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KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS In Service to One. In Service to Al l .

A Celebration of Faithful WitnessLittle Sisters of the Poor receive Order’s highest honor at the annual States Dinner

In his Annual Report delivered Aug. 2 atthe 134th Supreme Convention inToronto, Supreme Knight Carl A. Ander-son noted the Order’s record levels of char-ity, including more than $175 million indonations and 73.5 million hours of vol-unteer service in the last fraternal year.Membership also grew for the 44th con-secutive year to a record high of more than1.9 million Knights.“Our charity is motivated by faith. And

our faith is a gift to be shared,” said thesupreme knight. “When we bring new meninto the Order, we give them the opportu-nity to be better Catholics. And we multi-ply the good works that we can do.”Speaking to an audience of nearly 100

archbishops and bishops, including 11 car-dinals, scores of clergy and approximately2,000 members of the Knights and theirfamilies, Supreme Knight Anderson began

his report by announcing the convention’stheme: A Light to the Nations.“We also recall the words of Pope Fran-

cis,” he said. “He has called Catholics to anew sense of missionary discipleship andfraternal brotherhood. He has urgedCatholics to go out to the peripheries. Andhe has placed great confidence in the

Knights of Columbus.” Along with growth in membership and

charity, the Knights of Columbus alsoachieved records in its insurance program.“This year, we have seen Father Mc-

Givney’s legacy of shielding Catholic fami-lies from financial disaster reach new

Called to Be ‘A Light to the Nations’Supreme Knight’s Annual Report highlights emphasizes Order’s growth and mission

SEE ANNUAL REPORT, PAGE 2

The selfless charity and intrepid spirit of a congregation of reli-gious sisters were recognized at the States Dinner as the Knights

of Columbus bestowed its highest honor, the Gaudium et SpesAward, on the Little Sisters of the Poor.The keynote address at the dinner was delivered by Cardinal Marc

Ouellet, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops at the Vatican andarchbishop emeritus of Québec. The cardinal praised the Knights ofColumbus for its practical works of charity performed not just “forthe poor, but with the poor.” He also cited the leadership of SupremeKnight Carl Anderson, who, he said, has provided for the spiritualrenewal and charitable expansion of the worldwide Order.Held Aug. 2, on the evening of the first day of the Supreme Con-

vention in Toronto, the annual States Dinner was attended by manymembers of the Church’s hierarchy and other clergy, and by morethan 2,000 Knights and their family members.The Little Sisters of the Poor were chosen as the 12th recipient of

Mother Loraine Marie Maguire of the Little Sisters of the poor stands with Supreme KnightCarl A. Anderson and Supreme Chaplain Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore after hercommunity received the Order’s 12th Gaudium et Spes Award Aug. 2. SEE GAUDIUM ET SPES, PAGE 2

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GAUDIUM ET SPES, FROM PAGE 1

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Thursday, Aug. 47-11 a.m. Adoration Chapel Second Floor – Churchill

7-7:50 a.m. Confessions Lower Concourse – Osgoode Ballroom

9-11 a.m. Relic Veneration Chapel Lower Concourse – Osgoode Ballroom

10:00 a.m. Final Business Session Lower Concourse – Grand Ballroom

1 p.m. Chaplain’s Meeting (Lunch) Second Floor – Dominion Ballroom S.

2 p.m. Chaplain’s Meeting Continues Second Floor – Dominion Ballroom N.

the prestigious Gaudium et Spes Award fortheir witness to the Gospel in caring for theelderly poor, and for standing up in recentyears for religious liberty against a U.S. gov-ernment mandate that would require themto violate their consciences. Founded inFrance by St. Jeanne Jugan, the congregationoperates 27 homes for the sick and dying inthe United States.In challenging the government mandate

that would force the sisters to provide con-traception and abortion-causing drugs inhealth plans for their employees, the LittleSisters “insisted that our Catholic faith can-not be divided or compartmentalized,” saidSupreme Chaplain Archbishop William E.Lori, who read the citation for the award.“The teachings of the faith they cherish arebased on the love they have for God and thepoor whom they serve each day.”

He continued, “These sisters could nomore comply with coercive governmentmandates than they could abandon thepoor, the elderly and the dying.”

The dinner program also included an in-vocation by Cardinal Timothy Dolan ofNew York and greetings from CardinalThomas Collins of Toronto.♦

Ukrainian Knights and their families wave their national flag during the annual States Dinner. Earlier in the day, SupremeKnight Carl A. Anderson officially announced that the Ukraine jurisdiction has been elevated to the status of territory.

milestones,” Supreme Knight Anderson said. “This year our in-surance program achieved its 15th consecutive year of growth. Weset a record high of 8.4 billion dollars in new sales. … But ourgreatest achievement was reaching this milestone: We surpassed$100 billion of life insurance in force.”During the report, the supreme knight underscored several

major initiatives of the Order, including Building the DomesticChurch While Strengthening Our Parish and the ChristianRefugee Relief Fund. “Because the light of faith is first transmitted within the family

and nurtured in the parish, we have started new programs tostrengthen both our families and our parishes,” Anderson said.“They especially give young fathers the tools they need to bringtheir families closer together and closer to God.”Describing the Order’s support of displaced Christians fac-

ing persecution in the Middle East, he explained, “In Iraq, Syriaand neighboring countries, Christians and other religious mi-norities are facing extinction. Many receive no support fromtheir governments or from the United Nations. They have hadto rely on their fellow Christians and they have been able torely on the Knights of Columbus. Since 2014, we have raisedmore than $11 million for Christian refugees. And that money

has been a lifeline.”Along with providing vital humanitarian assistance, the supreme

knight said, the Knights of Columbus was instrumental the U.S.State Department’s March 17 declaration that the persecution ofChristians and other minorities in the Middle East by the IslamicState militants constitutes genocide.“My brother Knights, we made history!” Anderson said. “How-

ever, this is only the beginning. We will continue to work to ensurethat the Christians who still speak the language of Jesus, and whoseancestors baptized St. Paul, survive.”The supreme knight also announced that the Knights of Colum-

bus Board of Directors voted to establish Ukraine, which nowcounts nearly 600 members in 13 councils, as the Order’s newestterritory. This year marked the 10-year anniversary of the historicexpansion of the Knights to neighboring Poland, which now hasnearly 90 councils and 4,400 members.Concluding his address, Anderson said, “The prophetic flame

of which Pope Francis speaks continues to burn bright in the heartsof our brother Knights around the world. That flame enkindles inthem a true sense of Catholic charity, a charity that evangelizes andbrings in a very concrete way, a light to the nations.“Yes, it is the hour of the laity. It is the hour of the Knights of

Columbus.”♦

ANNUAL REPORT, FROM PAGE 1

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