We have always taken pride in our role as “the strong right arm of the Church,” and the past year has seen many examples of our support for the Church and our priests and bishops.

If there is one Catholic church that stands out as a symbol of Catholicism in America, it is Mary’s Church in Washington, D.C. – the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. Knights of Columbus have been associated with the Shrine since World War I, when the very idea of a National Shrine to Mary was first discussed. The first pilgrimage to the site of the Shrine was conducted by Knights from Brooklyn in 1918 – two years before the cornerstone was laid. Thousands of individual Knights donated money to build the Shrine over more than three decades.

And the Knights’ bell tower, paid for entirely by the Order and completed in 1959, was provided “as a pledge of devotion of its members to our Blessed Lady, patroness of the United States.” The ushers at the Shrine are all Knights of Columbus, and have been since our centennial year of 1982.

	Detail of the Incarnation Dome: the wedding feast at Cana.

Last November 17, the Shrine dedicated our most substantial contribution to the church in 40 years – the Knights of Columbus Incarnation Dome, a beautiful new mosaic in the Great Upper Church. It depicts four different scenes from the life of Christ: the Wedding Feast at Cana, the Nativity, the Annunciation and the Transfiguration. The Order pledged $1 million towards the dome’s construction, with half to come from the Fourth Degree. Although the dome is now complete, fundraising among members of the Fourth Degree continues, and I urge you to make it a priority.

Last December Supreme Chaplain Bishop William Lori and I presented Pope Benedict XVI with a gift of $1.6 million, representing this year’s earnings from our Vicarius Christi Fund, which was established back in 1981. Since then, it has enabled us to provide the pope with more than $43 million for his personal charities and causes.

In mid-June, our host city of Quebec was at the theological heart of the Catholic Church during the 49th International Eucharistic Congress. At last year’s convention in Nashville, we began a year-long program of Marian devotion to Our Lady of Charity, the patroness of Cuba. Images of her have been touring each of our state jurisdictions through our Pilgrim Virgin program. The Cardinal Archbishop of Havana, Jaime Ortega Alamino, was with us to bless the images and launch the program.

Prayer and devotion to Our Lady should never be underestimated. For many years, our brother Knights in Cuba have been represented at our convention by members who have lived in the U.S. as refugees since 1961. Today, it is with great joy that I announce that for the first time in 58 years, we welcome to this supreme convention of the Knights of Columbus delegates living in Cuba: members of a newly active Santa Maria Council no. 2479 in Camaguey. I’d like to invite our delegation from Cuba to please stand and be recognized. Brother Knights, welcome home.

	Pope Benedict, Supreme Chaplain Bishop William Lori and Supreme Knight Carl Anderson.

Another example of our support for our Church will take place during the run-up to the January 2009 World Meeting of Families in Mexico City. We are sponsoring publication of the Preparatory Catechism that will be distributed in every parish in Mexico. This will be a unique opportunity to help build up the church, and once again the Knights of Columbus is in a leadership position, helping to strengthen both family life and parish life.

And finally, when you make your plans to attend next year’s convention in Arizona, I hope you’ll consider extending your stay in Phoenix by several days, so that you can attend a very special International Marian Congress on Our Lady of Guadalupe. The Congress is cosponsored by the Knights of Columbus, the Diocese of Phoenix, the Archdiocese of Mexico and the Institute for Guadalupe Studies, and will conclude with a huge Guadalupe Festival at the Jobing.com Arena. We’ll soon launch a special Web site providing a wealth of information about this important event.