3 For the greater glory of God
As Knights and lay leaders, we must model the call of all the baptized to participate in the Church’s mission of evangelization.
By Supreme Knight Patrick E. Kelly4 Learning the faith, living the faith
On the battleground of our souls, victory over sin and death is won only by allowing ourselves to be conquered by Christ’s love.
By Supreme Chaplain Archbishop William E. Lori6 Knights of Columbus News
Pope Francis Meets With Supreme Knight, Supreme Chaplain • Graduates Urged to Strengthen Church • New Deputy Supreme Knight Elected • Knights March for Life in Canada
13 Fathers for Good
My father’s fidelity amid unexpected challenges taught me the importance of irrevocable love.
By Mike Phelan26 Knights in Action
Reports from councils and assemblies, representing Faith in Action
8 22
A new K of C initiative invites men to build bonds of brotherhood through prayer and faith formation.
By Michael StechschulteOntario Knights help to reunite a family separated by the demands of caring for a severely handicapped child.
By John Paul MeenanA painting by Spanish artist José Luis Castrillo depicts the Sacred Heart of Jesus within a monstrance, radiating rays of light that symbolize blood and water (cf. John 19:34) and divine mercy. This month, the Church celebrates the feast days of Corpus Christi (June 8, or transferred to Sunday, June 11) and the Sacred Heart of Jesus (June 16). 14 18
A 2021 interview with Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI about the protector of the Holy Family and patron of the universal Church.
The Knights of Columbus coordinates a lifesaving initiative to remove explosive ordnance in Ukraine, allowing residents to return and rebuild.
By Mateusz ZiomberON THE COVER
The Sacred Heart of Jesus is depicted in an 1870 painting by Austrian artist Josef Plank at St. Nicholas Cathedral in Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Membership in the Knights of Columbus is open to men 18 years of age or older who are practical (that is, practicing) Catholics in union with the Holy See. This means that an applicant or member accepts the teaching authority of the Catholic Church on matters of faith and morals, aspires to live in accord with the precepts of the Catholic Church, and is in good standing in the Catholic Church. kofc.org/join
THE LATIN WORD for heart, cor, is the root of many other words, from recordatio (remembrance) and misericordia (mercy) to “courage.” It may seem strange to link a bodily organ like the heart to memory, compassion and virtue, yet in both biblical language and ordinary speech, the word “heart” has a deeply symbolic meaning. It refers to the center of not only a person’s physical being but also his “inner self’ and soul, the seat of his emotions, reason and will.
is symbolism takes on an even more profound meaning in the person of Jesus Christ, who loves us with a heart both human and divine. e Catechism of the Catholic Church notes that “the Sacred Heart of Jesus, pierced by our sins and for our salvation, ‘is quite rightly considered the chief sign and symbol of that … love with which the divine Redeemer continually loves the eternal Father and all human beings’ without exception” (478).
Devotion to the heart of Jesus has a long history, rooted in Scripture and re ected in the writings of the saints. For centuries, the month of June has been dedicated to the Sacred Heart, with the feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus celebrated on the Friday a er the octave of Corpus Christi (this year, June 16). In his 1956 encyclical on devotion to the Sacred Heart, Pope Pius XII emphasized that this is not a secondary and optional devotion, nor should it be viewed narrowly in terms of private revelation or “individual forms of piety which the Church approves and encourages but does not command” (10). Rather, in devotion to the Sacred Heart we nd “a summary of all our religion and, moreover, a guide to a more perfect life” (15).
Recent popes have o en re ected on the heart of Jesus as the source of our life and of our love. “Anyone who wishes to give love must also receive love as a gi ,” wrote Pope Benedict XVI in Deus Caritas Est. “Yet to become such a source, one must constantly drink anew from the original source, which is Jesus Christ, from whose pierced heart ows the love of God” (7, cf. Jn 19:34). He further noted, “ e Christian’s program — the program of the Good Samaritan, the program of Jesus — is ‘a heart which sees’ where love is needed and acts accordingly” (31).
Pope Francis, in Evangelii Gaudium, warned against “the desolation and anguish born of a complacent yet covetous heart, the feverish pursuit of frivolous pleasures, and a blunted conscience,” contrasting a life of self-centered consumerism with “the life in the Spirit which has its source in the heart of the risen Christ” (2). e true joy we seek, he explained, comes only through a personal encounter with Jesus: “Our Christian joy drinks of the wellspring of his brimming heart” (5).
All of this is at the heart, so to speak, of the Order’s new Cor initiative (see page 8), which aims to help men encounter Christ and to live out more fully their mission as Knights and Christians — a mission re ected in Pope Francis’ recent message for the World Day of Prayer for Vocations in April: “We were created by love, for love and with love, and we are made for love. In the course of our lives, this call… enlightens our minds, strengthens our wills, lls us with amazement and sets our hearts a re.” B
Alton J. Pelowski, EditorAs part of the National Eucharistic Revival, the Knights of Columbus has produced a variety of material to help parishioners deepen their love and understanding of the Blessed Sacrament. Among the resources are The Eucharist: Source of Our Healing and Hope, a short film about Christ’s real presence, as well as a Eucharistic Processions Guidebook and training video to help parishes organize their own processions. For these and related resources, visit kofc.org/eucharist.
PUBLISHER
Knights of Columbus
SUPREME OFFICERS
Patrick E. Kelly
Supreme Knight
Most Rev. William E. Lori, S.T.D. Supreme Chaplain
Paul G. O’Sullivan
Deputy Supreme Knight
Patrick T. Mason
Supreme Secretary
Ronald F. Schwarz
Supreme Treasurer
John A. Marrella
Supreme Advocate
EDITORIAL
Alton J. Pelowski
Editor
Andrew J. Matt
Managing Editor
Cecilia Hadley
Senior Editor
Elisha Valladares-Cormier
Associate Editor
Paul Haring
Manager of Photography
Blessed Michael McGivney
(1852-90) – Apostle to the Young, Protector of Christian Family Life and Founder of the Knights of Columbus, Intercede for Us.
HOW TO REACH US
COLUMBIA
1 Columbus Plaza New Haven, CT 06510-3326
columbia@kofc.org
kofc.org/columbia
ADDRESS CHANGES
203-752-4210, option #3 addresschange@kofc.org
COLUMBIA INQUIRIES
203-752-4398
K OF C CUSTOMER SERVICE
1-800-380-9995
As Knights and lay leaders, we must model the call of all the baptized to participate in the Church’s mission of evangelization
By Supreme Knight Patrick E. Kelly
A GREAT BLESSING of my role as supreme knight is the opportunity to periodically update the Holy Father about the activities of the Knights of Columbus. It’s always a moment of grace to be with the successor of St. Peter, expressing the Order’s solidarity with him and with all our bishops and priests. And it’s a real privilege to share with the Holy Father so much good news about the tremendous efforts of our 2 million brother Knights.
During my meeting with Pope Francis in April, I spoke about some of our remarkable charitable work, and I also discussed the increased focus that we’ve been placing on evangelization and the formation of men as husbands and fathers.
I explained that this is an extension of the active sense of “co-responsibility” between clergy and laity that Blessed Michael McGivney built into the Knights of Columbus — some 80 years before the Second Vatican Council underscored “the responsibility of the laity in the Church” (Lumen Gentium, 37). The Holy Father responded with great conviction, saying that our example of co-responsibility is extremely important. He urged me and Archbishop Lori to talk more about it — and so we will!
When Blessed Michael McGivney founded the Order 141 years ago, he didn’t envision his Knights simply as helpful men in the community, but rather as men who embraced a real responsibility — alongside their priests — to advance the mission of the Church. This is one reason Father McGivney entrusted the Order’s leadership to laymen.
Throughout our history, this co-responsibility can be seen in our commitment to works of charity, especially the care of widows and orphans. Co-responsibility also led us to defend the Church from threats such as attacks from the Ku Klux Klan, nativist attempts to prohibit Catholic schools, and the persecution of the Church in Mexico in the early 20th century.
More recently, Knights have modeled leadership and co-responsibility in the pro-life movement, the defense of religious liberty, and countless works of charity in our communities and around the world. For most Knights, our co-responsibility involves simply being available to the parish — being ready to help “Father” with anything he needs. And today, it increasingly means creating opportunities for men to deepen their faith, such as through our new Cor initiative (see page 8).
Our cultural circumstances have changed. Christianity is no longer the formative basis of our society that it once was, which is evident in the large number of people who have left the faith or have no faith at all. If the Church is to thrive, each and every baptized Catholic — bishops and priests, religious, catechists, moms and dads — must engage actively in our shared responsibility to evangelize. In other words, our co-responsibility for the mission of the Church is more vital than ever.
On the individual level, taking on this responsibility can begin with Christ-centered friendships — friendships that seek to build up and challenge each other to something greater. It can involve taking the chance to share your faith with someone, explaining what your faith means to you and why you’re Catholic. And it includes the realization that each of us is personally called to holiness, and then making the decision that I am going to do something about that.
As lay leaders, Knights can go places and reach other men in a way that our priests often can’t. And the witness that we give in those places can draw men into deeper relationship with the sacramental life of the Church.
For decades, the Knights of Columbus has been called “the strong right arm of the Church.” To continue to live up to this title, Knights must answer the call to co-responsibility according to the needs of our time.
Vivat Jesus!
When Blessed Michael McGivney founded the Order, he didn’t envision his Knights simply as helpful men in the community, but rather as men who embraced a real responsibility to advance the mission of the Church.
On the battleground of our souls, victory over sin and death is won only by allowing ourselves to be conquered by Christ’s love
By Supreme Chaplain Archbishop William E. Lori
IN JANUARY 1943, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill met in Casablanca, Morocco, to plot a path to victory in World War II. Toward the end of that conference, FDR announced that the military objective of the Allies was “unconditional surrender”: ere would be no negotiated se lement with the Axis powers. Roosevelt’s announcement, it is said, took even Churchill by surprise. Many wondered, was it possible to u erly defeat such powerful enemies?
The phrase “unconditional surrender” naturally conjures images of destruction and defeat. Indeed, World War II documentaries portray the utter devastation that led to the Allied victories. Even so, those same words can apply to our spiritual lives — not to indicate defeat, but victory. It is by surrendering unconditionally to the Lord and his saving love that we “win through to absolute victory” — the victory of grace over sin and life over death, the victory of eternal life and a peace the world cannot give.
Those who take the spiritual life seriously know that a serious battle is being fought, not in some distant theater of war, but within our souls. On Easter Sunday, we sing an ancient hymn that speaks of “a battle stupendous” between good and evil, life and death, a battle at once cosmic and very personal. We may think these words are mere poetry, but anyone who has grappled with evil or slogged through years of sin and estrangement from God knows that this battle is real; our dignity and destiny hang in its balance.
That same hymn addresses Jesus as “Life’s Captain” — as the one who is victor over sin and death. His was not a victory of force, but a victory of love — the unconditional love and mercy of God the Father, reflected fully and perfectly in his Son and poured out upon a sinful world in the power of the
Holy Spirit. In Christ’s humanity, hanging on the cross, the supreme truth and good that is God’s love was marshalled to spell Satan’s ultimate defeat.
However, we should not imagine that the forces of evil have left the battlefield. Though defeated, they fight on. Jesus’ victory over sin and death must be won in us and in every person and generation until the end of time. How do we make Jesus’ victory our own?
The answer: unconditional surrender. We often say that God loves us unconditionally, and it’s true. God has gone to the greatest lengths to win for us the victory we never could have won for ourselves. The trouble is, we love God conditionally. We readily misuse our freedom to set limits on his love, carving out territory in our souls that we don’t allow his grace to conquer. Sadly, we can sometimes behave like “quislings” — professing loyalty to Christ and the Church, but collaborating with the enemy out of fear, weakness or hope of temporary gain.
What does unconditional surrender mean for us as followers of Christ? It means casting our cares upon the Lord. Owning up to our sins and weaknesses. Confessing our sins. Believing with all our hearts. Hoping against hope. Loving him who loved us first. Embracing the freedom Jesus won so that we can love others, especially our spouses and families, but also those in need. Unconditional surrender means allowing Christ’s self-giving love to define us, to be the last word about who we are and what we do.
One of the most beautiful aspects of Blessed Michael McGivney’s life and ministry was his unconditional love for the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a love which he shared with his parishioners and his brother Knights. Let us ask our Founder to pray that we will have the grace to surrender unconditionally to the Lord’s love and so win through to absolute victory! B
We often say that God loves us unconditionally, and it’s true. ... The trouble is, we love God conditionally. We readily misuse our freedom to set limits on his love, carving out territory in our souls that we don’t allow his grace to conquer.
At the sight of the crowds, [Jesus’] heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd. (Gospel for June 18, Mt 9:36)
The Gospel read at Mass uses the word “pity,” but other Catholic translations use the word “compassion,” which means “to suffer with.” When we suffer with others, we are naturally moved to comfort them; we are motivated by love to relieve and redress their suffering. In sharing the suffering of the afflicted and aiding them in word and deed, we demonstrate the love of Jesus — and thereby reveal to them the Good Shepherd.
“HOW FORTUNATE you are in becoming a missionary,” St. André Besse e told his Holy Cross confrère, Flavian Laplante, who le Canada for Bangladesh in 1932. “I envy you.” Brother Flavian devoted the rest of his life to mission work, serving as a “ sher of men” for nearly 50 years in poor shing communities in Southeast Asia.
Doria Laplante was born in SaintLouis-de-Richelieu, a farming village in Québec, in 1907. The seventh of nine children, he entered the Congregation of Holy Cross at age 16, taking the religious name Flavian. He professed final vows in 1928 and four years later was assigned to the congregation’s mission in East Bengal, present-day Bangladesh.
Brother Flavian served as a teacher and school administrator until 1942, when he began to minister to a primarily Hindu community suffering from Japanese air raids and famine. Even after World War II ended, local fishermen in the coastal city of Chittagong struggled to recover because their boats had been commandeered. Brother Flavian helped them get new boats and acquire training
June 1 St. Justin, Martyr
June 3 St. Charles Lwanga and Companions, Martyrs
June 4 The Most Holy Trinity
June 5 St. Boniface, Bishop and Martyr
Challenge: This month, I challenge you to show compassion and Christian charity for others by serving the poor, the sick, the lonely or those in need in a direct and tangible way. Second, I challenge you to aid in the Faith in Action Global Wheelchair Mission, Habitat for Humanity or Helping Hands program.
June 11 The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi)
June 13 St. Anthony of Padua
June 16 The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
June 17 The Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary
June 21 St. Aloysius Gonzaga
June 24 The Nativity of St. John the Baptist
June 28 St. Irenaeus, Bishop and Martyr
June 29 Sts. Peter and Paul, Apostles
to repair them. He also organized cooperatives among the fishermen and worked to protect them from pirates. Meanwhile, he built an orphanage and school for children from a nearby refugee camp.
Known for his love of the Blessed Mother, Brother Flavian established a Marian hermitage in Diang, outside Chittagong, in 1962. He retired there in 1976 and later organized a Marian celebration and pilgrimage to the site’s shrine; the event is now an annual pilgrimage drawing thousands on the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes.
Brother Flavian Laplante died June 19, 1981, at age 73. The Archdiocese of Chittagong formally opened his cause for canonization in 2009. B
We pray that the international community may commit in a concrete way to ensuring the abolition of torture and guarantee support to victims and their families.
ON APRIL 20, Pope Francis received Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly and Supreme Chaplain Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore in a private audience. They discussed the Order’s service to the Church, including its efforts to strengthen the faith of men and their families and its charitable initiatives in Ukraine and throughout the world.
Later that evening, the Ponti cal North American College in Rome honored Supreme Knight Kelly as well as Bishop William Murphy, bishop emeritus of Rockville Centre, New York, with the Rector’s Award, given each year to persons who have been instrumental in the life of the college and the Catholic Church.
e supreme knight accepted the award at the Rector’s Dinner “on behalf of the 2 million members of the Knights of Columbus and their families, who are commi ed always to being in solidarity with our bishops and priests.”
Supreme Knight Kelly urged seminarians studying at the college to look to Father McGivney as a model of priestly fatherhood.
“From the moment he was ordained, at age 25, Michael McGivney understood his vocation in terms of fatherly service,” the supreme knight said. “For the next 13 years, until his early death, he spent every day pu ing the needs of others ahead of his own.”
Father McGivney’s ministry and the history of the Knights of Columbus, he continued, also exemplify e ective collaboration between clergy and laity.
“By calling upon one another, and by collaborating to build up the Church — clergy and laity together — we can make a di erence,” Supreme Knight Kelly said. “Like Blessed Michael McGivney before us, we too can win hearts, change minds, and build something truly great that glori es God.” B
Bishop John Barres of Rockville Centre, N.Y., congratulates Sister Mary Gabriel of the Sisters of Life at the annual graduation Mass of the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family in Washington, D.C. Bishop Barres celebrated the Mass at the Saint John Paul II National Shrine on May 9, and Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly, an Institute alumnus, delivered remarks. The supreme knight urged graduates to “do what you can to help ground the whole Church in a deeper understanding of our shared mission to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all nations.” Also pictured (in back) is David S. Crawford, dean. Eleven students received advanced degrees in theology this year, bringing the total conferred by the Washington session of the Institute to 630 since it was established in 1988 with support from the Order.
THE KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS
Board of Directors on May 15 elected Supreme Director Arthur L. Peters of Brampton, Ontario, as deputy supreme knight, e ective July 1. Peters will succeed Deputy Supreme Knight Paul G. O’Sullivan of Foxboro, Massachuse s, who will retire in June a er reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70.
Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly expressed his gratitude to O’Sullivan for his nearly 50 years of service to the Order and his congratulations to Peters, adding, “I look forward to serving with Arthur as we advance the mission of Blessed Michael McGivney.”
Arthur Peters joined the Knights of Columbus in 1986 as a charter member of Father Clair Tipping Council 9235 in Brampton. He served in numerous o cer positions for his council, district and the Ontario State Council, which he led as state deputy from 2010 to 2011. He is presently in his third three-year term on the Knights of Columbus Board of Directors.
Since 2005, Peters has worked as the director of development for the Archdiocese of Toronto, a position he will retain during his tenure as deputy supreme knight. B
CANADIAN PRO-LIFE advocates, including numerous Knights of Columbus and their families, pledged to “Stand Firm” at the 26th National March for Life in O awa on May 11.
Supreme Director Arthur Peters, past state deputy of Ontario; Supreme Director Arcie Lim, past state deputy of British Columbia; Supreme Director Daniel Duchesne, past state deputy of Québec; and Ontario State Deputy Marcel Lemmen were among the participants, and an honor guard of Fourth Degree Knights led the march through downtown O awa.
e annual event is organized by Campaign Life Coalition with support from the Knights of Columbus and other sponsors.
“ is is God’s ba le, we are his soldiers. Victory is guaranteed. We need only to follow him,” said Je Gunnarson, president of Campaign Life Coalition and a member of Galt Council 2184 in Cambridge, Ontario.
Also speaking at the pre-march rally, Supreme Director Peters emphasized
the Order’s commitment to the dignity of life from conception to natural death.
“Today 28% of Canadians believe it is acceptable to include poverty and mental illness as justi cation to seek a medically assisted suicide. What a reminder of the importance of our e orts here today and all year,” he said. “Not just today but throughout the year, as Knights we stand united with the prolife movement to oppose any a empt to harm a human being at any stage.”
Canadian Knights, Peters added, are actively supporting pregnancy resource centers and maternity homes through the Order’s ASAP (Aid and Support A er Pregnancy) initiative.
“We will never yield in our support for mothers and children, both born and unborn,” Peters said. “And at the same time, we support the call for compassionate care options for those who are ill and need assistance to live. Providing support for the ill and dying should not mean taking care away from them, and poverty should not force people to seek a medically assisted suicide.” B
On a pleasant spring evening in April, about two dozen men found seats in a parish hall recently refurbished by St. Mary Magdalen Council 12295 in Brighton, Michigan, and turned on the television.
The National Football League’s entry draft was taking place, but for the men of Council 12295, something more important was on the agenda.
“Let’s open in prayer,” said the gentleman seated at the head of the long table.
After reciting an Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be, the men pulled up a YouTube video featuring Bishop Robert Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, founder of the Word on Fire ministry, and prepared to dive into a discussion of the previous Sunday’s Gospel: Jesus meeting the disciples on the road to Emmaus.
“We’re all on a journey,” a participant observed, drawing parallels to the disciples’ walk with Jesus. “We’re all on a mission. As Catholic men and men of integrity, this is our mission: to share our stories with people we know.”
This wasn’t your typical K of C council meeting, but a pilot of a new initiative developed by the Supreme Council. Its name, Cor , is drawn from the motto of St. John Henry Newman, Cor ad cor loquitur , which is Latin for “Heart speaks to heart.” Distinct from the monthly council business meeting, the Cor meeting is designed to help Catholic men build a more intentional relationship with Jesus Christ through prayer, formation and fraternity.
“We have a responsibility to help other men recall and understand the Spirit they have been given. It is the duty of a band of Christian
brothers, of Catholic gentlemen — of Knights,” wrote Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly in his December 2022 Columbia column, in anticipation of the pilot phase launch in January.
“During this fraternal year,” the supreme knight went on to explain, “local councils will be implementing new programs and structures as we consider how, as an Order, we can become, more and more, the men of faith and courage that Blessed Michael McGivney desired us to be.”
Council 12295, which is based at St. Mary Magdalen Parish in Brighton, 45 miles northwest of Detroit, is one of approximately 40 councils in more than 20 K of C jurisdictions that have participated in Cor so far.
There is no required schedule or agenda for Cor meetings; leaders in each council are free to determine how best to integrate the initiative’s three pillars of prayer, formation and fraternity, noted Paul Kelsey, director of evangelization and faith formation for the Michigan Knights of Columbus.
Sometimes, that might mean a Bible study or reflection on the Sunday Mass readings, while in other meetings men might share faith testimonials or read the lives of the saints. Whatever else they do, prayer is a key component to every meeting, Kelsey said.
“What Cor represents is a re-emphasis of Blessed Michael McGivney’s vision for the Knights of Columbus since the very beginning,” said Kelsey, who is spearheading efforts to advance Cor within Michigan councils. “The Knights have always
been charitable, but this gives us an opportunity to remind men why they’re Catholic in the first place.”
Cor isn’t just for Knights. All men of the parish are invited to the meetings, which not only promotes unity and fraternity more broadly but can serve to introduce non-Knights to the Order.
“What men, especially young men, are looking for is a way to help them live their Catholicism, and that’s what Cor is really trying to do,” said Father Paul Erickson, pastor of St. Mary Magdalen and a former state chaplain of Michigan. “The usual Knights of Columbus business meeting is not a great introduction to the Order for most men.”
In a culture that o en discourages or undermines men in their role as leaders, providers and protectors of their families, men are hungry for a sense of meaning, Father Erickson observed. Cor speaks to a deeper longing in the hearts of Catholic men for an authentic expression of their role, rooted in Christ.
“There’s an element of sacrifice that’s at the heart of every man, of wanting to give myself to something bigger than me,” he said. “Men are really looking for purpose and direction. We used to have a culture that made it easier for men to find those things, and Cor is about helping men start to figure out that purpose and direction.”
While the Knights of Columbus is known for charitable service and fraternity, Father McGivney’s intention in founding the Order was to fortify men first as disciples of Jesus against a culture that sought to rip them away, noted Grand Knight Daniel Isabel of San Salvador Council 1 at St. Mary’s Church in New Haven, Connecticut.
“Father McGivney’s vision for founding the Knights was to ensure that men stayed in the Catholic faith, that they
weren’t pulled away by the secret societies of his day,” Isabel said. “In today’s world, the competitors for men’s attention are everyday distractions and secular society. Our culture makes it difficult for men to remain grounded in their Catholic faith, and that’s why the Cor meeting is needed.”
Since Council 1 began piloting the Cor initiative, about 20 men have been meeting on a biweekly basis in the same church basement where Blessed Michael McGivney gathered the first Knights in 1882.
Seeing today’s Knights gather for Cor in the birthplace of the Order, animated by a love of Christ and his Gospel to go out and serve others in charity, is undeniably attractive, said Isabel.
“What Cor represents is a re-emphasis of Blessed Michael McGivney’s vision. ... The Knights have always been charitable, but this gives us an opportunity to remind men why they’re Catholic in the first place.”
“We even have one guy who’s been coming to the meetings who is not a Catholic, and it’s been a great experience for him,” he added. “He’s not yet in RCIA, but he’s in the questioning period. He would never have come to our council business meetings, but he’s coming to our Cor meetings.”
At St. Mary Magdalen in Brighton, the weekly Cor meetings open with prayer, usually followed by a discussion of the saint of the day and that week’s Sunday Gospel, explained Michael “Mickey” Tucker, a member of Council 12295 who has led a men’s faith formation group at the parish since 2018. e men discuss the readings or a companion video and are invited to share personal faith testimonials, which o en leads to meaningful conversations, Tucker said. At the end of the meeting, they pray together again, con ding personal intentions and asking each other for intercession in di cult circumstances.
Right: Sean Pott, director of evangelization and faith formation for the Knights of Columbus and a member of San Salvador Council 1 in New Haven, Conn., reads a Bible passage during a group discussion at St. Mary’s Church, the birthplace of the Order. • Below: Father Vincent Curran, a priest in residence at St. Mary’s, gives a presentation on lectio divina, the prayerful reading of Scripture, to members of Council 1 gathered for a Cor meeting.
“Trust is something that takes some time to develop, knowing that anything spoken in that room never leaves the room,” Tucker said. “It’s a very respectful, personal type of trust that develops for guys to be able to talk about their challenges in life, and to give some sort of personal testimony to their faith.”
In Laredo, Texas, about 30 men participate in weekly Cor meetings at 6 a.m. on Thursdays at San Martin de
Porres Parish, praying together, listening to one another and building a brotherhood that transcends the walls of the church, said Ramiro Martinez, director of evangelization and faith formation for San Martin de Porres Council 9626.
It’s rare for men to admit their weaknesses, Martinez said, but Cor encourages men to be real with one another, knowing their brothers in Christ have their back through the struggles of daily life.
“I’ve witnessed that,” Martinez said. “I’ve witnessed men being vulnerable enough to say, for example, ‘I’m struggling with my kids.’ And other men step up and say, ‘Don’t give up. Try this. Give yourself up to God.’ It’s very rewarding to see that happen.”
The men begin in prayer before watching a video — the council will be using the K of C-produced Into the Breach series this summer — before moving into table discussions.
In the past several months, at least three men who were not Knights have decided to join Council 9626 as a result of attending Cor meetings, Martinez said.
“They liked what we were doing with Cor , and they also assisted us with our fish fry,” Martinez said. “They decided, ‘I like what these guys are doing,’ so they joined us as Knights. The meat and bones of what we’re trying to do is help each other get closer to God, and to do it together, to grow in a brotherhood like the Knights are supposed to be.”
Although Cor is fundamentally an initiative to promote deeper prayer and formation, not a recruiting tactic for the
Knights, Father Erickson of St. Mary Magdalen believes it will inevitably lead more men to consider joining a fraternal order that supports them in their faith, family life and service.
“We get a good mix of Knights and non-Knights, which is actually not only good for the parish, but for the Knights,” Father Erickson said. “Because if guys are going to become Knights, it’s not just because of pancake breakfasts. It’s going to be because they’ve had an encounter with the Lord, and they get to share that with their brothers.”
For more information about the Cor initiative, visit kofc.org/cor . B
WHEN MY PARENTS married, there was no question that they wed for life, for be er or for worse. I know this from the family story in which I was both spectator and participant. Let me explain.
e mutual consent to marriage, the Church teaches, is exclusive, permanent and irrevocable, and it can be lived faithfully, though the smiling wedding-day couple can’t know what is coming on the road of irrevocable love. ank God. Love makes us brave.
As the oldest of four children growing up in Sco sdale, Arizona, I got a front-row seat to the challenges that life can bring a married couple. In 1972, when I was 5, my father was among the rst permanent deacons ordained west of the Mississippi. One year later, life suddenly changed for our family when my mother had a severe stroke at age 38. She permanently lost the use of the le side of her body, and temporarily lost most of her speech. Her youngest child was only two months old.
Disaster was averted on the human level by two things: our community of faith and my parents’ character. Our parish and the edgling diaconal community responded with astounding charity and presence. My siblings and I were dropped at people’s homes, o en for months, while Dad tried to gure out the way forward. We had a “meal train” miles long. I’m told we didn’t do our own laundry for three years. Mom worked her way to a partial recovery, and life went on.
Fast-forward nine years. Mom was now president of the Sco sdale Stroke Club, drawing the interest of a local news channel, which decided to do a human-interest story on her and our family. Filming for a day, they captured my mom doing various tasks around the house one-handed and then stayed to record us eating dinner.
A er misbehaving during the entire meal, we kids were called to task: “Kids,” Dad said in a you’re-in-trouble tone, “it’s been a long day, and this is almost done, and I have one last thing to do. is nice lady is going to interview me in the living room. So that is where I’ll be. Where you will be is in your rooms. Understood?”
We all marched down the hall to our rooms, except for my sister. Just as the lights went on and the camera began to record, Mary Kate slipped into the living room and stood by the cameraman. Dad saw her, sighed, and motioned to continue the interview.
Mary Kate remembers the nal question: “So, Deacon Tom, you are a father of four rather young children, and your wife sometimes needs special care. You are busy as a deacon on Sundays, and you are working two jobs to make ends meet. A lot of men might have le . Why did you stay?”
My sister was shocked. He could leave? e thought had never entered her mind.
My father’s response has become family lore: “Well, because I promised I would stay. In front of God and everyone that I love. For better, for worse. In sickness and health. Until death. Next question.”
e cameraman whispered in my sister’s ear, “You’re a lucky li le girl.”
e vows were real. e marriage was real.
Matrimony, etymologically, means “the state of motherhood.”
e motherhood of my mother, lived out in the face of much trial, could still be real too, because of the marriage vows that protected her and us.
Patrimony, a word seldom used nowadays, originates as “the state of fatherhood.” Inheritance, tradition — that which is passed down makes fatherhood possible.
An Italian philosopher once said, “I believe that what we become depends on what our fathers teach us at odd moments, when they aren’t trying to teach us. We are formed by li le scraps of wisdom.”
In other words, a father’s character does the training, in unplanned moments.
is is still what we do, dads, and what we must do. May we seek God’s help every step of the way. B
By John Paul Meenan
Marie-Ange, the ninth child of Marc and Carole Jobin, came into the world in the summer of 2018, but, alas, not in the usual way. Carole’s uterus ruptured, depriving Marie-Ange of oxygen. As result, Carole nearly died from hemorrhaging and the baby was born with severe brain damage. us began a four-year odyssey and ordeal for the family in rural Barry’s Bay, Ontario.
From the beginning, baby Marie-Ange was unable to regulate her body temperature and breathing, requiring constant nursing care and vigilance from her mother.
“Carole spent weeks at a time away from the family to be with Marie-Ange at the hospital, o en having to advocate for our daughter’s needs,” recalled Marc, a member of Barry’s Bay Council 6894.
Even when Carole and the baby could leave the hospital, they couldn’t return to the Jobins’ 100-year-old farmhouse. Marie-Ange’s precarious health required that they stay near the hospital in Barry’s Bay, in a house where the temperature and humidity levels could be carefully controlled.
“ e small Barry’s Bay community rallied in prayer and support, and God provided in ways beyond expectation,” said Marc.
For three years, as the rhythms of the Jobin household revolved around Marie-Ange’s 24/7 medical care, the network of support for the family grew. In the fall of 2021, St. Patrick Basilica Council 485 in O awa spearheaded a charitable initiative, in partnership with the Mennonite Disaster Service, to build an addition to the Jobins’ home that would allow the family to live “under one roof” again. With enthusiastic support from the Ontario State Council, the project became a jurisdiction-wide e ort that was completed in July 2022.
“Projects like this are part of the Knights mission because they fundamentally answer the rst principle upon which Blessed Michael McGivney founded the Order,” State Deputy Marcel Lemmen said. “And that was to keep Catholic families together.”
In early 2018, the Jobin family settled into an old homestead outside Barry’s Bay, a small town two hours west of Ottawa. With all the children playing a part, they started a
Opposite page: Carole and Marc Jobin stand outside the new addition to their 100-year-old farmhouse in rural Ontario, built with the help of Marc’s brother Knights and the Mennonite Disaster Service. The modern addition made it possible for the Jobins to care for their youngest daughter, who is severely disabled, at home. • Below: During a work day at the Jobin house in January 2022, Sam Freemark of St. Patrick Basilica Council 485 (left) installs insulation, and Grand Knight Donald Macdonald shares a laugh with volunteer coordinator Osiah Horst of the Mennonite Disaster Service.
small farm, clearing the land, tending the garden, gathering honey from bees. Yet their plans became a lot more uncertain with the birth of Marie-Ange six months later.
At the start, there were constant back-and-forth trips to the children’s hospital in O awa. Marie-Ange was eventually discharged, but the temperature and humidity variants in the Jobins’ house were not suitable for her fragile condition.
A benefactor in Barry’s Bay provided a home where mother and daughter could stay for a very modest expense. Because Carole had to spend most of her time tending to her youngest child, she was o en away from the rest of her family.
“I miss my mom,” one young Jobin daughter told Donald Macdonald, grand knight of Council 485, when he visited the farmhouse. “Mom used to tuck us into bed at night; my older sisters have to do that now.”
It broke Carole’s heart to be separated from her family.
“It feels pre y dark at the beginning,” she said. “You just wonder how we are going to be able to make one step forward. But eventually, it’s just God leading.”
Marc, who was working as a paramedic, considered the idea of building an addition to their home that could be outed for Marie-Ange’s needs. “But as a single-income family with nine children, it was just not within our budgetary means to nance such an adventure,” he said.
e Jobins prayed for a way for Carole and Marie-Ange to be reunited with the rest of the family. In particular, Carole began praying to Blessed Michael McGivney to intercede on their behalf following his beati cation in 2020.
“When Father McGivney was beati ed, I felt strongly that we should go to him, as the beati cation miracle was linked to a very similar story as ours,” she recalled. “He intervened in a life-threatening in utero condition of a Down syndrome boy, part of a group o en rejected by society.”
e prayer requests made their way to Council 485 at St. Patrick’s in O awa, where an Honoris Society dedicated to Blessed Michael McGivney is located in the lower level of the basilica.
“Because Carole came to the hospital in town with Marie-Ange, we learned about the family,” Grand Knight Macdonald explained. “And through a call for prayer on their
behalf by a mutual friend, we realized the great need for this three-year separation to come to an end and that we could tangibly help.”
In a ma er of months, a support network coalesced, with Council 485 taking the lead in a campaign to raise CA$130,000 for the building project. e Mennonite community in the Barry’s Bay area was contacted, and the Mennonite Disaster Service of Ontario agreed wholeheartedly to oversee construction and provide most of the labor. Council 485 donated professional design and structural engineering services as well as other logistical and nancial expertise. By November 2021, shovels were in the ground.
Marc and Carole could barely believe it.
“We went from being quite discouraged and wondering if anybody was listening to us upstairs, to all of a sudden feeling like the plan had been in the works the whole time and we were just the last ones to nd out about it,” Marc said. “ e speed at which things came together was stunning.”
e project was both local and provincial, even ecumenical. Knights across Ontario contributed generously to the fundraising campaign.
“Grand Knight Macdonald sent out an appeal with our permission to Knights of Columbus councils all over the province to raise funds to complete this project,” said State Deputy Lemmen. “I think Blessed Michael McGivney would be very proud of these e orts.”
Macdonald likewise acknowledged the breadth of support: “Councils and individual Knights throughout Ontario, across Canada and in the USA have helped us enormously, though funding is still needed to complete the Knights’ nancial commitment.”
Barry’s Bay Council 6894 rallied to the cause, recruiting volunteer workers, helpers and cooks, while also providing
advice about navigating local rules and guidelines. In January 2022, as construction progressed, Knights from Council 6894 joined members of Council 485 at the building site, installing wall insulation while Mennonite lads worked on the siding.
“ e one thing I was super careful to do was make sure that we didn’t take over what Council 485 had started,” Grand Knight John Artymko said. “And so just as the Knights are the right arm of the Church, our council kind of became the right arm of the Jobin addition project.”
He added, “A project like this brings goodness to a community. It lets us brother Knights ask other volunteers to contribute, and the fruits of that asking is that they’re part of a project that radiates the light of Christ out into the world.”
e Mennonites brought their renowned cra smanship and work ethic to the project. Osiah Horst coordinated the
“We went from being quite discouraged and wondering if anybody was listening to us upstairs, to all of a sudden feeling like the plan had been in the works the whole time and we were just the last ones to find out about it.”BOTTOM LEFT: Photo by Chris Roussakis — BOTTOM RIGHT: Photo by Donald Macdonald
volunteers for the Mennonite Disaster Service, a binational organization that has been doing relief work for the last 70 years across the United States and Canada.
“It has been a beautiful opportunity for us to work together across religious lines,” Horst said. “In fact, someone in the process coined a new word. We are called Mennonites and they are called Knights of Columbus, so on this project we became Menno-Knights.”
e addition was dedicated on a beautiful sunny day, July 16, 2022, the memorial of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. In a endance were State Deputy Lemmen, members of Barry’s Bay Council, men and women of the Mennonite community and other local residents. During the ceremony, Grand Knight Macdonald led a procession with his bagpipes, and the Mennonites presented Carol with a handmade quilt.
e Jobins were overjoyed.
“Daily life now for us as a family is transformed,” Marc said. “It’s quite amazing to have a family meal for a change, as we’d been deprived of that for almost four years.”
He continued: “ e addition is a miracle. I’ve been so deeply touched by the hard work the Mennonites have done
for our family and to see how the Knights from all across Ontario have pitched in to help us.”
Grateful to be reunited with her husband and children, Carole expressed her appreciation for the Knights’ perennial mission to aid families, widows and orphans.
“ is is really the Gospel,” she said. “Blessed Michael McGivney has shown us that he’s still very active, and his organization is de nitely there for the protection of life and the family.”
Though being united as a family provides solace, Marie-Ange continues to face serious health issues. On two different occasions this year, she had to be admitted to the hospital for respiratory illnesses.
“ e cross is not over; we’re not in heaven yet,” Carole said. “But when a family is together, we can already touch heaven because there’s love, and God is present with us.”
To help support this project, contact GK485@ontariokofc.ca. B
In Scripture, St. Joseph’s obedient faith is expressed not in words but decisive action, in prompt response to the commands of God and in loving service to Mary and Jesus. “Joseph found happiness not in mere self-sacrifice but in self-gift,” observed Pope Francis in his apostolic letter Patris Corde ( With a Father’s Heart ). “His patient silence was the prelude to concrete expressions of trust.”
e Knights of Columbus has long had a special devotion to St. Joseph, recognizing him as an extraordinary model of delity and fatherhood. When Patrick Kelly was installed as the 14th supreme knight in 2021, during the Year of St. Joseph proclaimed by Pope Francis, he consecrated his administration to the Guardian of the Redeemer. Later that year, the Order launched a Pilgrim Icon program in honor of St. Joseph that is ongoing. Also during the Year of St. Joseph, just months after Pope Francis published Patris Corde , Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI (Joseph Ratzinger) gave an interview about his namesake to Regina Einig, a German newspaper editor. Originally titled “Sein Schweigen ist zugleich sein Wort” (“His Silence Is Also His Way of Expressing Himself”), the interview appears in What Is Christianity? , a book featuring Pope Benedict’s last writings. The English-language version of the book will be published by Ignatius Press in August, and an abridged version of the interview is printed here with permission.
Your Holiness, Scripture does not record a single word spoken by St. Joseph. Is there however, in your opinion, a statement in the New Testament that expresses the saint’s character in a particularly suitable way?
POPE EMERITUS BENEDICT XVI: It is true, no words of St. Joseph are handed down to us by the New Testament within his story. But there is a correspondence between the task entrusted to him by the angel who appears to him in a dream and the action of St. Joseph, a correspondence that clearly characterizes him.
In the episode of the command that he receives in a dream to take Mary as his spouse, his response is given in a simple sentence: “He woke and did as the angel commanded him” (Mt 1:24). The correspondence between the task and the action is manifested even more strikingly in the episode of the flight into Egypt, in which the same words [in Greek] are used: “He rose and took the child and his mother” (Mt 2:14). Both expressions are used again a third time at the news of Herod’s death and of the possibility of returning to the Holy Land. The words that characterize Joseph follow, one after the other: “He rose and took the child and his mother” (Mt 2:21).
The nocturnal warning about the danger of [King Herod’s son] Archelaus does not have the same authority as the preceding information. St. Joseph’s action in response says much more simply: “Being warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee” (Mt 2:22). The same basic attitude is manifested finally, in an altogether different way, in the episode of the adoration of the Magi who came from the East: “Going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother” (Mt 2:11). St. Joseph does not appear in the meeting between the Magi and the Child Jesus. This silent
reluctance to appear is also characteristic and shows very clearly that along with the formation of the Holy Family he took upon himself a service that required great decision-making and organizational ability, but together with a great capacity for self-denial. His silence is at the same time his message. It expresses his “yes” to what he took upon himself in binding himself to Mary and to Jesus.
What impressions do you have from your pilgrimages in the Holy Land that are particularly connected with the life of your patron saint?
BENEDICT XVI : I must say that during the visits that I made to the Holy Land, St. Joseph almost never appeared. It is natural that he should not be mentioned at the major sites of the public ministry of Jesus in Galilee, especially near the Lake of Gennesaret and the surrounding areas, as well as in Judea. It would contradict his fundamental attitude of obedient silence and his being in second place. However, one
could certainly expect a word about him in Nazareth as well as in Bethlehem. Nazareth, in particular, refers to the figure of Joseph. Indeed, it is a place which, outside of the New Testament, is not mentioned anywhere else in written sources. …
Indeed, for Ma hew — who puts an Old Testament passage at the basis of every event in the life of Jesus as an a empt to demonstrate that Jesus truly was the Messiah foretold by the Old
Pope Benedict XVI receives a statue of St. Joseph as a gift July 17, 2008, at the Mary MacKillop Memorial Chapel in Sydney, following his arrival for World Youth Day.
Testament — the fact that there was no prophetic prediction that had spoken in some way about Nazareth presented a di culty. is was a fundamental di culty for the legitimization of Jesus as the promised Messiah: Nazareth in itself obtained no promise (cf. Jn 1:46). And nevertheless, Ma hew found three ways to legitimize Jesus the Nazarene as Messiah, too. e Messianic trilogy by Isaiah in Chapters 7, 9 and 11 relates in Chapter 9 the prophecy whereby a light will shine in a land of darkness. Ma hew identi es the land of darkness with semi-pagan Galilee where Jesus began his journey.
A second legitimization of Nazareth is obtained, for Ma hew, from the inscription over the cross composed by the pagan Pilate, in which he deliberately proposes the “title” (which means the legal motivation) for the cruci xion: “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews” (Jn 19:19). is term has been handed down in two forms — Nazarene and Nazirite — which certainly refers, on the one hand, to Jesus’ total consecration to God, but recalls, on the other hand, his geographical origin. us Nazareth, as part of the mystery of Jesus through the pagan Pilate, is inseparably connected with the gure of Jesus himself.
Finally it occurs to me that a catechesis on St. Joseph given in the
“Along with the formation of the Holy Family, he took upon himself a service that required great decision-making and organizational ability, but together with a great capacity for self-denial. His silence is at the same time his message.”
Holy Land could also recall a third aspect that summarizes and adds greater depth to the two preceding ones. … “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse” (Is 11:1).
The stump of Jesse, who was the forefather of the dynasty of David, which had received the promise of lasting forever, refers to the contradiction between promise and reality that was intolerable for a believing Israelite: The Davidic dynasty disappeared, and only a dead stump remained. But that very same dead stump now becomes a sign of hope: From it a shoot unexpectedly sprouts once again. This paradox, in the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1:1-17 and Luke 3:23-28, is recorded in the form of a present reality and for the evangelist conceals within it a tacit reference to the birth of Jesus from the Virgin Mary. Joseph is not the true biological father of Jesus, but he is so legally, by the Law that is constitutive for Israel. The mystery of the shoot becomes still deeper here. The stump of Jesse, by itself, no longer generates life; the stump is truly dead. And yet it bears new life in the son of the Virgin Mary, whose legal father is Joseph.
All this has to do with the theme of Nazareth, inasmuch as the word Nazareth seems to contain within it the term nezer, naser (shoot). e name Nazareth could also be translated as “village of the shoot.” … In any case, the mystery of St. Joseph is profoundly related to the locality of Nazareth. He is the one who, as a shoot from the root of Jesse, expresses the hope of Israel.
St. Joseph is traditionally invoked as patron saint of a happy death. What do you think about this custom?
BENEDICT XVI : We can say with certainty that St. Joseph died during the time of Jesus’ hidden life. He is mentioned one last time in Luke 4:22 after the first public visit of Jesus to the synagogue in Nazareth. The amazement of the crowd at what Jesus says and how he says it turns into perplexity, and they ask each other: “Is this not the son of Joseph?” The fact that subsequently he is no longer
mentioned, while it is his mother and his “brothers” who ask to see Jesus, is a certain sign that he was no longer alive. Therefore, the idea that St. Joseph concluded his earthly life in Mary’s care is well founded. Praying to him to accompany us kindly, too, in our final hour is therefore an absolutely warranted form of piety.
How was your patron saint’s day celebrated in your family?
BENEDICT XVI : St. Joseph’s Day [March 19] was my father’s patronal feast and mine, and, within the practical limitations, it was celebrated properly. Most times my mother, with her savings, somehow managed to buy an important book (for example Der kleine Herder [a small reference book]). Then there was a tablecloth specifically for the feast day, which made the breakfast festive. We would drink fresh-ground coffee, which my father liked very much, although usually we could not afford it. Finally on the table there was always a primrose as a sign of spring, which St. Joseph brings with him. And to top it off, Mother would bake a cake with icing, which completely expressed the extraordinary character of the feast. In this way the special quality of the feast of St. Joseph was tangible from early morning on.
Have you experienced personally in your life the intercession of your patron saint?
BENEDICT XVI : When I notice that a prayer has been answered, I do not trace the cause of it back to individual intercessions, but feel indebted to them as a whole.
[In 2020] Pope Francis announced the Year of St. Joseph, reminding the faithful that St. Joseph was declared the patron of the universal Church in 1870. What hope do you place in this gesture?
BENEDICT XVI : I am particularly glad, of course, that Pope Francis has reawakened among the faithful an awareness of St. Joseph’s importance; and therefore I read with enormous
For men seeking to grow in devotion to St. Joseph, the Order’s Catholic Information Service recently published With a Father’s Heart, a study guide to Pope Francis’ apostolic letter Patris Corde. The booklet presents sections of the papal letter, issued in December 2020, with accompanying commentary, questions, and opening and closing prayers. This is the first title in the new CIS Cor Ecclesiae (Heart of the Church) series, a line of study guides to essential Church documents designed for Knights of Columbus Cor meetings and other faith-centered discussions. For more information and to order, visit kofc.org/shopcis
gratitude and most sincere agreement the apostolic letter Patris Corde , which the Holy Father wrote for the 150th anniversary of the proclamation of St. Joseph as patron of the universal Church. It is a very simple text which comes from the heart and is addressed to the heart, and for precisely this reason it is very profound. I think that this document should be read diligently and meditated on by the faithful; it would thus contribute to the purification and deepening of our veneration of the saints in general and of St. Joseph in particular. B
The Knights of Columbus coordinates a lifesaving initiative to remove explosive ordnance in Ukraine, allowing residents to return and rebuild
By Mateusz ZiomberStay alert. Focus. Choose well-known, paved roads. Look for things out of the ordinary: clothes hanging on trees, out-of-place rocks. Avoid potholes as if your life depends on it — because it may. And don’t delay; remember you must be home before sunset.
These are everyday thoughts of some 2 million Ukrainians, and rules taught to children, now living in territories
riddled with landmines, unexploded bombs and improvised explosive devices. Fifteen months after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, it is estimated that nearly 30% of the country’s land — an area roughly the size of Florida or Wisconsin — is contaminated by unexploded ordnance. Landmines and explosive remnants of war have so far killed more than 750 civilians, many of them children.
Since the outbreak of the war, the Knights of Columbus has stood on the frontlines of providing food, medicine, shelter and other humanitarian aid to displaced Ukrainians. During this time, clearing areas of deadly explosives to protect civilians has increasingly stood out as an urgent need. In response, the Supreme Council engaged with trusted partners, having previously collaborated on a similar
initiative in the Middle East: ITF Enhancing Human Security, a Slovenian nonprofit organization dedicated to clearing landmines and unexploded shells; and Safe Path Group, an NGO established by U.S. veterans who are expert educators in unexploded ordnance risks.
“We initially came here in June [2022] to do reconnaissance and see if there was a way we could assist and help,” said Jay Gardner, project manager of Safe Path Group. “It became abundantly clear from the outset that there was a dramatic need for explosive ordnance clearance within Ukraine.”
The Knights’ partners are now working with the local civil administration and protection services to provide specialized training. The initiative, which is equipping Ukrainians to remove unexploded ordnance and instruct other local minesweepers, has a straightforward goal: clear the land so that residents can move back to their homes.
“People need to be safe,” said Ukraine State Deputy Youriy Maletskiy. “We need to support such initiatives that protect civilians’ lives — kids especially — and enable people to rebuild their lives.”
Many Ukrainians returning to their homes face a grim scenario: plundered, destroyed or burned buildings, devastated infrastructure, a lack of electricity and drinking water. The danger of landmines, booby traps and artillery shells — an
estimated 3 in 10 shells remain unexploded — further hinders the difficult work of reconstruction.
The Order and its partners have faced such challenges before. In 2019, the groups were together able to clear 2.6 million square meters of Syrian land once controlled by Islamic State militants, helping to protect local Christian communities.
“The situation in Ukraine is difficult, of course, and I would like it to end as soon as possible so that people can return to their homes,” said Petro Glazun, the head of the Safe Path Group training. “But to return, first of all, we need to clear the territories of explosive devices.”
There are also people who, despite the danger, stayed in their homes, and still live under Russian occupation. Older people, widows and children — often orphans cared for by their grandparents — are waiting and praying for liberation. But even when it comes, they will face tremendous danger caused by explosive remnants of war.
“The more people who are professionally trained and using appropriate equipment are involved, the sooner we will clear those lands and remove threats,” said State Deputy Maletskiy.
For the past several months, professional instructors with the Safe Path Group have been teaching Ukrainian volunteers in eastern Ukraine. The first groups of minesweepers will start their work this summer, after receiving official state certifications. The K of C-sponsored initiative will also fund basic demining equipment.
“We have 10 students in training at the base down near Kharkiv,” noted Gardner. “They are doing extremely well, and we expect that in a month they will complete that training. And very soon after that we should be able to produce live operations.”
Since unexploded ordnance can vary widely, expertise is as essential as experience. The Russian army is using new versions of anti-personnel landmines, including mines equipped with seismic sensors, and cluster bombs.
“Even though I knew something, it turns out I knew almost nothing compared to the information provided here,” said Konstantin, a Ukrainian trainee who had previous military engineering experience.
“If there is more recruitment in the future, I will bring colleagues who have been relieved from the military due to injury,” he added. “Though they can’t continue to serve, they want to do good.”
Above and left: Volunteers receive instructions during a demining training program near Kharkiv, in northeastern Ukraine, on Feb. 28, just more than one year after the Russian invasion.
e safety of Ukrainian civilians — that’s the priority. But Russian aggression has also had global consequences.
Ukraine is one of the top agricultural producers in the world, exporting critical amounts of oilseeds, corn and wheat. e con ict has already a ected food markets in distant regions of the world, especially in Africa but also South America and Indonesia. Farmers from liberated territories have to resume their work as soon as possible. However, even assessing the condition of their elds represents a perilous threat.
“Tractor drivers have been blown up and people are afraid to go to the elds,” said Ivan Vlasenko, who lives in the Kherson region and works in the agriculture industry. “Although the elds themselves are not heavily mined, there is more of a problem with unexploded rockets.”
Though the region was recently liberated, conditions remain dire, said Vlasenko, who is a charter member of a new K of C council at the Church of the Nativity of Virgin Mary in Zelenivka.
“Mine clearance has not been carried out because there are missile a acks every day,” he said in mid-May. “Yesterday, three people were killed, including a 5-year-old child.”
Some self-proclaimed specialists have begun o ering to clear the land for farmers. Not for free, of course, and without any guarantee of success or safety.
“People can’t farm the land because mines and explosive remains are everywhere,” said Maletskiy. “Russians are focused on quantity, not quality. Now they’re even using old missiles that don’t explode when they hit the ground.”
Ukraine will be dealing with this problem for at least the next decade; some experts estimate that one year of war results in 10 years of land clearing.
e Order’s Ukraine Solidarity Fund, established to provide urgent relief, has allowed Knights to distribute millions of pounds of food, medicine and other supplies, and to o er housing and educational opportunities to women and children eeing war. e answer to such a humanitarian crisis, however, must be multifaceted, and a truly Catholic response has to incorporate a broad perspective: not only feeding the hungry and sheltering the homeless but also enabling people and communities to rebuild and recover.
“Support given by the Knights of Columbus in the Kharkiv region is much needed and appreciated. But when it comes to demining, we need all the help we can get,” Maletskiy said. “I think that in the next ve or six years, it will become the No. 1 priority here. is project is a much-needed investment in the future of Ukraine.”
To learn more, visit kofc.org/ukraine. B
Emerald Coast Council 11893 in Destin, Fla., hosted a Craw sh Boil at Corpus Christi Catholic Church. Father Viet Huynh, parish administrator, asked the Knights to organize the event to build community at Corpus Christi, which recently completed a signi cant renovation and expansion project.
In anticipation of the 60th anniversary of St. Andrew’s Parish in Moore, Okla., Knights from St. Andrew’s Council 9901 rebuilt the church’s outdoor Stations of the Cross, which had become weather-beaten over several years. e new stations were blessed by Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City when he visited to celebrate the anniversary Mass.
F-A-I-T-H, FAITH
St. John the Evangelist Council 1171 in Clinton, Md., held a Catholic Bee for students in fourth and h grades at St. John the Evangelist School. Nearly 50 students competed in the event, which featured questions about the Catholic faith.
In the days before Holy Week, Marian Council 5748 in Manchester, N.H., hosted the Relics of the Passion, a traveling collection of artifacts from the Apostolate for Holy Relics, at St. Catherine of Siena Parish. e collection includes a piece of the cross, a sliver from the
crown of thorns and relics of the apostles. Fourth Degree Knights provided an honor guard for the prayer service and held the relics for others to venerate.
Knights from several California assemblies provided an honor guard for the Diocese of San Bernadino’s Migrant Mass at St. Frances Xavier Cabrini Parish in Yucaipa. e Mass, which was celebrated by Bishop Alberto Rojas, is an annual event that highlights the importance of migration in human history and showcases the cultural diversity in the diocese.
On the rst Monday of every month, Knights from Col. Walter Parsons Council 3205 in College Station, Texas, lead a Holy Hour for vocations at St. omas Aquinas Parish. e council also provides prayers and nancial support to ve Diocese of Austin seminarians and one candidate for the perma-
diaconate through the Refund Support Vocations Program.
Past Grand Knight Jim Domorod of Father Aloysius
H. Schmitt Council 13220 at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C., does yardwork outside of the base’s St. Francis Xavier Catholic Chapel. The council cleared away leaves and other debris from the nearly 1.5 acres around the chapel and pressure-washed 400 feet of surrounding sidewalks.
Deacon Bob Calabrese, a member of All Saints Council 11402 in Atlanta, distributes backpacks to children following Mass at St. Joseph Maronite Catholic Church in Sandy Springs, Ga. Knights at the parish collected backpacks, notebooks and other school supplies for Catholic Charities Atlanta to o er to children in need.
Fathers William & Christian Nellen Council 6371 in Waunakee, Wis., co-sponsored a fundraiser with St. John the Baptist Parish to bene t the family of Shane Fe ers, a member of the council. Shane’s wife, Dana, su ers from an aggressive form of cancer that has le her with quadriplegia. e Super Bowl party organized by the Knights raised more than $125,000 for her care.
SK John G. Timmermans Assembly 2632 in Airdrie, Alberta, collected more than 10,000 pounds of food during a drive to benefit the Veterans Association Food Bank in Calgary, which supports nearly 500 veterans and their families.
Members of Sons of Mother Seton Council 9847 in Fayetteville, N.C., prepared and served a meal for more than 300 children and adults taking part in the Diocese of Raleigh’s Catholic Camporee. The annual event brings together members of various youth and scouting organizations for a weekend of fun, fellowship and prayer.
Members of Carmel Council 3605 in Hamden, Conn., raised $2,000 at a recent fundraiser for Camp Rising Sun in Branford. The council has donated more than $19,000 over the past 10 years to the organization, which runs a free summer camp for children who have been diagnosed with cancer.
St. Pius X Council 3433 in Indianapolis hosted a breakfast fundraiser that raised $1,000 for students in Marian University’s San Damiano Scholarship Program for Church Leadership. The funds will be used to support the students’ trip to World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal, this summer.
St. Katharine Drexel Elementary School in Sioux Falls, S.D., asked members of St. Katharine Drexel Council 16017 to help create a chapel space for the school. The Knights contributed 175 service hours and $660 to complete the project, which included building kneelers for the students.
Knights from St. Francis Council 5080 in Toronto held a Wife Appreciation Dinner to celebrate their spouses and thank them for the support they provide to the council. Father Thomas Reist, pastor of St. Bonaventure Parish and council chaplain, blessed all the wives in attendance.
Kiwalan San Roque Council 8681 in Lanao del Norte, Mindanao, distributed gi s of fruit, rice, toiletries and more to residents at the Bishop Bienvenido Tudtud Memorial Home for the Aged in Iligan City. e home is a joint project of local Knights, the Daughters of Mary Immaculate and the Diocese of Iligan.
When a parishioner of St. omas More Parish in Allentown, Pa., died without the means to pay for a funeral, St. omas More Council 4397 donated $500 to assist with funeral costs. e council also made matching donations of $2,500 to Cay Galgon Life House, a pregnancy resource center in Bethlehem, Pa., and the Allentown Area Ecumenical Food Bank.
Poth (Texas) Council 2618 donated a new popcorn machine to Poth High School that will be used to sell concessions during athletic events and other school occasions. e council also awards scholarships to Poth High School students for college, technical school or seminary; seven $500 scholarships were awarded this year.
During Mass at St. Mary of the Assumption Parish in Hockessin, Del., members of Co ee Run Council 6768 who were serving as ushers noticed a woman who was feeling unwell and o ered her assistance. e Knights, who had been trained in emergency medical response just 10 days earlier, called 911, and paramedics arrived just as the parishioner went into cardiac arrest. She has since made a complete recovery, thanks in large part to the quick actions of the Knights.
When a Gulf War veteran opened a new co ee shop in Florence, Ore., Pope St. John Paul II Assembly 3656 helped install a agpole and U.S. ag outside the business. Five Fourth Degree Knights — including four Vietnam War veterans — a ended the ag’s rst raising.
Members of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Council 8902 in Temperance, Mich., raised $2,617 for the Ukraine Solidarity Fund, which was partially matched by another donor for a total of $5,117.
e Manitoba State Council, in support of the Winnipeg and St. Boniface archdioceses, hosted a series of workshops over eight weeks aimed at promoting healing and reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. e workshops, held at St. Paul the Apostle Parish in Winnipeg, reviewed the oppression of First Nations people in Canadian history and included the testimony of a residential school survivor.
e Arizona State Council donated $29,000 to Advice and Aid Pregnancy Center in Kingman for the purchase of an ultrasound machine. Local Knights from St. Mary’s Council 3145 also donated $1,800 to the pregnancy resource center from the council’s fall festival at St. Mary Parish.
Members of St. Peter Council 10510 in Lincoln, Neb., deliver toys and baby supplies to the local Women’s Care Center, along with more than $6,000 from a community fundraiser organized by the Knights. Council 10510 also collaborated with 11 other councils in the area to raise $12,000 toward the purchase of an ultrasound machine for the pregnancy resource center, which has served more than 600 mothers and babies since it opened in 2020.
When Aspire Pregnancy Center in Laconia, N.H., sought funding to expand its ultrasound services from three and a half days to ve days a week, local Knights came to the rescue. Laconia Council 428, Bishop Peterson Council 4442 in Salem and St. Charles Cardinal Borromeo Council 17141 in Meredith donated a combined $6,500 to the e ort, more than half of the center’s fundraising goal of $12,000.
of the Cross outside a local abortion facility on Good Friday. The “Way of the Cross for Victims of Abortion” service, which was organized by the council and led by Father Thomas Ferguson, pastor of Good Shepherd Catholic Church and council chaplain, was one of nearly 100 held across the United States that day.
Riley Smith (right) stands with fellow members of Holy Name of Jesus Council 15619 in West Palm Beach, Fla., after competing in a recent Special Olympics Florida district meet, where he placed second in both the softball throw and 50-meter run. Members of Council 15619 came out to cheer for their brother Knight, and the council also donated $2,200 to Special Olympics Florida.
St. Francis of Assisi Council 13748 in Nixa, Mo., collected $650 during its annual fund drive for people with disabilities. e funds were donated to Christian County Enterprises’ Sheltered Workshop, which provides meaningful employment to people with disabilities. Over the past three years, the council has donated more than $2,000 to the workshop.
Members of Mount Vernon Council 5998 in Alexandria, Va., and other pro-life advocates prayed the Stations
Knights from William E. Baldwin Sr. Council 17990 in Millersville, Md., collected more than 20,000 diapers during the council’s annual diaper drive at Our Lady of the Fields Church, held the weekend a er the March for Life in Washington, D.C. e diapers and other donations of baby supplies will be given to a pregnancy resource center in Baltimore. Since 2018, the drive has collected more than 106,000 diapers.
See more at www.kofc.org/knightsinaction
Please submit your council activities to knightsinaction@kofc.org
Knights from San Ignacio de Loyola Council 16799 in Querétaro, Mexico Central, carry a statue of Our Lady of Solitude through the city’s streets during the annual Procession of Silence. The procession is a Good Friday tradition to mourn Christ’s Passion and death and accompany the Blessed Mother in her grief and solitude.
Knights from Holy Cross-Bilangbilangan Council 18046 in Bien Unido, Visayas, and other volunteers serve food to children on Bilangbilangan Island. The council partnered with Catholic Youth Ministry and Catholic Faith Defenders to organize the food program and catechism event for 50 participants.
Members of St. John Vianney Council 7077 in Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia, construct gravel walkways to several temporary emergency shelters on the grounds of Holy Trinity Catholic Church. The shelters are an initiative of the Archdiocese of Halifax-Yarmouth to provide people experiencing homelessness with a place to stay in the winter months. The walkways replaced paths that had become slippery and uneven.
Participants in the 22nd Annual Waverly Knights of Columbus Trail Ride, organized by Waverly (Ky.) Council 1361, set out from Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Nearly 100 people joined the trail ride, which raised $1,200 for several charitable and pro-life causes.
Knights in northern Poland carry a reliquary containing relics of St. John Paul II in a procession through Gdańsk on April 2, the 18th anniversary of his death. Several thousand people accompanied the relics from the Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary to the Monument to the Fallen Shipyard Workers of 1970. The boat-shaped reliquary is kept in the port city’s St. John Paul II Shrine, home to St. Faustina Council 17906.
By Elisha Valladares-Cormier
DEACON FIDEL CARRILLO, a member of St. Anthony’s Manteca (California) Council 10693, has a passion for sharing God’s love and redemption with people who desperately need it.
For two decades, he has ministered to incarcerated persons in San Joaquin County, which has the state’s highest rate of violent crime. Currently the restorative justice liaison for the Diocese of Stockton, Deacon Carrillo served for several years as chaplain to the Northern California Youth Correctional Center, a facility for male o enders from 14 to 25 years old.
His motivation, he said, is “to bring the mercy and compassion of our Lord and restore the human dignity to those marginalized by society.”
Over the years, Knights from Council 10693 have supported Deacon Carrillo’s ministry in various ways, including purchasing rosaries and raising money for programs at the correctional center. However, as Grand Knight Jory Kusy put it, they also wanted “get out of the pews and put our words into action” by visiting the young inmates.
In January, Deacon Carrillo asked the council to help provide a barbecue meal for the center’s 600 inmates
and sta members. A council member who owns a local restaurant o ered to cater the lunch at a steep discount. A $5,000 grant Deacon Carrillo had received covered part of the cost, and the council raised the remaining $2,000. e participating Knights underwent background checks, and the warden had to approve the menu and utensils. When the Knights delivered the meal Jan. 27, some of the inmates helped them serve the food, and several others told them how much they appreciated the council’s e orts.
Kusy plans to continue nding ways to serve the young men in the facility.
“We have to be here for these men, to help them succeed in life, if we want to see a change in the world,” he said.
Deacon Carrillo agreed that Knights are in a position to make a di erence in the inmates’ lives.
“ e Knights have a wonderful opportunity to mentor incarcerated young men,” he said. “A large percentage of them don’t have a male gure in their lives, so to encounter men who care for them, who can be understanding, compassionate and nonjudgmental, can really go a long way.” B
— Elisha Valladares-Cormier is associate editor of Columbia and a member of Sandusky (Ohio) Council 546.
Please enroll me in the Father Michael J. McGivney Guild:
NAME
ADDRESS
CITY
STATE/PROVINCE
ZIP/POSTAL CODE
Complete this coupon and mail to: The Father McGivney Guild, 1 Columbus Plaza, New Haven, CT 06510-3326 or enroll online at: fathermcgivney.org
K OF C
OFFICIAL SUPPLIERS
www.KnightsGear.com
www.KnightsGear.ca
1-833-695-4872
IN THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA THE ENGLISH COMPANY INC. www.kofcsupplies.com
1-800-444-5632
FOR UNIFORMS
THE SUPPLY ROOM, INC.
www.kofcuniform.com
1-833-562-4327
OFFICIAL JUNE 1, 2023:
To owners of Knights of Columbus insurance policies and persons responsible for payment of premiums on such policies: Notice is hereby given that in accordance with the provisions of Section 84 of the Laws of the Order, payment of insurance premiums due on a monthly basis to the Knights of Columbus by check made payable to Knights of Columbus and mailed to same at PO Box 1492, NEW HAVEN, CT 06506-1492, before the expiration of the grace period set forth in the policy. In Canada: Knights of Columbus, Place d’Armes Station, P.O. Box 220, Montreal, QC H2Y 3G7 ALL MANUSCRIPTS, PHOTOS, ARTWORK, EDITORIAL MATTER, AND ADVERTISING INQUIRIES SHOULD BE MAILED TO: COLUMBIA, PO BOX 1670, NEW HAVEN, CT 06507-9982. REJECTED MATERIAL WILL BE RETURNED IF ACCOMPANIED BY A SELF-ADDRESSED ENVELOPE AND RETURN POSTAGE. PURCHASED MATERIAL WILL NOT BE RETURNED. OPINIONS BY WRITERS ARE THEIR OWN AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT THE VIEWS OF THE KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS.
SUBSCRIPTION RATES IN THE U.S.: 1 YEAR, $6; 2 YEARS, $11; 3 YEARS, $15. FOR OTHER COUNTRIES ADD $2 PER YEAR. EXCEPT FOR CANADIAN SUBSCRIPTIONS, PAYMENT IN U.S. CURRENCY ONLY. SEND ORDERS AND CHECKS TO: ACCOUNTING DEPARTMENT, PO BOX 1670, NEW HAVEN, CT 06507-9982.
COLUMBIA (ISSN 0010-1869/USPS #123-740) IS PUBLISHED 10 TIMES A YEAR BY THE KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS, 1 COLUMBUS PLAZA, NEW HAVEN, CT 06510-3326. PHONE: 203-752-4000, kofc.org. PRODUCED IN USA. COPYRIGHT © 2023 BY KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART WITHOUT PERMISSION IS PROHIBITED.
PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT NEW HAVEN, CT AND ADDITIONAL MAILING OFFICES. POSTMASTER: SEND ADDRESS CHANGES TO COLUMBIA, MEMBERSHIP DEPARTMENT, P.O. BOX 554, ELMSFORD, NY 10523.
CANADIAN POSTMASTER PUBLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT NO. 1473549. RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO: KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS, 50 MACINTOSH BOULEVARD, CONCORD, ONTARIO L4K 4P3.
PHILIPPINES FOR PHILIPPINES SECOND-CLASS MAIL AT THE MANILA CENTRAL POST OFFICE. SEND RETURN COPIES TO KCFAPI, FRATERNAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT, PO BOX 1511, MANILA.
Every day, Knights all over the world are given opportunities to make a di erence — whether through community service, raising money or prayer. We celebrate each and every Knight for his strength, his compassion and his dedication to building a be er world.
Students from Trinity Regional School in Northport, N.Y., approach a relic of Blessed Michael McGivney held by Father Joe Catafago during an afternoon prayer service at St. Anthony of Padua Church. The relic visited several parishes and schools in the Diocese of Rockville Centre May 1-4, culminating in a votive Mass on May 4 celebrated by Bishop John Barres and attended by members of 20 Long Island councils.
A monastery is a place where God is sought. Yet I have always been terrible at seeking. As a boy, I even once forgot to look for my grandmother in a game of hide-and-seek. Nonetheless, this is exactly what God has called me to do.
When I rst visited St. Benedict Abbey as a college student in 2013, I heard a call from Christ that I didn’t really understand at the time. I loved the liturgy, the fraternity, the whole daily life — but I couldn’t explain why I wanted to be here. Re ecting on it, I believe our Lord called me to seek him in the monastery by my prayer and work, and by charity to my brothers and our guests, ultimately to nd him in eternity.
Christ sometimes seems to hide himself and call out so that I will seek him more eagerly, but o en he is simply hidden by my distractions. Despite my forgetfulness, I am encouraged by his constant reminders and his promise: “Seek and you will nd” (Mt 7:7).
‘Our Lord called me to seek him.’Brother Jerome Daignault St. Benedict Abbey, Still River, Massachuse s Our Lady of Czestochowa Council 14757, Worcester