Visible Signs of Devotion

Nov. 1, 2025

Pope Leo receives the Knights of Columbus Board of Directors in audience during jubilee pilgrimage

By Columbia staff

Nov. 1, 2025

Pope Leo XIV speaks with Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly and Supreme Chaplain Archbishop William Lori. — Pope Leo XIV speaks with Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly and Supreme Chaplain Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore before his Oct. 6 audience with the Knights of Columbus Board of Directors. (Photo by Vatican Media)

Pope Leo XIV welcomed the Knights of Columbus Board of Directors for a private audience at the Vatican Oct. 6. In his address, delivered in the Sala del Concistoro of the Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father emphasized the Order’s support for the Holy See and its charitable work, which he said brings “the compassion and love of the Lord into your local communities.” In particular, the pope commended the Knights’ “efforts to uphold the sanctity of human life in all of its stages, to assist victims of war and natural disasters, and also to support priestly vocations.”

The audience took place during the board’s pilgrimage to Rome in observance of the Jubilee Year of Hope. The jubilee, Pope Leo noted, has brought millions of pilgrims to Rome, where they have seen Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s iconic baldacchino and Chair of St. Peter monument in St. Peter’s Basilica. These 17th-century masterpieces were restored to their original beauty last year by the Fabbrica di San Pietro in monthslong projects underwritten by the Order. They now stand, the Holy Father said, as “a visible sign of your continued devotion to the Vicar of Christ.”

Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly and Supreme Chaplain Archbishop William Lori also met privately with the Holy Father shortly before the audience to discuss K of C initiatives and their recent visit to the Holy Land. The supreme knight presented the pope with a bound copy of prayer petitions submitted during the Order’s novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus last June. He also presented a calligraphed copy of a resolution in honor of the new pontiff, adopted by the delegates to the 143rd Supreme Convention in August, promising “constant loyalty to Pope Leo XIV as he leads the Universal Church.”

“It was a wonderful meeting where we were able to express our thanks to him and what he means to us,” the supreme knight said afterward in an interview with Vatican News. “We were honored that he expressed his gratitude to the Knights of Columbus and the works that we do to support the Church, to support the Vatican, and to support human life.”

The previous day, the board gathered for Mass in Rome’s Church of the Gesù. They also visited the Gesù’s Sacred Heart Chapel and its renowned painting of the Sacred Heart of Jesus by 18th-century Italian artist Pompeo Batoni. The chapel and painting were restored earlier this year with support from the Knights of Columbus.

During the Mass, board members prayed: “For the intentions of our Holy Father, and for the prayer intentions received during the Orderwide novena for Pope Leo this past June, that the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus would bless and protect Pope Leo XIV, and in his mercy, kindly hear and answer these petitions.”

ADDRESS OF POPE LEO XIV TO THE KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS BOARD OF DIRECTORS, OCT. 6

I am pleased to welcome you this morning, all the members of the Board of Directors of the Knights of Columbus as well as your families who accompany you this morning as part of your pilgrimage in this Jubilee Year of Hope. How important that word is in itself: hope.

The Holy Father greets the Knights of Columbus Board of Directors in the Sala del Concistoro of the Vatican Apostolic Palace. (Photo by Vatican Media)

Tens of millions of the faithful have likewise come to Rome in this Holy Year to visit the tombs of the Apostles, walk through the Holy Doors, to be strengthened in their faith. One of the pieces of art in the Vatican that they undoubtedly see when they go through the Holy Door and enter the Basilica is the baldacchino of Gian Lorenzo Bernini, which now shines forth in all of its original beauty after the first comprehensive restoration in its history. Another, in the apse of the Basilica, is Bernini’s beautiful bronze monument protecting the Cathedra of Saint Peter, which was renewed at the same time. These masterpieces help all who look upon them to contemplate two of the principal tenets of our faith: the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist and the Pope as the Successor of Peter who unites and guides the Church.

I would like to express profound gratitude to the Knights of Columbus for your generosity in making these projects possible. They are a visible sign of your continued devotion to the Vicar of Christ. Throughout its history, the Order has supported the charitable work of the Roman Pontiff in a variety of ways, including through the Vicarius Christi Fund, which allows him to express solidarity with the poor and most vulnerable throughout the world.

Through a variety of initiatives undertaken by local councils, you and your brother Knights also seek to bring the compassion and love of the Lord into your local communities, including through your efforts to uphold the sanctity of human life in all of its stages, to assist victims of war and natural disasters and also to support priestly vocations. For these concrete actions, as well as for your daily prayers and sacrifices for the good of all God’s people, I express sincerely my warm appreciation.

Dear brothers and sisters, I wish you a fruitful pilgrimage and pray that your time in Rome, in the Eternal City will nourish your faith, will confirm you in hope, and deepen your love for the Church. In this way, may you be strengthened to continue the worthy mission begun by your noble founder.

With these sentiments, I entrust all of you to the intercession of Our Lady, Mary, Mother of the Church, and also of Blessed Michael McGivney, and I gladly impart my blessing to each and every one of you, your families and loved ones. Thank you very much.

Visible Signs of Devotion

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