Instruments of Peace

May 21, 2026

The Knights of Columbus and Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly receive the 2026 Path to Peace Award

May 21, 2026

Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly accepts the Path to Peace Award. — Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly accepts an award from Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, apostolic nuncio to the United States, at the Path to Peace Gala in New York City on May 18. The award honored the Knights of Columbus’ commitment to promoting peace and its support of the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations. (Photo by Tony Gale)

The Path to Peace Foundation, which supports the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations, honored the Knights of Columbus and Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly with the 2026 Path to Peace Award on May 18 in New York City.

Archbishop Gabriele G. Caccia, apostolic nuncio to the United States and formerly the Vatican’s permanent observer to the U.N., presented the award in recognition of the Order’s outstanding service to the cause of peace.

“On behalf of the Knights of Columbus, I thank you for the honor of this award,” Supreme Knight Kelly said at the ceremony. “It reflects so much of the work that our 2.2 million members do around the world. Tonight, I stand in their place to receive this award. Every day, my brother Knights strive to answer our Christian calling to be instruments of peace.”

The way of charity, the supreme knight emphasized, is the path to peace.

“As we gather here, so much of the world is gripped by war,” Supreme Knight Kelly said. “In this time of war, the world clearly needs the Church’s peace-making and peace-building work. … I do not speak as a theologian, but rather as one who has seen firsthand the power of charity and the fruits it bears.”

In many war-torn places, including Ukraine and the Middle East, the Knights have remained vigilant in aiding victims of war, often working in partnership with other charitable organizations to provide relief for refugees, widows and orphans. Last year, the Knights of Columbus gave nearly $200 million in charitable donations and 48 million volunteer hours around the world, the supreme knight noted.

“There’s a fundamental difference in what we do, as Catholics, and why we do it,” Supreme Knight Kelly said. “We don’t look at a suffering person as a problem to be solved, or even merely as someone in need of help. We see them as someone to love, as Christ does. And by showing them that love — through works of charity — we are consciously trying, one act at a time, to introduce the world to the Prince of Peace.”

Pope Leo XIV “has courageously called for the restoration of peace, based on real dialogue and diplomatic outreach,” the supreme knight noted. “Pope Leo, like his predecessors, is fulfilling his sacred duty as a prophet of peace. He is faithfully conveying the Gospel’s vision of brotherhood and reconciliation among the entire human family.”

In his Urbi et Orbi address on Easter Sunday, Pope Leo delivered a plea for world peace. “The peace that Jesus gives us is not merely the silence of weapons,” the Holy Father said, “but the peace that touches and transforms the heart of each one of us! Let us allow ourselves to be transformed by the peace of Christ! Let us make heard the cry for peace that springs from our hearts!”

Since Blessed Michael McGivney founded the Knights of Columbus more than 144 years ago, its members have been guided by charity as one of the founding principles of the Knights of Columbus.

“It is only through charity, and a genuine love of our enemy, that we can achieve the reconciliation necessary for lasting peace,” Supreme Knight Kelly said. “This is my prayer for all of us — that we redouble our witness to charity. Let us teach this war-torn world what it means to love as Jesus did and called his followers to do. And let us illuminate the path to peace — the path that we are called to walk together, as children of God.”

The Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations was established in 1964 and has since played an active role in the advancing peace and justice in the international community while promoting the teachings of the Catholic Church. The Order has supported the work of the mission for more than 30 years.

Past recipients of the Path to Peace Award include Past Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson; Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state; and Mary Ann Glendon, former U.S. ambassador to the Holy See and former president of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences.

The inaugural graduating class of the McGivney Fellowship stands outside St. Mary’s Church in New Haven, Conn.

Instruments of Peace

Related Articles

K of C News

‘A Gift to Others’

‘A Gift to Others’

K of C News

Catholic Men Called to Heroic Friendship and Evangelization

Catholic Men Called to Heroic Friendship and Evangelization

K of C News

Supreme Knight Issues Statement on Respect for the Holy Father

Supreme Knight Issues Statement on Respect for the Holy Father

K of C News

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors Recognized

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors Recognized

K of C News

Visible Signs of Devotion

Visible Signs of Devotion

K of C News

CUA Chaplain Receives McGivney Medal

CUA Chaplain Receives McGivney Medal

K of C News

Distinguished by Faith in Action

Distinguished by Faith in Action

K of C News

Heralds of Hope

Heralds of Hope