The Knights of Columbus Supreme Council awarded 48 new scholarships to U.S. and Canadian seminarians this fall and renewed grants to an additional 86 students enrolled in major schools of theology pursuing a vocation to the priesthood. The seminarians, with the approval of their bishop, are studying for dioceses or religious institutes in the United States or Canada.

The $2,500 scholarships are awarded from the Father Michael J. McGivney Scholarships Fund and the Bishop Thomas V. Daily Scholarships Fund. The annual award is designated for tuition, room and board. Of the 48 new scholarships, 39 were awarded to U.S. seminarians and nine were given to seminarians from Canada. Thirty-eight of the new recipients are Knights of Columbus or sons of Knights.

The Father McGivney scholarships are awarded on the basis of financial need, and the Bishop Daily grants are made on the basis of merit. Preference is given to seminarians who are Knights, but all qualified applicants are considered.

In a thank you letter to the Knights, Bishop Robert J. Carlson of Sioux Falls, S.D., reported that his "small rural diocese has 26 seminarians this year." Bishop Carlson is a member of Marquette Council 815 in Sioux Falls. Two seminarians studying for the Diocese of Sioux Falls received scholarships for the 2003-04 year.

Msgr. Ted L. Wojcicki, president-rector of Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in St. Louis, thanked the Knights for supporting five seminarians studying there. "Through the support of friends like the Knights of Columbus, the seminary is able to further its mission of preparing men for the priesthood who are simple men, wise men, gentle men, holy men. In support of all Catholic education, the Knights are the best. Thank you for your help in forming our future priests," he wrote.

Steve Zehler is studying for the Diocese of St. Augustine at St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach, Fla. He is a member of Father Murphy Council 5535 in Jacksonville Beach, Fla. "My affiliation with the Knights goes back to my childhood when my father first became a brother Knight. Now I am proud to be a brother Knight. The Knights have contributed to countless people and ministries." Since 1992, these scholarships programs have assisted 704 seminarians. More than half of those helped by the Knights have gone on to be ordained.

In 2003, Knights at the state and local levels of the organization reported raising and donating more than $8.1 million to seminarians, seminaries and vocations projects. The Supreme Council reported vocations-related gifts of nearly $1.7 million in 2003 from various vocation endowment funds with a total corpus of $16.1 million.