‘Dear Friends...’

June 1, 2025

Pope Francis conveys to the board of directors his esteem for the Order’s mission and support for the Church

June 1, 2025

Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly presents Pope Francis with a first-class relic of Blessed Michael McGivney on Oct. 25, 2021 — Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly presents Pope Francis with a first-class relic of Blessed Michael McGivney during a private audience on Oct. 25, 2021. The Mass of beatification had taken place one year earlier, on Oct. 31, 2020, following the Holy Father’s approval of a miracle attributed to Father McGivney’s intercession. (L’Osservatore Romano)

On two occasions, Pope Francis addressed the Knights of Columbus Board of Directors and their families during an audience in the Vatican. The first took place Oct. 10, 2013, in the Vatican’s Clementine Hall, just seven months after his election as pope; the second took place nearly a decade later, in the Vatican’s Pauline Chapel, during the board’s February 2020 pilgrimage to Rome in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Order’s service there. Below are the full texts of the Holy Father’s remarks.

Dear Friends, I am pleased to welcome the Board of Directors of the Knights of Columbus on the occasion of your meeting in Rome. I thank you once again for the prayers which you, and all the Knights and their families, have offered for my intentions and the needs of the Church throughout the world since my election as Bishop of Rome.

On this occasion I also wish to express my gratitude for the unfailing support which your Order has always given to the works of the Holy See. This support finds particular expression in the Vicarius Christi Fund, which is an eloquent sign of your solidarity with the Successor of Peter in his concern for the universal Church, but it is also seen in the daily prayers, sacrifices and apostolic works of so many Knights in their local councils, their parishes and their communities. May prayer, witness to the faith and concern for our brothers and sisters in need always be the pillars supporting your work both individually and corporately. In fidelity to the vision of the Venerable Father Michael McGivney, may you continue to seek new ways of being a leaven of the Gospel and a force for the spiritual renewal of society.

As the present Year of Faith draws to its close, I commend all of you in a special way to the intercession of Saint Joseph, the protector of the Holy Family of Nazareth, who is an admirable model of those manly virtues of quiet strength, integrity and fidelity which the Knights of Columbus are committed to preserving, cultivating and passing on to future generations of Catholic men.

Asking a remembrance in your prayers, and with great affection in the Lord, I now willingly impart to you, and to all the Knights and their families, my apostolic blessing.

– Pope Francis, Oct. 10, 2013

The Knights of Columbus Board of Directors and senior staff stand before the façade of St. Peter’s Basilica, which was renovated in the 1980s with the Order’s support. — The Knights of Columbus Board of Directors and senior staff stand before the façade of St. Peter’s Basilica during their 2020 pilgrimage to the Vatican. The iconic basilica was renovated in the 1980s with the Order’s support. (Photo by Tamino Petelinšek)

Dear Friends, I offer you a warm welcome on the occasion of your pilgrimage to Rome in this year that marks the centennial of the charitable activity of the Knights of Columbus in this city.

In fact, it was one hundred years ago that my predecessor Pope Benedict XV invited the Knights of Columbus to provide humanitarian aid to young people and others in Rome following the terrible conflict of the First World War. The Knights responded generously, establishing sports centers for youth that quickly became places for education, catechesis and the distribution of food and other essentials so needed at that time. In this way, your Order proved faithful to the vision of your founder, Venerable Michael McGivney, who was inspired by the principles of Christian charity and fraternity to assist those most in need.

Today the Knights of Columbus continue their work of evangelical charity and fraternity in a variety of fields. I think in particular of your faithful witness to the sacredness and dignity of human life, evident at both the local and national levels. This conviction has also led the Knights of Columbus to aid, both materially and spiritually, those Christian communities in the Middle East that are suffering the effects of violence, war and poverty. I thank all the members of your Order for seeing in our persecuted and displaced brothers and sisters of that region neighbors for whom you are a sign of God’s infinite love.

Since its foundation, the Knights of Columbus has demonstrated its unswerving devotion to the Successor of Peter. The establishment of the Vicarius Christi Fund is a testimony to this devotion, as well as to the desire of the Knights to share in the Pope’s solicitude for all the Churches and in his universal mission of charity. In our world, marked by divisions and inequalities, the generous commitment of your Order to serve all in need offers, especially to young people, an important inspiration to overcome a globalization of indifference and build together a more just and inclusive society.

Dear brothers and sisters, with these thoughts and sentiments, I entrust you to the loving intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary. I offer my prayers for the members of the Knights of Columbus and their families, and for the good works accomplished by the local councils worldwide. To all of you present here and to your loved ones, I impart my heartfelt blessing, and I ask you, please, to pray for me. Thank you!

– Pope Francis, Feb. 10, 2020

A Holy Names sister instructs students at St. Mary’s Academy & College in Portland, Ore., circa 1915.

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