Keynote Address of
Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson
to State Deputies

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Building a Foundation of Success

State leaders from across three continents gathered in New Haven, Conn., on Wednesday for the annual Organizational Meeting of Knights of Columbus State Deputies.

The five-day meeting began with an evening dinner banquet, where state deputies and their wives shared food and conversation with their colleagues from around the globe.

Supreme Knight Carl Anderson addressed the gathering regarding the new and unique opportunities facing the state leaders in the year ahead by posing the question “How do we measure success in the Knights of Columbus as a state deputy?”

Success as a Knight and as an organization as a whole is defined by our adherence to the mission defined by Venerable Father Michael J. McGivney 132 years ago when he founded our Order, Supreme Knight Anderson said.

“His vision was of what Catholic men could be, and by being what they could be, what they could achieve: the service and protection of their families, the service and protection of their Church, and the service and protection of their country,” he said.

That vision caught fire and was not limited to one state, one country or one continent, and grew into today’s Knights of Columbus.

“So our success is how faithful we are to the vision and the dream of Venerable Father Michael McGivney, and his principles of unity, fraternity and charity,” the supreme knight added.

Supreme Knight Anderson described some of the projects for the Order in the coming year, including sponsoring athletes to attend the International Special Olympics Games in Los Angeles during the summer of 2015. Another initiative is the Knights of Columbus’ new program “Building the Domestic Church: The Family Fully Alive,” a multi-dimensional program aimed at strengthening Catholic families and tying in with upcoming synods on the family and the World Meeting of Families.

Ultimately, Supreme Knight Anderson said that our success, both as individuals and as the Knights of Columbus as a whole, is measured by how faithful we are to the vision of our founder, and how good we are as stewards of the Order we have inherited.

“In the next few days,” he concluded, “we will look at how to build the Order, to grow in membership, in charity, and in insurance. We will build a foundation for you to be the most successful state deputy you can possibly be.”

Over the course of the next five days, the state deputies will work, learn and pray together, enjoying a full program of talks, workshops and special Masses.