The Order continued its charitable work around the world, advocating for Christians in the Middle East and providing over 1000 ultrasound machines to pregnancy centers. Also, the Saint John Paul II shrine was established in Washington, D.C.
2010: Following the devastating Jan. 12 earthquake in Haiti, the Order gives immediate assistance to Catholic Relief Services, establishes a relief fund and purchases 1,000 wheelchairs for Haitians suffering disabilities. In partnership with Project Medishare, the Knights’ “Healing Haiti’s Children” program provides prosthetics and physical therapy for children who lost limbs in the earthquake.
2010: Cardinal Jaime Ortega y Alamino, archbishop of Havana, receives the Gaudium et Spes Award, and with assistance from the Knights, the first new seminary in Cuba in more than 50 years is opened. Two years earlier, a delegation of Knights from Cuba attended the Supreme Convention for the first time in 60 years.
2011: The Order establishes a Shrine of Saint John Paul II in Washington, D.C., at the site of the former John Paul II Cultural Center. Supreme Knight Anderson announces the initiative will include permanent exhibits celebrating the life and teachings of the late pope and the 500-year Catholic heritage of North America.
2012: The Guadalupe Celebration, the largest religious event in that city in a generation, was sponsored by the Knights of Columbus, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles under Archbishop Jose Gomez, and the Institute for Guadalupan Studies in Mexico City, on Aug. 5 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
2012: The Knights of Columbus shipped aid and funds to those in need in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, with more than $500,000 in funds donated.
2013: Knights and their families and guests gathered at “America’s Catholic Church” in Washington, D.C., to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Knights Tower Carillon and to re-consecrate the Order to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
2013: A new K of C initiative provided funding for Boston Marathon bombing victims, helping amputees acquire prosthetic devices not covered by insurance.
2013: Following the destruction caused by Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, Knights of Columbus in the Visayas jurisdiction delivered food, water and other necessities during a relief operation and also establish a livelihood project to help those left jobless after the storm.
2014: The Knights of Columbus Christian Refugee Relief initiative stands at more than $2 million in public donations and Order-raised funds, which are distributed to support humanitarian assistance to refugees fleeing persecution in Iraq and the surrounding areas.
2014: The Knights of Columbus donates an ultrasound machine to a Baltimore pregnancy center, making it the: 500th such gift by the Order.
2015: The Guadium et Spes Award, the Order’s highest honor, was presented to Cardinal Francis George, the 11th recipient of the award since its establishment in 1992.
2015: The Knights of Columbus provided $400,000 to the Ukrainian-rite and Latin-rite Catholic communities of Ukraine. The funds were used for humanitarian relief, including projects that fed and aided homeless children and refugees living on the streets of the capital city of Kyiv.
2015: The Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors announced the creation of four faith-based investment solutions specifically designed to meet the needs of Catholic institutions.
2015: In July, the Knights of Columbus began the Christians at Risk national campaign that raises funds and fosters awareness of the persecution of religious minorities in the Middle East.
2015: Supreme Knight Carl Anderson presented charters for St. Andrew Kim Daegun Council 16000 and St. Paul Chong Hasang Council 16178 in Seoul, South Korea, on April 18. Named for 19th-century Korean martyrs, these are the first councils instituted in Korea outside a military base and the first on the mainland of Asia.
2015: The Order funded the delivery of one month’s supply of food to more than 13,500 Iraqi Christians as part of its multimillion dollar initiative to aid displaced Christian families and other persecuted religious communities in the Middle East.
2015: The Knights of Columbus surpassed $100 billion of life insurance in force, highlighting the fraternal benefit society’s mission to protect Catholic families.
2016: The Knights of Columbus applauded the U.S. State Department’s March 17 declaration that Christians and other religious minorities in the Middle East face genocide at the hands of ISIS. The Knights was credited for its effort in pressing for this declaration, particularly through the: preparation of a 300-page report containing information regarding the dangerous, genocidal conditions in the Middle East.
2016: The Order’s highest honor, the Guadium et Spes Award, was presented to the Little Sisters of the Poor for their witness to the Gospel and their defense of religious liberty. The community was the 12th recipient of the award since its establishment in 1992.
2016: Ukraine, the Order’s newest territory, has nearly 600 members in 13 councils. The Knights of Columbus also takes root in France and Lithuania.
2017: The Knights of Columbus contributes nearly $2 million to various aid programs in the Middle East that have received little to no funding from the U.S. government or international community since ISIS began its genocidal campaign against the region’s religious minorities in 2014.
2019: The Ultrasound Initiative reaches over 1000 machines donated to pregnancy centers.
2019: School shooting hero Kendrick Castillo is posthumously made a Knight at the Supreme Convention in Minneapolis, Minn.