Pope Francis receives leader of the Knights of Columbus

2023-04-23 21:26:00

By Walter Sanchez Silva

April 23, 2023 / 2:26 p.m.

Pope Francis received in audience at the Vatican Patrick Kelly, Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus, the world’s largest Catholic fraternal charity.

Also participating in the hearing, held on April 20, were Vanessa Kelly, wife of the supreme knight; and the Supreme Chaplain and Archbishop of Baltimore, Most Reverend William Lori.

As reported by the Knights of Columbus on its website Facebook, in the audience they “discussed about the activities of the order in the service of the Church, including efforts to strengthen the faith of men and their families; as well as charity initiatives in Ukraine and around the world”.

That same day, but in the evening, Patrick Kelly and Bishop William Murphy, Bishop Emeritus of Rockville Center, were awarded the Rector’s Awardwhich each year distinguishes people who have played an important role for the Pontifical North American College in Rome.

In his speech, the supreme knight stated that “the Church in the United States needs our faithful collaboration, priests and laity.”

“The culture of Father McGivney’s time was hostile to the Catholic faith, but the culture today is perhaps more hostile,” he warned.

“However, when calling each other; and by collaborating to build the Church – clergy and laity together – we can make a difference”, stressed Patrick Kelly.

The Knights of Columbus was founded by Blessed Michael J. McGivney on February 6, 1882.

Currently they add more than 2 million members in more than 16 thousand local councils in different countries of the world.

In 2021 alone, the Knights of Columbus donated nearly 48 million hours of service and nearly $154 million to various charitable causes around the world.

Walter Sánchez Silva is a Senior Writer for ACI Prensa. He has experience in research and coverage of international ecclesial events such as the World Youth Days (WYD) in Cologne 2005, Madrid 2011 and Rio 2013; the V General Conference of the Bishops of Latin America in Aparecida; as well as the trips of Pope Benedict XVI in May 2007 to Brazil and in 2012 to Mexico. He covered the trip of Pope Francis to South Korea in 2014 and the Synods of Bishops in the Vatican in 2015 (on the family) and in 2019 (on the Amazon). He was sent to cover the ravages of the earthquake in Haiti in 2010 and a field producer on location in Buenos Aires, in 2013, of the documentary “Pope Francis: The Pope of the New World.”