San Antonio, Texas – The Knights of Columbus have established a presence in Ukraine and Lithuania, it was announced at the organization’s 131st annual international convention in San Antonio, Texas

The two countries are added to a list of nearly a dozen countries in which the organization is active, and are the second and third Central and Eastern European countries with active Knights. The Knights of Columbus entered Poland in 2006.

The Knights began working in Ukraine after being encouraged by Cardinal Lubomyr Husar, Major Archbishop of Kyiv-Halyč at the 123rd Convention in 2005. Since the invitation, the Knights have established two councils in the country. In Lithuania, the Knights have established a roundtable.

Members of the hierarchy from both countries were among the more than 90 bishops and cardinals at the gathering in Texas. Archbishop Mieczysław Mokrzycki of Lviv, Ukraine and Archbishop Gintaras Grušas of Vilnius, Lithuania addressed the convention during the business session on Aug 7.