2000-2012: The New Millennium

 

On May 21, 2000, Pope John Paul II canonized 25 martyrs of Mexico, including six members of the Knights of Columbus. Less than one year later, Carl A. Anderson was installed as the 13th supreme knight in Mexico City and dedicated the Order and his administration to Mary under her title Our Lady of Guadalupe. As Patroness of the Americas and Star of the New Evangelization, Our Lady has inspired the Order’s efforts, just as she inspired the steadfast faith of the Knights of Columbus martyrs.

In the past decade, the Order has continued to build upon its rich tradition of charitable work and spiritual formation. Various new charitable initiatives, as well as ongoing partnerships with organizations such as Special Olympics, have given Knights countless opportunities to practice what John Paul II called “a charity which evangelizes.” Organizing increased outreach to pregnancy resource centers, providing greater spiritual support for men and women in the military and playing a significant role in World Youth Days are just some of the many ways that the Order has worked in recent years to promote a true culture of life.

Pope Benedict XVI, in his first encyclical, Deus Caritas Est, wrote that a Christian must have “a heart which sees” — that is, which “sees where love is needed and acts accordingly.” For Knights, this often means recognizing where people are most in need and responding with material or volunteer support. After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the Order delivered immediate assistance to the families of fallen first responders. And when natural disasters struck, such as Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the Haitian earthquake in 2011, Knights similarly responded with immediate aid.

Finally, just as they responded to the forces of secularism and prejudice in the past, Knights have stood by their bishops and have witnessed to the importance of religion and religious liberty for society. As the cause for canonization of Venerable Michael McGivney moves forward, so too do his Knights, seeking to build a civilization of love.

2000: Pope John Paul II canonizes six Mexican priest-members of the Knights of Columbus who were martyred during the era of Church persecution there in the early 20th century. The following year, John Paul II beatifies Blessed Carlos Rodríguez, a layman from Puerto Rico. Three additional members from Mexico have since been beatified, and one canonized.

2001: The Knights of Columbus Museum opens in New Haven. In addition to a permanent exhibit on the Order's history, the museum has featured numerous temporary exhibits and priceless works of art, such as Michelangelo's 16-foot wooden study model for the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica.

2001: In response to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the Knights on Sept. 12 establishes its $1 million Heroes Fund. Checks for $3,000 are presented to the families of all full-time professional law enforcement, firefighters and emergency medical personnel who lost their lives at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Forty-five Knights were killed on 9/11.

2002: The Order establishes a $2 million Pacem in Terris Fund to promote peace and education initiatives in the Holy Land and provide support for the Christian community there.

2003: 100,000 copies of a pocket-sized prayer book, Armed With the Faith, are printed by the Order and the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, and sent to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, along with 10,000 rosaries.

2005: The Knights send 2,000 wheelchairs to land-mine victims and people with disabilities in Afghanistan and elsewhere. Through its partnership with the Global Wheelchair Mission, Knights have since distributed nearly 25,000 wheelchairs around the world.

2005: Villa Maria Guadalupe, the Order’s pro-life retreat center in Stamford, Conn., operated by the Sisters of Life, opens.

2006: In its first international expansion in almost a century, the Order charters its first councils in Poland, beginning with John Paul II Council 14000 in Krakow.

2006: In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in the U.S. Gulf, Knights donate more than $10 million and 100,000 volunteer hours to help rebuild Catholic churches and schools.

2007: The Knights of Columbus Incarnation Dome, a 3,780-square-foot mosaic depicting mysteries of Christ’s life, is constructed at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

2007: Represented by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, the Knights and K of C families are defendant-intervenors in a case challenging the words “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance. Court decisions in 2009 and 2010 uphold the words’ constitutionality.

2008: On March 16, 2008, Pope Benedict XVI approves a decree of heroic virtue for Father Michael J. McGivney, declaring him “Venerable.”

2008: The Order is present throughout Pope Benedict XVI’s pastoral visit to the United States. A K of C-commissioned plaque commemorates the pope’s Mass at Yankee Stadium. It accompanies two similar plaques, which commemorate Masses that Pope John Paul II and Pope Paul VI celebrated there.

2008: McGivney Hall, the new home of the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family at The Catholic University of America, is dedicated Sept. 8.

2009: The Knights of Columbus Ultrasound Initiative launches Jan. 22, 2009. To date, more than 250 ultrasound machines have been purchased for pro-life pregnancy centers using matching funds from the Order’s Culture of Life Fund, established in 2008.

2009: The Order hosts a “Neighbors Helping Neighbors” summit on volunteerism in New York and designates 2009 as the Year of the Volunteer. The Knights of Columbus Coats for Kids program launches; to date, the initiative has provided more than 45,000 winter coats to children throughout the United States and Canada.

2009: Giovanni Alemanno, the mayor of Rome, presents Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson with “Lupa Capitolina” award for the Order’s 90 years of service to the Eternal City. The following year, the city hosts an exhibit about the 90-year relationship at the Capitoline Museum.

2009: Following the 127th Supreme Convention in Phoenix, the Order hosts the first International Marian Congress and Guadalupe Festival, gathering about 20,000 participants.

2010: Following the devastating Jan. 12 earthquake in Haiti, the Order provides immediate assistance to Catholic Relief Services, establishes a relief fund and purchases 1,000 wheelchairs for Haitians suffering disabilities. In partnership with Project Medishare, the Knights’ “Healing Haiti’s Children” program provides prosthetics and two years of physical therapy for children who lost limbs in the earthquake.

2010: Cardinal Jaime Ortega y Alamino, archbishop of Havana, receives the Gaudium et Spes Award, and with assistance from the Knights, the first new seminary in Cuba in more than 50 years is opened. Two years earlier, a delegation of Knights from Cuba attended the Supreme Convention for the first time in 60 years.

2011: To address the severe shortage of military chaplains, the Knights established a new scholarship program for the Military Archdiocese’s Co-Sponsored Seminarian program.

2011: Building on the success of their collaboration at World Youth Day 2008 in Sydney, the Knights and the Sisters of Life co-sponsor the Love and Life Centre, the official English-language catechetical site at World Youth Day 2011 in Madrid, Spain.

2011: The Order establishes a Shrine of Blessed John Paul II in Washington, D.C., at the site of the former John Paul II Cultural Center. Supreme Knight Anderson announces the initiative will include permanent exhibits celebrating the life and teachings of the late pope and the 500-year Catholic heritage of North America.

2012: The Knights supports the efforts of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and its Ad Hoc Committee on Religious Liberty, under the leadership of Supreme Chaplain Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore, in addressing contemporary challenges to religious freedom and conscience in the United States.