columbia august 2012
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A Growing Legacy: Celebrating 130 years of charity, unity and fraternityTRANSCRIPT
AUGUST 2012AUGUST 2012
COLUMBIACOLUMBIAKNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS
A Growing LegacyCelebrating 130 years of charity, unity and fraternity
L I F E I N S U R A N C E D I S A B I L I T Y I N S U R A N C E LO N G - T E R M CA R E A N N U I T I E S
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PUBLISHERKnights of Columbus
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SUPREME OFFICERSCarl A. AndersonSUPREME KNIGHT
Most Rev. William E. Lori, S.T.D.SUPREME CHAPLAINDennis A. Savoie
DEPUTY SUPREME KNIGHTCharles E. Maurer Jr.SUPREME SECRETARYLogan T. LudwigSUPREME TREASURERJohn A. MarrellaSUPREME ADVOCATE
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EDITORIALAlton J. Pelowski
[email protected] EDITOR
Patrick [email protected] EDITOR
Steve JamesDESIGN
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Venerable Michael McGivney (1852-90)Apostle to the Young,
Protector of Christian Family Life andFounder of the Knights of Columbus,
Intercede for Us.________
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ON THE COVERA painting of Venerable Michael McGivney
(Aug. 12, 1852-Aug. 14, 1890)
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OFFICIAL AUG. 1, 2012:
S P E C I A L E D I T I O N
Members of San Salvador Council 1 in New Haven, Conn., are pictured circa 1908. A portraitof Father McGivney is seen above.
A Growing LegacyFor 130 years, the Knights of Columbus has remained stalwart in support ofFather McGivney’s vision.BY COLUMBIA STAFF
Our History, Our FutureInspired by brother Knights of the past, we stand firm in our faith and dedicateourselves to charity and justice.BY SUPREME KNIGHT CARL A. ANDERSON
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AGrowingLegacyFor 130 years, the Knights of Columbus
has remained stalwart in support
of Father McGivney’s vision
by Columbia Staff
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The Knights of Columbus is born on Feb. 6, 1882, when the first memberschoose Columbus as their patron. Immediately after the Order’s March 29incorporation, Father McGivney sendsthe first diocesan-wide appeal for newmembers to his fellow priests.
By the end of his four-year tenure assupreme knight, James T. Mullen personally presides at the institution of 22 of the first 38 councils. John J. Phelan is elected to succeed him and isthe first supreme knight to sense theOrder’s destiny as a national society.
Father McGivney dies Aug. 14, 1890, twodays before his 38th birthday. His funeralMass is celebrated in Thomaston, Conn.,four days later.
The Order passes laws allowing noninsurance or associate members to join.
1882-1889
Late-19th century Connecticut was marked by the growingprevalence of fraternal benefit societies, hostility toward
Catholic immigrants and dangerous working conditions in fac-tories that left many families fatherless. Recognizing a vital, prac-tical need in his community, Father Michael J. McGivney, the29-year-old assistant pastor of St. Mary’s Church in New Haven,Conn., gathered a group of men at his parish on Oct. 2, 1881.He proposed establishing a lay organization, the goal of whichwould be to prevent Catholic men from entering secret societieswhose membership was antithetical to Church teaching, to unitemen of Catholic faith and to provide for the families of deceasedmembers.
As a symbol that allegiance to their country did not conflictwith allegiance to their faith, the organization’s members tookas their patron Christopher Columbus — recognized as aCatholic and celebrated as the discoverer of America. Thanksto Father McGivney’s persistence, the Knights of Columbuselected officers in February 1882 and officially assumed corpo-rate status on March 29.
In addition to the Order’s stated benefits, Catholic men weredrawn to the Knights because of its emphasis on serving one’sChurch, community and family with virtue. Writing in TheColumbiad in 1898, a year before he was elected supremeknight, Edward L. Hearn wrote that a Knight should live ac-cording to the virtues of loyalty, charity, courtesy and modesty,as well as “self-denial and careful respect for the feelings of oth-ers.” Fraternity and patriotism were added to the Knights’founding principles of charity and unity in 1885 and 1900,respectively.
The Founding
Above: The Feb. 8, 1882 edition of the New Haven MorningJournal and Courier mentions the first meeting of the Knightsof Columbus.
Clockwise, from top right: Knights attend the 1897 SupremeConvention. Among them are four men who served as supremeknight. • The Order’s first supreme knight, James T. Mullen. •St. Mary’s Church in New Haven is pictured in the late-19thcentury.
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On Nov. 25, 1897, Canada’s first council — Montreal Council 284 — is chartered.
The Vatican’s first acknowledgment of theKnights comes when Archbishop FrancescoSatolli, apostolic delegate to the United States,writes a letter extolling the “merits of this splendidCatholic organization” and giving the Order hisapostolic blessing.
6,000 Knights march in the New HavenColumbus Day parade to celebrate the400th anniversary of Columbus’ voyage tothe New World.
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1900-1910
Along with the addition of “patriotism” to the Knights’ prin-ciples came the first Fourth Degree exemplification, which
took place Feb. 22, 1900, in New York City with 1,100 Knightsparticipating. A similar event took place in Boston in May withanother 750 candidates taking the patriotic degree.
By the beginning of the 20th century, the fledgling Orderwas growing dramatically. Councils had been charteredthroughout the United States and Canada, and internationalexpansion continued to Mexico and the Philippines in 1905,along with Cuba and Panama in 1909.
The Knights also turned their attention to college campuses,in more ways than one. In 1904, more than 10,000 Knightsand their families attended ceremonies at The Catholic Uni-versity of America in Washington, D.C., in which the Orderpresented the school with a grant for more than $55,000. Thefunds, used to establish a K of C chair of American history,began a long history of support for CUA. In addition, studentsat the University of Notre Dame in Indiana soon organizedtheir own K of C council. Chartered in 1910, Notre DameCouncil 1477 was the Order’s first college council, launchinga subset of the Knights that today includes councils at 244schools worldwide.
Above: The charter of Council 1000 marks the expansion ofthe Order to the Philippines in 1905.
Clockwise, from top right: Supreme Knight Edward L. Hearnpresents a check for more than $55,000 at The Catholic Uni-versity of America in 1904. The funds are used to establish aK of C chair of American history. • The first exemplificationof the Fourth Degree, based on the principle of patriotism, takesplace Feb. 22, 1900, in New York. • The hall of the firstCanadian K of C council, Montreal Council 284, is picturedcirca 1920s.
The first exemplification of the Fourth Degreetakes place on Feb. 22, 1900, in New York City;1,100 Knights receive the degree. The followingMay, another 750 Knights take the degree inBoston.
More than 10,000 Knights and their families attend ceremoniesat The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., inwhich a check for $55,633.79 is presented to the school for theestablishment of a K of C chair of American history. From 1909to 1913, Knights raise $500,000 to establish a permanent endowment for CUA.
Early Growth
The first council in the Philippines —Manila Council 1000 — is chartered byU.S. citizens after the Spanish-AmericanWar. The same year, the Order expandedto Mexico, establishing Guadalupe Council1050 in Mexico City.
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A reported 5,000 Knights meet James A. Flaherty’s trainin Philadelphia in 1909 when he arrives at the annualconvention where he is elected supreme knight.
Notre Dame Council 1477 is chartered inthe spring of 1910, becoming the first ofnearly 250 college councils worldwide.
U.S. workers in the Canal Zone institute BalboaCouncil 1371 in Panama City. A degree teamfrom Mobile, Ala., then visits Cuba and institutesSan Agustín Council 1390 in Havana.
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1911-1918“EverybodyWelcome,Everything Free”As membership in the Knights of Columbus grew, the
Order became increasingly known as a force for publicgood. Following the dedication ceremony for the ChristopherColumbus Memorial Fountain in Washington, D.C., in 1912,a reporter for The Washington Star noted that the large numberof Knights in attendance “marked anew the important positionof the Knights of Columbus as an order in the social fabric ofthe United States.”
In response to growing anti-Catholic hostility and the rise ofsocialism, two Knights, David Goldstein and Peter W. Collins,embarked on an extensive, 27,000-mile lecture tour throughoutNorth America in 1914. Later that same year, the Order estab-lished the K of C Commission on Religious Prejudice. Thecommission’s work concluded in 1917, when the United Statesentered World War I.
During the Great War, the Order provided rest and recre-ational facilities and social services to Allied servicemen of allfaiths. K of C Huts throughout the United States and Europeprovided religious services, supplies and recreation under themotto, “Everybody Welcome, Everything Free.”
Everybody meant everybody. Whatever your race or creed,you were welcome at K of C facilities. In fact, the Order waspraised by a contemporary African American historian of WorldWar I, because “unlike the other social welfare organizations op-erating in the war, it never drew the color line.”
As a result of the Order’s wartime work, which earned highpraise from Pope Benedict XV, nearly 400,000 men joined theKnights between 1917 and 1923.
With support from the Knights, the Christopher ColumbusMemorial Fountain is dedicated in Washington, D.C. Some20,000 Knights attend the ceremonies, which are overseenby President William H. Taft.
Tens of thousands of copies of a “bogus oath” arecirculated to defame the Knights of Columbus.The Knights, in turn, lay the groundwork for a lecture series and educational programs to combat anti-Catholic hostility. Between 1914 and 1917, the number of anti-Catholic publications drops from 60 to fewer than five.
When National Guardsmen are sent to theU.S.-Mexico border to prevent Mexican Gen.Francisco “Pancho” Villa from raiding towns in New Mexico, Arizona and Texas, K of C councils in those states spontaneously respond to the religious and social needs of troops serving there.
Top: A group of Knights of Columbus secretaries are picturedoutside a K of C Hut at Camp Zachary Taylor in Kentuckyin 1918.
Right: Soldiers write letters home to loved ones at the K of Crecreational center writing room at Camp Gordon in Atlantaduring World War I.
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Left: Soldiers, officers and camp activity workers at Camp Wheeler in Georgiaform the words “K of C.”
Below left: The Columbus Fountain in Washington, D.C., is erected in 1912 with support from the Order.
When the United States enters World War I,Supreme Knight Flaherty writes PresidentWoodrow Wilson telling him that the Order plansto establish centers to provide for the troops’“recreational and spiritual comfort.” The Knights’services, he says, will be offered “regardless ofcreed.”
By the summer of 1917, the Order opens servicecenters, or “K of C Huts,” in training camps andbehind the lines of battle. The Knights and inde-pendent fund drives raise nearly $30 million to fi-nance the huts.
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1919-1929InSearch of LibertyAfter the Great War, the Order continued its charitable
work, offering education and employment services to re-turning servicemen. In less than two years, the Knights ofColumbus Bureau of Employment placed some 100,000 peoplein jobs. The Order’s presence in Europe continued as well. InAugust 1920, when a delegation of 235 Knights made a pil-grimage to Rome, Pope Benedict XV invited them to build sev-eral recreation centers for Roman youth. In response, theKnights constructed five playgrounds throughout the city. Thearchitect, Count Enrico Galeazzi, went on to serve as theKnights’ representative in Rome for more than six decades.
Throughout the 1920s, the Order’s anti-defamation work alsocontinued on several fronts. When the Ku Klux Klan and other“nativist” and anti-Catholic groups launched campaigns to makestudents attend public schools, Church leaders enlisted theKnights’ support. The K of C Historical Commission, mean-while, worked to overcome racial prejudice in American society,publishing books on the contributions of African-, Jewish-, andGerman-Americans.
Finally, when the Mexican government began enforcing theanti-clerical provisions of its 1917 Constitution, the Knightsresponded with one voice. Under President Plutarco ElíasCalles, who took power in 1924, priests and religious were ex-iled and the free exercise of religion was forbidden. In IniquisAfflictisque, his 1926 encyclical on the persecution of theChurch in Mexico, Pope Pius XI praised the Knights’ tirelesswork, which included a major public education campaign,diplomatic efforts and charitable support for refugees.
Top: In response to a request from Pope Benedict XV, the Knightsopened five K of C recreation centers for youth in Rome between1924 and 1927.
Right: K of C representatives, including Supreme Knight James A.Flaherty and future Supreme Knights Martin Carmody and Luke E.Hart, meet with President Calvin Coolidge to discuss the persecutionof the Catholic Church in Mexico in 1926.
Two years after launching educational, vocational and employment programs forWorld War I veterans, more than 50,000students are enrolled in K of C-sponsoredevening school programs across theUnited States and Canada. The Order alsolaunches a correspondence school.
235 Knights sail from New York City to France.In Paris, they are greeted by Church and civicauthorities, who thank the Knights for their WWIwork. In Metz, a large equestrian statue of theFrench patriot Lafayette, funded by the Knights,is unveiled. The K of C delegation continues toRome, where it is received in a private audiencewith Pope Benedict XV on Aug. 28, 1920.
In response to the passage of laws in Oregonprohibiting children under 16 from attendingprivate schools, the Knights work to overturnthe law. In 1925, the Supreme Court declaresthe Oregon law unconstitutional.
In response to a request fromPope Benedict XV, the Knightsopens St. Peter’s Oratory, thefirst K of C recreation centerfor youth in Rome. Four moreare established between 1924and 1927.
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Clockwise, from top: K of Cdelegates stand in front of a newlyunveiled statue of Lafayette inMetz, France. • Columbiareplaces The Columbiad as theofficial publication of the Order in1921. • Students in Memphis,Tenn., attend classes at a K of C-sponsored education program following World War I.
The Order’s anti-defamation work resumes after WorldWar I. The K of C Historical Commission publishes theKnights of Columbus Racial Contributions Series.Three monographs highlighting the positive contribu-tions of African-, Jewish- and German-Americans arepublished.
The Knights’ Rome youth work stimulates interest insimilar projects in North America, and the ColumbianSquires program is established. Brother BarnabasMcDonald consults with the Knights on the creationof the Squires. The institution of the first Squires circle takes place at the Supreme Council meeting in Duluth, Minn.
Supreme Knight Flaherty, Deputy Supreme KnightMartin H. Carmody and other officers meet with President Calvin Coolidge about the persecution of the Catholic Church in Mexico. The Order launches a$1 million educational campaign to influence Americanpublic opinion on the need for a strong stand againstthe Mexican government’s attacks on the Church. Ittakes more than 10 years for the tensions to ease.
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1930-1940
The Great Depression initially had a detrimental effect onthe Order’s membership and finances, but it also led to a
renewed sense of volunteer service. The success of an extensivemembership campaign in 1935, titled Mobilization forCatholic Action, led to the establishment of the Order’s ServiceDepartment, which subsequently launched a “Five-Point Pro-gram of Progress.” The program encouraged councils to play amore active role in the life of the local parish and community,and included five categories: Catholic activity, council activity,fraternal protection, publicity and maintenance of manpower.
Also in the early 1930s, violent persecution resurfaced inMexico, prompting the Order’s leadership to strongly urge theU.S. government to take action. Tensions in Mexico eventuallyeased in 1937, but the threat of atheistic communism wasgrowing in Europe. In response, the Knights organized anti-communist rallies in early 1937. When Pope Pius XI’s encycli-cal on the subject, Divini Redemptoris, was released in Marchof that year, the Order printed and distributed a million copies.The Knights also sponsored a new lecture tour and expandedits anti-communism program to include a Crusade for SocialJustice. “Injustice to man is the seed of communistic growth,”Supreme Knight Martin Carmody said. “With Truth and Char-ity as your weapons, go forth as a Crusade.”
The 50th anniversary of the Knights is celebrated with Commemoration Week,June 24-30, 1932. Among the highlights isthe unveiling in Washington, D.C. of a statueof Cardinal James Gibbons, an early supporter of the Knights who had ordained Father McGivney.
Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli, Vatican secretary of state, visits the Knights of Columbus headquarters in New Haven; in 1939, Cardinal Pacelli becomes Pope Pius XII.
Top: Bishop Molloy Council 1974 in Freeport, N.Y.,sponsors a blood drive to benefit the American Red Cross.
Right: Knights in Marion, Ind., sponsor a father-sonbanquet Dec. 21, 1936.
Helping Our Neighbors
On July 8, 1935, Supreme Knight MartinCarmody and other K of C officials meet withPresident Franklin D. Roosevelt about theongoing situation in Mexico.
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In response to Pope Pius XII’s petition for prayersfor peace, the Knights of Columbus sponsors aninternational prayer for peace program onArmistice Day 1939 and a radio prayer for peacebroadcast on May 19, 1940.
Less than two weeks after World War II isdeclared, Canadian Knights establish a welfare program for soldiers comparable tothe KC huts program that operated duringWorld War I. Within a year, CanadianKnights raise nearly $250,000 to supporttroops.
Top: A K of C council sponsors a Christmas toy drive.
Above: In honor of the Order’s 50th anniversary, Knightsunveil a statue of Cardinal James Gibbons in Washington,D.C., Aug. 14, 1932. Cardinal Gibbons ordained FatherMcGivney and was an early supporter of the Knights.
Left: Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli, Vatican secretary of state(later Pope Pius XII), visits the Supreme Council office inNew Haven, Oct. 13, 1936.
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1941-1950
By the time Pearl Harbor was attacked and the United Statesentered World War II in 1941, a K of C welfare program
for servicemen had been well established by Canadian Knights,built and modeled on the Knights’ World War I work. In theUnited States, the Order’s outreach to soldiers was conductedthrough the National Catholic Community Service organiza-tion, which itself modeled many of its programs on theKnights’ war efforts.
At the Supreme Convention in 1944, the Order establisheda $1 million trust fund for the children of members who diedor became disabled in World War II. Following the end of thewar in 1945, the Order turned its attention to the growingthreats of communism and fascism. To combat these dangers,the Knights launched in 1946 the Crusade for the Preservationand Promotion of American Ideals, which published books andpamphlets to educate the public on “the perils of communism.”
Meanwhile, the postwar years saw a membership boom for theOrder in the Philippines. Jesuit Father George J. Willmann envi-sioned the Knights as the premiere lay society in the Philippinesand set about establishing new councils and recruiting new mem-bers. He appealed to the Supreme Council in 1947 for permissionto establish three new councils there and served as the country’sfirst district deputy. By the time Supreme Knight Luke E. Hartvisited Manila in 1955, the Order had expanded to include 50Filipino councils.
When the U.S. enters World War II, theOrder’s outreach to soldiers is conductedvia the National Catholic CommunityService organization. The NCCS modelsmany of its programs on the Order’s successful WWI efforts.
The Order creates a $1 million trust fund forthe education of children of members who losttheir lives in or as a result of World War II. Thisevolves into the current scholarship fund foruse at Catholic colleges and universities in theUnited States and Canada.
John E. Swift is elected supreme knight.Among his first initiatives is to authorize funding for full-page advertisements in 12 major U.S. newspapers and five Canadian papers highlighting the dangers of commu-nism. The ad offers a free copy of Msgr. FultonJ. Sheen’s pamphlet, “Communism, the Opium of the People.”
War & Peace
Above left: After winning the Columbia Mile and setting a new worldrecord of 4:07.3, Gil Dodds was presented the Archbishop Francis J.Spellman trophy by (Lt. Cmdr.) Msgr. John J. O’Donnell, chaplain ofthe New York Chapter. The record was made before 16,000 fans inMadison Square Garden in 1944.
Right: During World War II, parts of St. Peter’s Oratory, one of the K of C playgrounds in Rome, served as the headquarters for the Vatican’sfood distribution program for the Roman people.
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The Order launches its Crusade for thePreservation and Promotion of AmericanIdeals. Educational pamphlets on communismand the dangers of secularism are publishedand distributed. By August 1948, there aremore than 1,300 K of C discussion groups.
Several hundred radio stations broadcast K of C-sponsored programs with the titles“Safeguards of America” and “Foundations of Our American Ideals.”
Above: A Knights of Columbus wartime hut is pictured inCanada. As Canadian Knights operated a huts program fortroops, U.S. Knights provided services through the NationalCatholic Community Service Organization.
Right: Jesuit Father George J. Willmann, known as the fatherof the Knights of Columbus in the Philippines, was the firstdistrict deputy for the Order’s councils there.
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1951-1960“One Nation Under God”The Knights of Columbus initiated a campaign in 1951 to
lobby for the public adoption of the phrase “under God”in the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance. The Order’s Board of Directorshad amended the pledge’s recitation at Fourth Degree assemblymeetings and encouraged congressional representatives to adoptthe same language nationwide. One year after Supreme KnightHart took office in 1953, President Dwight D. Eisenhowersigned a law that officially added the words “under God” to thepledge.
In the following years, the Knights made significant contri-butions to the Catholic Church in America. In 1953, a Catholicadvertising program launched by Knights in Missouri was offi-cially adopted by the Order as the Religious Information Bu-reau. Through the bureau, which later became known as theCatholic Information Service when its operations moved toNew Haven in 1969, the Knights printed and disseminatedbrochures and pamphlets about the Catholic faith. The pro-gram also included a correspondence course in which sub-scribers could learn about or clarify their knowledge of Churchteachings.
Finally, the close of the 1950s saw the completion of theBasilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conceptionin Washington, D.C. The Order contributed $1 million towardthe completion of the church’s bell tower, known as the Knights’Tower, and more than 1,000 Knights formed an honor guardfor the shrine’s dedication.
Top: A banner with the words of the newly amended U.S.Pledge of Allegiance is seen above the dais of the States Dinnerat the 1955 Supreme Convention in Philadelphia. Approxi-mately 2,500 people attended.
Right: On May 10, 1959, Pope John XXIII becomes the firstpontiff to visit a K of C playground in Rome.
The Order votes to fund the microfilming of irreplaceable documents from the Vatican Library,some dating to the pre-Christian era. The library atSt. Louis University is named as the repository forthe microfilm. By the 1956 opening of the Knights ofColumbus Vatican Film Library at St. Louis University, 9.5 million manuscript pages have beenmicrofilmed and made available for scholars.
Luke E. Hart becomes supremeknight; he is the first supremeknight to move to New Haven toassume his duties, reflecting thedevelopment of the Knights as acorporation.
The Knights of Columbus purchases for$2.5 million the land on which YankeeStadium is built. When news breaks ofthe Knights’ acquisition, councils andmembers send congratulatorytelegrams to New Haven.
A Catholic advertising program launchedby Missouri Knights in the 1940s isadopted nationally by the Order duringHart’s administration. The ads encouragereaders to learn more about Catholic teaching by contacting the Religious Information Bureau, later the Catholic Information Service.
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On June 14, 1954, Flag Day, President Dwight D.Eisenhower signs a law that adds the words“under God” to the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance,completing an effort that Knights began threeyears earlier.
On May 10, 1959, Pope John XXIII becomes thefirst pope to visit a K of C playground in Rome.
On Nov. 20, 1959, the National Shrine of theImmaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.,is dedicated with more than 1,000 Knightsforming the honor guard. Knights contributed$1 million, via a $1.25 per-capita assessmentover five years, for construction of the 329-footbell tower.
Left: The Order finances the microfilmconversion of the Vatican library, preserving irreplaceable documents, someof which are hundreds of years old.
Below left: U.S. Rep Louis C. Rabaut(D-Mich.) presents a scroll with thewords “under God” to Michigan StateDeputy Walter Graveline. Rabaut hadpresented a resolution to Congress in1953 to amend the Pledge of Alle-giance with the words “under God” atthe urging of the Knights of Columbus.
Below: Knights contributed $1 milliontoward the construction of the 329-foot bell tower at the National Shrine ofthe Immaculate Conception in Wash-ington, D.C.
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On Oct. 11, 1961, Supreme Knight Hartvisits President John F. Kennedy — thefirst Catholic president — in the WhiteHouse. Kennedy, a Fourth DegreeKnight, reportedly greets Hart by saying,“Hello, Chief.”
The Order finances installation of the carillon of 56 bells at the National Shrine.
In the spring of 1963, Hart attends a specialWhite House meeting of religious leaders todiscuss civil rights.
Supreme Knight John W. McDevitt takesoffice. His first priority is to amend theOrder’s admission policies to countercharges of racial discrimination.
1961-1978Into the MainstreamThe early 1960s marked a period of
transformation and upheaval for theChurch and society, as the Second VaticanCouncil convened and the civil rightsmovement emerged in full force. Both theuniversal call to holiness and the call for di-alogue and justice in civic life were well re-ceived by the Knights of Columbus. Byembracing the challenge of authentic eccle-sial and societal reform, while remainingfaithful to timeless truths and traditionalvalues, the Knights transcended the politi-cal divide.
At the 1966 Supreme Convention,Supreme Knight John W. McDevitt said itwas time to see the Order as more thanjust “a fortress” for its members in a worldhostile to the Catholic faith. In revising itsadmission policies and supporting a num-ber of social justice initiatives, the Ordertook positive steps to eliminate racial dis-crimination within its ranks and in societyat large. Recognizing the potential to share the Gospel throughmodern technology, the Knights also began a long history ofsupport for the Church’s social communications initiatives, pro-viding a shortwave transmitter for the Vatican radio station andfunding the Vatican’s satellite “uplink” transmissions for world-wide broadcasts.
During this time, the Order’s insurance program began a pe-riod of dramatic growth. The amount of insurance in forcetripled from $1 billion to $3 billion from 1960 to 1975. Andin 1969, the Knights built its seventh national headquarters,its current location, to better serve the Order’s members andtheir families.
President John F. Kennedy meets with Supreme Knight Luke E.Hart at the Columbus Day celebration in Washington, D.C.,Oct. 11, 1961.
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The Knights provides funding for the Center for AppliedResearch in the Apostolate, which has conducted socialscientific studies on the Church since its founding.
In April 1965, the Order co-sponsors with theArchdiocese of Hartford a Conference onHuman Rights at Yale University in New Haven.More than 2,000 people attend the conferenceon interracial justice.
At the Supreme Council meetings of 1965 and 1966,McDevitt addresses how the Knights will respond tothe Second Vatican Council and its call for renewaland reform within the Church and its organizations.
Top left: Supreme Knight John W. McDevittand Supreme Chaplain Bishop Charles P.Greco of Alexandria, La., stand with Yan-kee pitcher Steve Hamilton and White SoxManager Eddie Stanky, both Knights, inYankee Stadium’s Monument Park in1966. Behind them is a plaque the Orderplaced to commemorate the Mass that PopePaul VI celebrated at the stadium in 1965.
Above: Sargent Shriver, a member of theKnights, is pictured with a map of Africaafter his appointment as the first director ofthe Peace Corps in 1961. His wife, EuniceKennedy Shriver, founded Special Olympics,which has drawn support from the Knightssince the organization began in 1968.
Left: Archbishop Patrick O’Boyle of Wash-ington blesses a 56-bell carillon prior to itsinstallation in the Knights’ Tower at theNational Shrine in 1963.
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The Order contributes $75,000 to theU.S. Catholic Conference’s Task Forceon Urban Problems to help addresspoverty and discrimination. The Orderpublishes a booklet on Humanae Vitae,Pope Paul VI’s 1968 encyclical affirmingthe Church’s teaching on marriage andprocreation.
The Order marks the achievement of $2 billion of insurance in force; today thatfigure is nearly $86 billion.
The present Supreme Councilheadquarters is completed. Its four320-foot towers symbolize theKnights’ four principles of charity,unity, fraternity and patriotism.
Supreme Knight McDevitt visits the Vatican Transmitting Center for the blessingof a new shortwave radio transmitter do-nated by the Knights. Pope Paul VI blessesthe transmitter.
Above inset: Completed in 1969,the Supreme Council headquartersin New Haven is one of the tallestbuildings in the city. Its four tow-ers represent the four principles ofthe Order.
Left: The building is pictured underconstruction.
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The Order agrees to fund “uplink” transmissions for major worldwide satellite telecasts from the Vatican; theprogram continues to this day with audiences estimated in the billions forMidnight Mass from St. Peter’s Basilica.
Supreme Knight Virgil C. Dechant beginshis administration with a visit to the NationalShrine of the Immaculate Conception,where he places his work under the VirginMary’s protection.
Beginning this year, each new First Degree Knight receives a rosary blessedby the supreme chaplain, a practice thatcontinues to this day.
Pope John Paul I receives Supreme KnightDechant and other K of C representatives inthe pontiff’s first private audience after hiselection.
Above: In 1967, the Order collaborates with the JohnLaFarge Institute in New York City on programs topromote social justice and ecumenical outreach. The in-stitute was named after Jesuit Father John LaFarge, aleader of the Catholic interracial movement.
Right: Supreme Secretary Virgil C. Dechant, SupremeKnight John W. McDevitt and John O’Brien, directorof agencies, celebrate reaching $2 billion of insurancein force.
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The Order holds its first Marian Hour ofPrayer program. Images of Our Lady ofGuadalupe circulate among the Order’scouncils.
In cooperation with the U.S. bishops, theOrder underwrites the filming of PopeJohn Paul II’s first pastoral visit to theUnited States.
The Order establishes the Vicarius ChristiFund, with annual earnings used for thepope’s personal charities. The initial fundof $10 million is increased to $20 millionin 1988.
The Order begins a four-year restoration ofSt. Mary’s Church, the birthplace of theKnights. The renovations include work onthe organ, floors, pews, ceilings, statues and more. The project is capped by theplacement of a 179-foot steeple atop thechurch.
1979-1999One Christian FamilyIn his 1981 apostolic exhortation On the Role of the ChristianFamily in the Modern World, Pope John Paul II wrote, “The
future of humanity passes by way of the family” (FamiliarisConsortio, 86). The pope’s emphasis on the central importanceof the family for the health of the Church and society rein-forced the Knights’ mission. Likewise, when John Paul II pub-lished an apostolic exhortation on the role of the laity in 1988and an encyclical on the Gospel of Life in 1995, the Orderurged Catholics everywhere to embrace these teachings andeven published study guides to accompany the documents.
During John Paul II’s pontificate, the Knights also strength-ened their ties to the universal Church through increased sup-port of the Vatican. In 1981, the Order established the VicariusChristi Fund, annual earnings of which are presented to thepope for his personal charities. The Knights then underwrotea series of major restorations at St. Peter’s Basilica in anticipa-tion of the Jubilee Year.
In Evangelium Vitae, the pope called the Church “a peopleof life and for life,” a description that the Knights sought tolive up to through personal witness and efforts to build a pro-life culture. The Order also furthered the work of re-evange-lization within the Church through several initiatives inCatholic education: support of Catholic schools, scholarshipfunds for Catholic seminaries and universities, and the estab-lishment of a North American campus of the Pontifical JohnPaul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family.
In addition to celebrating the fifth centenary of the evange-lization of the New World, the Order also honored contempo-rary models of holiness. Supreme Knight Virgil C. Dechantpresented Mother Teresa with the inaugural Gaudium et SpesAward in 1992, and the Archdiocese of Hartford officiallyopened the cause for Father McGivney’s canonization, with theKnights’ support, in 1997.
The Knights establishes a $1 million Father Michael J. McGivney Fund forNew Initiatives in Catholic Education tobe administered by the National CatholicEducational Association. Annual proceedsare used to this day to finance programsthat advance Catholic schools.
Chris Burke, an actor and folk singer who lives with Down syndrome,sings the National Anthem during the Special Olympics World Gamesin Connecticut in 1995.
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The Knights of Columbus celebrates its centennial. President Ronald Reaganattends the Order’s 100th annual convention. Also in attendance is CardinalAgostino Casaroli, who is sent by PopeJohn Paul II as the pope’s personal envoy.
The Order establishes several funds tohelp finance studies for priests and seminarians in Rome at pontifical colleges. These funds have been increased over the years to support seminarians and priests from the UnitedStates, Canada, Mexico and the Philippines.
In recognition of the Order’s volunteerservice, President Ronald Reagan awardsthe Knights a President’s Volunteer ActionAward at White House ceremonies. Also in attendance is Cardinal AgostinoCasaroli, who is sent by Pope John Paul IIas the pope’s personal envoy.
The Order presents a mobile televisionproduction unit to the Vatican TelevisionCenter for the taping, recording andtransmission of papal ceremonies. It is used during Soviet leader MikhailGorbachev’s historic visit with PopeJohn Paul II that same year.
Left: Members of the Board of Directors and the McGivney familyserve as pallbearers as Father McGivney’s remains are re-entombedin St. Mary’s Church in New Haven, March 29, 1982.
Below left: Supreme Knight Virgil C. Dechant presents Pope JohnPaul II with a satellite TV truck financed by the Knights.
Below: President Ronald Reagan speaks at the Order’s 100thSupreme Convention.
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The Order agrees to underwrite therestoration of the 65,000-square-footfaçade of St. Peter’s Basilica, the firsttime it has been cleaned in more than350 years. Several subsequent projectshave taken place at St. Peter’s, includingthe restoration of chapels and of theHoly Year Door.
Mother Teresa visits the Supreme Counciloffice. The Order agrees to print copies ofher Constitutions of the Missionaries ofCharity, prayer cards and other religiousitems, a project that continues to this day.
The Pontifical John Paul II Institute forStudies on Marriage and Family opens a North American branch in Washington,D.C., with funding from the Knights. Carl A. Anderson is the institute’s first vicepresident and dean.
The Bicentennial of the U.S. HierarchyFund is established in the amount of $2million to benefit The Catholic Universityof America. Earnings from the fund payfor projects at the university each year.
Above: Pope John Paul II celebrates Mass forapproximately 75,000 people at AqueductRacetrack during his pastoral visit to the UnitedStates in 1995.
Right: Supreme Knight Dechant presents MotherTeresa with the Order’s first Gaudium et SpesAward at the 110th Supreme Convention in1992.
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Left: Supreme Knight Dechant presents the Quincentenary Cross ofEvangelization to Cardinal JamesHickey, archbishop of Washington,during Mass at the National Shrinein 1992.
Below: The façade of St. Peter’sBasilica shines after the restorationproject financed by the Knights.
The Knights celebrates the fifth centenary of evan-gelization in the Americas. Replicas of the Cross ofthe New World — presented to Pope John Paul IIon his pastoral visit to Santo Domingo in 1984 —are distributed by the Knights and used in diocesesthroughout the Order. Councils organize prayerservices highlighting the theme of evangelization.
Mother Teresa is presented with theOrder’s first Gaudium et Spes Award atthe 110th Supreme Convention in NewYork. The “Joy and Hope” award ac-knowledges her contributions to theChurch and the world.
The Order co-sponsors with the Diocese ofBrooklyn, N.Y., Pope John Paul II’s Massat Aqueduct Racetrack during the pope’spastoral visit to the United States.
The Archdiocese of Hartford officiallyopens the cause for canonization of Father Michael J. McGivney with supportfrom the Knights of Columbus. The Father McGivney Guild is established to promote the cause.
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2000-2012The New MillenniumOn May 21, 2000, Pope John Paul II canonized 25 martyrs
of Mexico, including six members of the Knights ofColumbus. Less than one year later, Carl A. Anderson was in-stalled as the 13th supreme knight in Mexico City and dedi-cated the Order and his administration to Mary under her titleOur Lady of Guadalupe. As Patroness of the Americas and Starof the New Evangelization, Our Lady has inspired the Order’sefforts, just as she inspired the steadfast faith of the Knights ofColumbus martyrs.
In the past decade, the Order has continued to build uponits rich tradition of charitable work and spiritual formation.Various new charitable initiatives, as well as ongoing partner-ships with organizations such as Special Olympics, have givenKnights countless opportunities to practice what John Paul IIcalled “a charity which evangelizes.” Organizing increased out-reach to pregnancy resource centers, providing greater spiritualsupport for men and women in the military, and playing a sig-nificant role in World Youth Days are just some of the manyways that the Order has worked in recent years to promote atrue culture of life.
Pope Benedict XVI, in his first encyclical, Deus Caritas Est,wrote that a Christian must have “a heart which sees” — thatis, which “sees where love is needed and acts accordingly.” ForKnights, this often means recognizing where people are mostin need and responding with material or volunteer support.After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the Order deliveredimmediate assistance to the families of fallen first responders.And when natural disasters struck, such as Hurricane Katrinain 2005 and the Haitian earthquake in 2011, Knights similarlyresponded with immediate aid.
Finally, just as they responded to the forces of secularism andprejudice in the past, Knights have stood by their bishops andhave witnessed to the importance of religion and religious lib-erty for society. As the cause for canonization of VenerableMichael McGivney moves forward, so too do his Knights, seek-ing to build a civilization of love.♦
Standing with laborers and emergency workers Oct. 4, 2001, a priest blesses a 20-foot tall cross of steel beams that had been recovered from the rubble of the World Trade Center in New York.The Knights of Columbus Heroes Fund was established on the dayfollowing the Sept. 11 attacks.
Pope John Paul II canonizes six Mexican mem-bers of the Knights of Columbus, priests whowere martyred during the era of Church perse-cution in the early 20th century. The followingyear, John Paul II beatifies Blessed Carlos Rodríguez, a layman and Knight from PuertoRico. Three additional members from Mexicohave since been beatified, and one canonized.
The Knights of Columbus Museum opensin New Haven. In addition to a permanentexhibit on the Order's history, the museumhas featured numerous temporary exhibitsand priceless works of art, such asMichelangelo's 16-foot wooden studymodel for the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica.
In response to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11,2001, the Knights on Sept. 12 establishes its $1 million Heroes Fund. Checks for $3,000 are presented to the families of all full-time professional law enforcement, firefighters andemergency medical personnel who lost their lives at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Forty-five Knights were killed on 9/11.
The Order establishes a $2 millionPacem in Terris Fund to promotepeace and education initiatives inthe Holy Land and provide supportfor the Christian community there.
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Above: Thousands of Knights attend the Jubilee 2000 Massat the National Shrine.
Left: Apostol Council 12759 in Luzon, the Philippines,feeds children living in poverty on Manila’s Smokey Mountaingarbage dump. According to the annual Survey of FraternalActivity, Knights have contributed $1.4 billion and 653million volunteer hours to charity over the past 10 years.
100,000 copies of a pocket-sized prayerbook, Armed With the Faith, are printedby the Order and the Archdiocese for theMilitary Services, USA, and sent to troopsin Iraq and Afghanistan, along with 10,000rosaries.
The Knights send 2,000 wheelchairs toland-mine victims and people with disabilities in Afghanistan and elsewhere.Through its partnership with the GlobalWheelchair Mission, Knights have sincedistributed nearly 25,000 wheelchairsaround the world.
Villa Maria Guadalupe, the Order’s pro-life retreat center in Stamford, Conn.,operated by the Sisters of Life, opens.
In its first international expansion in almost a century, the Order charters itsfirst councils in Poland, beginning withJohn Paul II Council 14000 in Krakow.
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In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina inthe U.S. Gulf, Knights donate more than$10 million and 100,000 volunteer hoursto help rebuild Catholic churches andschools.
The Knights of Columbus IncarnationDome, a 3,780-square-foot mosaic depicting mysteries of Christ’s life, is constructed at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.
Represented by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, the Knights and K of Cfamilies are defendant-intervenors in acase challenging the words “under God”in the Pledge of Allegiance. Court decisions in 2009 and 2010 uphold thewords’ constitutionality.
On March 16, 2008, Pope Benedict XVIapproves a decree of heroic virtue forFather Michael J. McGivney, declaringhim “Venerable.”
Right: Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl of Washington blesses a statue of the Order’s founder during the opening of McGivney Hall in 2008. The hall, located on the cam-pus of The Catholic University of America, became thenew home of the John Paul II Institute for Studies onMarriage and Family.
Below: K of C signs and banners are pictured at the2008 March for Life in Washington, D.C. Thousands ofKnights and their families from throughout the countryattend the march in January each year.
Below right: A Fourth Degree honor guard, seen in the foreground, serves at the White House welcoming ceremonyduring Pope Benedict XVI’s pastoral visit to the UnitedStates in April 2008.
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Clockwise, from below: Members of the newly reactivatedSanta Maria Council 2479 in Camagüey, Cuba, gather in2009 with Archbishop Juan de la Caridad Garcia Ro-driguez (center) following Mass. • Supreme Knight Ander-son and Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertonewave flags at the 125th Supreme Convention’s States Din-ner. • Michelangelo’s 16-foot wooden study model for thedome of St. Peter’s Basilica is displayed in 2004 at theKnights of Columbus Museum. Also pictured is the coppercross from the top of the basilica, given to the Knights byPope John Paul II. • Supreme Knight Anderson stands withPolish Knights at the Shrine of Divine Mercy during PopeBenedict XVI’s pastoral visit to Poland in 2006.
The Order is present throughout PopeBenedict XVI’s pastoral visit to theUnited States. A K of C-commissionedplaque commemorates the pope’s Massat Yankee Stadium. It accompanies twosimilar plaques, which commemorateMasses that Pope John Paul II andPope Paul VI celebrated there.
McGivney Hall, the new home of thePontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family at The Catholic University of America, is dedicated Sept. 8.
The Knights of Columbus Ultrasound Initiative launches Jan. 22, 2009. To date, more than 250 ultrasound machineshave been purchased for pro-life pregnancycenters using matching funds from theOrder’s Culture of Life Fund, established in 2008.
The Order hosts a “Neighbors HelpingNeighbors” summit on volunteerism in NewYork and designates 2009 as the Year ofthe Volunteer. The Knights of ColumbusCoats for Kids program launches; to date,the initiative has provided more than 45,000winter coats to children throughout theUnited States and Canada.
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Giovanni Alemanno, the mayor ofRome, presents Supreme Knight Carl A.Anderson with “Lupa Capitolina” awardfor the Order’s 90 years of service to theEternal City. The following year, the cityhosts an exhibit about the 90-year relationship at the Capitoline Museum.
Following the 127th SupremeConvention in Phoenix, theOrder hosts the first InternationalMarian Congress and GuadalupeFestival, gathering about 20,000participants.
Following the devastating Jan. 12 earthquake inHaiti, the Order provides immediate assistanceto Catholic Relief Services, establishes a relieffund and purchases 1,000 wheelchairs forHaitians suffering disabilities. In partnershipwith Project Medishare, the Knights’ “HealingHaiti’s Children” program provides prostheticsand two years of physical therapy for childrenwho lost limbs in the earthquake.
Cardinal Jaime Ortega y Alamino, archbishopof Havana, receives the Gaudium et SpesAward, and with assistance from the Knights,the first new seminary in Cuba in more than50 years is opened. Two years earlier, a delegation of Knights from Cuba attended the Supreme Convention for the first time in60 years.
Right: Msgr. Eduardo Chávez,postulator for the cause of canonizationof St. Juan Diego, introduces the Marian Prayer Program at the129th Supreme Convention inAugust 2011. The two-yearinitiative, dedicated to Our Lady ofGuadalupe, is the 15th Orderwideprayer program since 1979.
Below: Young people fill the Love and Life Center, a home for English-speaking pilgrims, at World Youth Day 2011 in Madrid.
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Above: Through its partnership withthe Global Wheelchair Mission,Knights have funded and distributedwheelchairs to the needy in nationsacross the globe, including Vietnam(pictured).
Far left: Deputy Supreme KnightDennis A. Savoie visits with a younggirl who received a coat, hat andscarf during a Knights of ColumbusCoats for Kids distribution in NewHaven in 2009.
Left: Three-year-old Anaika Pierrewalks on two legs for the first timesince the January 2010 earthquakein Haiti, moments after being fittedwith a Knights-funded prosthetic leg.
To address the severe shortage of military chaplains, the Knights established a new scholarship program for the Military Archdiocese’sCo-Sponsored Seminarian program.
Building on the success of their collaboration at World Youth Day 2008in Sydney, the Knights and the Sistersof Life co-sponsor the Love and LifeCentre, the official English-languagecatechetical site at World Youth Day2011 in Madrid, Spain.
The Order establishes a Shrine of BlessedJohn Paul II in Washington, D.C., at the siteof the former John Paul II Cultural Center.Supreme Knight Anderson announces theinitiative will include permanent exhibitscelebrating the life and teachings of the latepope and the 500-year Catholic heritage ofNorth America.
The Knights supports the efforts of theU.S. Conference of Catholic Bishopsand its Ad Hoc Committee on Religious Liberty, under the leadership of SupremeChaplain Archbishop William E. Lori ofBaltimore, in addressing contemporarychallenges to religious freedom and conscience in the United States.
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BUILDING A BETTER WORLD
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IN 1827, Charles Carroll, the lastsurviving signer of the Declaration ofIndependence and the only Catholicto do so, wrote this about the free-doms that the founders of the UnitedStates had secured: “God grant thatthis religious liberty may be pre-served in these States to the end oftime, and that all believing in the re-ligion of Christ may practice theleading principle of charity, the basisof every virtue.”
A little more than half a centurylater, a young parish priest in NewHaven, Conn., and a handful of theyoung “go-ahead” men of the citygathered in the basement of theirchurch to establish a new organiza-tion dedicated to the principles of re-ligious freedom and charity. Thesewere men who had experienced thetrauma of a bitter civil war and whohad heard the stirring call of Presi-dent Abraham Lincoln, declaring thattheir nation “under God” must havea “new birth of freedom” and becomea place “with malice toward none,with charity for all.” And they took toheart Lincoln’s admonition to actwith “firmness in the right as Godgives us to see the right.”
The spark those men lit in thecause of Catholic fraternalism sooncaptured the imagination of a gener-ation of Catholic men as the Knightsof Columbus spread throughout theUnited States and into Canada, Mex-ico and the Philippines within its first25 years.
For decades, Catholics throughoutthe United States suffered the indig-nity of being deprived of the right tovote or hold public office. “KnowNothings” and other bigots claimedthat Catholics who remained faithfulto the pope could never be loyal citi-zens in a democracy. It was theKnights of Columbus that finallychallenged that slander, first with thecreation of the Order’s patriotic de-gree in 1900 and later with a tremen-dous outpouring of support andservice in the First World War.
When the history of the CatholicChurch in America was maligned, weestablished the K of C HistoricalCommission and endowed a profes-sorship in history at The CatholicUniversity of America to set therecord straight. When extremists suchas the Ku Klux Klan sought the pro-hibition of Catholic schools through-out the United States, we stood withthe Society of Sisters of the HolyName of Jesus and Mary and helpedthem bring their case challenging theconstitutionality of such a law all theway to the U.S. Supreme Court.When many in America were draw-ing barriers based on race and reli-gion, we raised a banner saying“Everybody Welcome.” And whenCatholics in Mexico faced the mostdreadful persecution of Christiansever experienced in the WesternHemisphere, we launched a nation-wide campaign to bring attention totheir plight, even as many brotherKnights in Mexico sacrificed theirlives in witness to our faith.
Throughout our history, Knightshave been men who were undeterredby adversity and discrimination.Some lived to see their sons andgrandsons become governors, justices,premiers, prime ministers and presi-dents. They were men who, for themost part, joined the Knights ofColumbus not to engage in the greatcontroversies of the day, but to im-prove the lives of their families; toprovide financial security for theirwives and children; to strengthentheir parishes; and to make theircommunities better. But when chal-lenges and controversies came, theywere men who did not step aside. Inthe words of Lincoln, they remainedfirm in the right as God gave them tosee the right.
As we reflect on the astonishing ac-complishments of the Order over thepast 130 years, we might reasonablyask whether our founder, VenerableMichael McGivney, could have imag-ined all that his brother Knightswould achieve. Would he even recog-nize the Knights of Columbus today?
I believe the answer to those ques-tions is “yes.” I believe Father Mc-Givney could see into the hearts ofthe men who gathered with him atSt. Mary’s Church. He knew their as-pirations and he knew what they werecapable of. I believe our saintlyfounder sees exactly those same qual-ities in his brother Knights today. And100 years from now, he will not besurprised by what his brother Knightshave continued to accomplish.Vivat Jesus!
Our History, Our FutureInspired by brother Knights of the past, we stand firm in our faith and dedicate
ourselves to charity and justice
by Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson
TO BE FEATURED HERE, SEND YOUR COUNCIL’S “KNIGHTS IN ACTION” PHOTO AS WELL AS ITS DESCRIPTION TO: COLUMBIA, 1 COLUMBUS PLAZA, NEW HAVEN, CT 06510-3326 OR E-MAIL: [email protected].
Father Paul O. Gaggawala (right), direc-tor of mission promotion for the Apostles ofJesus, breaks ground for a K of C-fundedschool for AIDs orphans in Uganda withassistance from students and staff.
Building a better world one council at a time
Every day, Knights all over the world aregiven opportunities to make a difference— whether through community service,raising money or prayer. We celebrateeach and every Knight for his strength,his compassion and his dedication tobuilding a better world.
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KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS
PLEASE, DO ALL YOU CAN TO ENCOURAGE PRIESTLY AND RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS. YOUR PRAYERS AND SUPPORT MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
KEEP THE FAITH ALIVE
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ORATORI FORTITERIOCARI CONCUBINE,
IAM BELLUS CA
Incredibiliter perspicax saburre deciperetMedusa, semper aegre parsimonia concubineadquireret perspicax umbraculi, etiam pessimusadfabilis agricolae neglegenter iocari quinquen-nalis apparatus bellis, quamquam Pompeii for-titer deciperet plane adfabilis concubine, quodquinquennalis catelli celeriter senesceret satissaetosus ossifragi. Adlaudabilis matrimoniilibere agnascor fragilis syrtes, etiam rures prae-muniet concubine.Saburre deciperet Octavius.Syrtes fermentet Medusa, et Augustus
adquireret Octavius, etiam saburre fermentetzothecas. Bellus catelli praemuniet optimusfragilis fiducias, semper utilitas concubine am-putat parsimonia suis. Lascivius agricolae pes-simus spinosus senesceret parsimonia saburre,utcunque suis imputat perspicax matrimonii.Incredibiliter saetosus ossifragi iocari fragilis or-atori. Suis frugaliter vocificat pretosius oratori.Rures amputat adfabilis chirographi, quod con-cubine insec
SISTER TERESA IMMACULATECommunity of St. JohnPrinceville, Ill.
PLEASE, DO ALL YOU CAN TO ENCOURAGE PRIESTLY AND RELIGIOUS VOCATIONS. YOUR PRAYERS AND SUPPORT MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
KEEP THE FAITH ALIVE
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‘I DESIRED TO GIVEMY LIFE TO CHRISTIN A RADICAL WAY’I have always received great support from my
family in regards to my vocation. In the begin-ning of my discernment, I was particularly at-tracted to the life of Mother Teresa. Indiscovering her love for God and for others, Idesired to give my life to Christ in a radical way. It was through visiting the Missionaries of
Charity in New York that I learned about theCommunity of St. John. What attracted mewas the time reserved for silence and adoration,which permitted me to learn the necessity ofan authentic interior life in the heart of allChristian activity. Thanks to the support of theKnights of Columbus, I was able to go toFrance and enter the community. It is often very difficult for families and
loved ones to understand when their child orfriend chooses to offer his or her life to Godin such a way. But I’ve come to discover thatin making an act of faith and in following thedesire God has placed on my heart, it opensthe hearts of others.
SISTER TERESA IMMACULATECommunity of St. JohnPrinceville, Ill.