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Knights of Charity
8/7/2018
In annual report, Supreme Knight announces Order’s accomplishments and continued commitment to bring Christ’s charity to millions
Knights from throughout the Order gathered for the opening business session and to hear the Supreme Knights report.
Supreme Knight Carl Anderson opens the Tuesday business session of the 136th Supreme Convention.
The National Colors were presented by members of the Chaplain Charles J. Watters Assembly 34-59 Color Guard, with members of the 82nd Airborne Division, 3rd Special Forces Group, and Joint Special Operations Command, out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Supreme Knight Anderson thanks Archbishop Leonard Blair of Hartford, the home diocese of the Order, after the reading of the Papal Greeting.
Greetings from heads of state were read during the opening session including for the first time from Ukraine as read by Territorial Deputy Boghdan Kovaliv.
Seminarian Zachary Crowley, who attends St. Mary’s Seminary, the same one attended by Father McGivney, was mentioned during the supreme knight’s report and also assisted with the social media coverage of the convention.
Our Pillars and the Common Good
“If we value charity — if we value unity and fraternity — we will build a society where the common good is protected. And if we value these things, then we will protect the freedom that makes them possible.”
Brother Knights are Men of Charity
“Our charitable contributions surged to more than $185 million. … It is one of the largest year-to-year increases in our history. Let me commend and thank every jurisdiction that helped us achieve this goal.”
“The Order also donated more than 75.6 million volunteer hours, an increase of more than 500,000.”
“The cumulative numbers are impressive, but more impressive is the fact that these works are done by individual Knights in their local communities — works done by men who are true Knights of Charity: men who are everyday heroes.”
Watch: EVERYDAY HERO - Grace in the Eye of a Storm
Disaster Relief
“I am proud to say that Knights and their families responded to the challenge of supporting hurricane victims. We raised an astounding $4.2 million for disaster relief last year.”
“It’s about the lives that we change. We show that we care and that the poor and the marginalized and the broken are not forgotten. Through our time and money, we change lives in ways that only we can — because we make a fraternal difference.”
Culture of Life
“I’m pleased to announce that we have already placed more than 950 ultrasound machines and that we will meet our goal of 1,000 later this year. … What greater legacy can a council leave than to save the life of a child?”
“We will also remain at the forefront of the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C. … [as well as] pro-life marches from San Francisco and Los Angeles to Canada, Mexico and the Philippines.”
Prayer and Renewal of Pro-life Society
“I do not see how it is possible to build a culture of life in America as long as our elected officials harden their hearts to the cries of unborn children: I urge every member of the Knights of Columbus and all Catholics to join the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in a nationwide Novena for the Legal Protection of Human Life on each Friday from now to Sept. 28.”
Mission of Charity in the Middle East
“The simple, hard truth is that Christians are on the verge of extinction in the Middle East. We must not allow this to happen.”
“Since 2014, we have committed more than $20 million to aid Christians and those of other religions in their care. This money has provided food, shelter, and clothing.”
“In recent years, the Knights of Columbus has been assisting in the construction of McGivney House, a 140 unit apartment building that will provide housing for both Syriac and Chaldean Christian families.”
READ MORE ABOUT THE MCGIVNEY HOUSE HERE
National Awareness Campaign
“No Christian has been abandoned by the Lord. And no Christian should be abandoned by us. To focus the attention of our nation on the plight of our brothers and sisters in the Middle East, this fall we will begin a National Awareness Campaign.”
Honoring Our Military and Veterans
“We brought more than 200 pilgrims to Lourdes. Our group joined 14,000 soldiers from more than 50 countries for the 60th International Military Pilgrimage to Our Lady’s Shrine.”
“We are also proud of our partnership with the Archdiocese for the Military Services and our support for the Co-Sponsored Seminarian Program. This program educates future Military Chaplains. … We will continue our annual grants of $200,000 for two more years. That raises our total contribution to $2 million dollars — double our initial goal.”
This past year, councils in the U.S. promoted charity, unity and brotherhood through these programs:
Coats for Kids: More than 105,000 new coats to children
Food for Families Program: Nearly 4 million pounds of food and nearly $2 million
Global Wheelchair Mission: 7,649 wheelchairs
Refund Support Vocations Program: More than $3.8 million to 6,348 seminarians and postulants
College Knights Bring Crucial Charity
“We also added 2,000 College Knights and 11 new College Councils … collectively these young men donated $281,000 and 411,000 hours to charity.”
Support of Special Olympics
“Our councils donated nearly $6 million dollars to Special Olympics and other programs for persons with intellectual disabilities. In addition, 76,000 Knights gave more than 350,000 hours of their time at more than 12,500 events.”
Financial Protection
“We sold $8.8 billion in new life insurance last year. It was our 17th consecutive year of growth. Today we have more than $111 billion of insurance in force protecting the future of our brother Knights’ families.”
“Our assets under management are more than $24 billion. Our surplus is up by $188 million to more than $2.1 billion. Our income before dividends was more than $305 million.”
Asset Advisors
“Established just three years ago, Asset Advisors is now a go-to advisor for more than 200 dioceses, religious orders and other organizations, offering them a way to invest consistent with our shared respect for life, human dignity, family and religious freedom.”
International
“Just before our meeting today, our Board of Directors designated South Korea as our newest territory. … I am also proud to report that the Board has designated Ukraine — with 25 councils and more than 1,000 Knights — as our newest state council.”
OTHER INTERNATIONAL EFFORTS
Poland — Knights helped collect more than 830,000 signatures to petition the parliament to provide greater legal protection to unborn children.
Mexico — Knights put their faith in action after back-to-back earthquakes. They delivered supplies and set up collection centers for food, water, medicine and clothing.
Canada — Countless brother Knights continue to answer the call of our first principle, Charity.
France — Knights partnered with the Archdiocese of Paris to commemorate the centennial of World War I, as well as honored Colonel Arnaud Beltrame.
Philippines — K of C Supreme Director Jose Reyes to lead a special initiative to rally our brother Knights in preparing for country’s 500th anniversary of Christianity.
The Future
“Once again this year, the Knights of Columbus set a record for membership with a total 1,967,585 members.”
“Our future success is not automatic and our continued growth is not guaranteed. We must step up now to bring younger men into the Order. We must reach out to where they are.”
Invite a Catholic Man to Join the Knights
Faith In Action
“Last month, at the start of our fraternal year, we launched a new program model called ‘Faith in Action.’ … Simply put, Faith in Action will encourage councils to engage in thousands of new activities to promote faith, family, life and community.”
Making our Mark on History
“Today, let us resolve that as Knights of Charity, Knights of Unity, Knights of Fraternity we will continue to change lives — and that by doing so we will continue to change history.”
Vivat Jesus!
