, no matter where we are in our spiritual lives. Third, as Knights of Columbus, we’re big on processions. I’ve seen the massive impact they can have on both participants and passers-by — especially kids. It’s a public witness to the source and summit of our Catholic faith. We created a video resource on how to organize a Eucharistic procession so anyone can organize one. When a priest is willing, Knights are ready to make it happen.

But here’s the thing: if each of us, in whatever way we can, makes the Eucharist and the Mass better known and loved, the revival will be a success. I firmly believe that God wants to do things we can’t even imagine for each of us personally and for the Church, by way of this revival. n