 Carl A. Anderson
This month we celebrate the 125th anniversary of the founding of our beloved Order. This is a time to reflect upon the great accomplishments of our past and show our gratitude to the countless brother Knights who have volunteered time and treasure to bring us to this day. Above all, we are grateful for the gift of our founder, the Servant of God Father Michael J. McGivney, whose vision and determination made everything possible.
It is also an appropriate occasion to look forward to where the Order is headed in the years to come.
As we celebrate our founding by a young and energetic parish priest, we must continue with even greater effort to develop our parish-based councils. It is now a realistic goal to have every parish linked to a council, and every parish should see a Knights of Columbus council as one of the most active and dynamic examples of support for parish life.
Pope Benedict XVI has stressed the need for renewal in our parishes, and our parish-based councils are perfectly positioned to assume a leadership role in this important effort.
This means also that we must encourage greater solidarity with our priests. Thousands of priests are enthusiastic brother Knights, but thousands more are ready to become members. Every parish priest should be welcomed into the Order, and every parish priest should see his local Knights of Columbus council as a strong partner in building up his parish community.
No fraternal insurance program in the world today equals the financial strength of the Knights of Columbus. Only a handful of commercial companies can match our record. With more than $61 billion of insurance in force, we offer the highest quality financial security for thousands of Catholic families. In the years to come, we will seek to provide thousands more families with the protection of our top-rated insurance program.
In his first encyclical, Deus Caritas Est, Pope Benedict called the universal Church to a greater commitment to the life of charity. Here too, our Order will seek to build upon our steadfast commitment to the first principle of our Order. As millions who are in need have come to realize, the letters “K of C” stand not only for Knights of Columbus, but also for “Knights of Charity.”
As we celebrate the 125th anniversary of the Order’s founding in New Haven, we also remember that we celebrate our 110th anniversary in Canada and more than a century in both the Philippines and Mexico. In the days ahead, we will continue to forge greater cooperation among Catholics in Canada, Mexico and the United States.
And because of our success in the Philippines and Poland, we are positioned for even greater growth in Asia and Europe as globalization continues in the decades ahead.
Charity, unity and fraternal brotherhood – Father McGivney knew these were the keys to promote an authentic Catholic way of life among Catholic men and their families when strongly united with the sacramental life of their parish. He has left us a great legacy. It is now our duty to share this great gift with – dare I say – millions more.
No doubt we will face many challenges in the future, much as we have in the past. If we remain faithful to the mind and heart of the Church, and in solidarity with our bishops and priests, I have every confidence that future brother Knights will have even more to celebrate on the Order’s next major anniversary.
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