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Supreme Officers pay tribute to the faithful witness and charitable work of Filipino Knights during historic visit

By Columbia staff8/30/2024

In late August, Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly and Supreme Chaplain Archbishop William Lori made their inaugural visit to the Philippines, where they met with the country’s K of C leaders, prayed at several of its holiest sites, and witnessed the evangelizing charity of Filipino Knights.

The Knights of Columbus has been present in the Philippines since 1905, and its four K of C jurisdictions — Luzon North, Luzon South, Visayas and Mindanao — have seen rapid growth in recent years. There are now more than a half million Knights in nearly 4,000 councils nationwide.

The Supreme Council delegation, which included Supreme Master Michael McCusker and his wife and the supreme knight’s family, traveled throughout Manila and several surrounding cities before a final stop in Visayas. Along the way, they were able to visit numerous charitable initiatives supported by the Order.

Speaking to a national gathering Aug. 24, the supreme knight commended the Filipino Knights for both their tremendous growth and their wholehearted efforts to live out the mission of Blessed Michael McGivney.

“When we launch a new program, you’re always the first to embrace it. And when it comes to charity, you demonstrate a profoundly moving care for the poor and vulnerable. I saw that firsthand this week,” he said. “Throughout the Philippines, councils are caring for their neighbors in many ways. … Filipino Knights are an example of leadership for the rest of the Order.”

ENTRUSTED TO OUR LADY

Shortly after arriving in Manila, Archbishop Lori celebrated Mass on Aug. 15 for the feast of the Assumption in the Manila Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. With members of Manila Council 1000, the first K of C council established in the Philippines, and staff of the Knights of Columbus Fraternal Association of the Philippines (KCFAPI) in attendance, the supreme chaplain invoked Mary’s intercession for the Knights in the Philippines and their journey.

“We rejoice that our journey begins on the feast of Mary, assumed into heaven,” he said in his homily. “As pilgrims to this beautiful land permeated by the Catholic faith, a country where the Knights of Columbus are growing so rapidly and living so robustly the principles of charity, unity, and fraternity, we call upon Mary, assumed into heaven, Our Lady of Good Voyage, to bless this land, its people, and the Knights of Columbus throughout the Philippines, and, yes, to bless our visit, our voyage, in the days the lie ahead.”

A few days later, on Aug. 20, the delegation visited Santo Niño de Baseco Parish in Manila, where Santo Niño de Baseco Council 16245 operates a soup kitchen and food distribution program and provides free ultrasound scanning for women. In the afternoon, they visited Fort Santiago, a 16th-century Spanish defense fortress where José Rizal, a Philippine national hero, was imprisoned and executed in 1896. The supreme chaplain celebrated Mass in the outer structure, the Reducto de San Francisco Javier, which was converted into a chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe in 1983.

On Wednesday, Aug. 21, Supreme Knight Kelly and the K of C delegation were welcomed by the Tulay Ng Kabataan Foundation in Manila. Tulay Ng Kabataan, which means “A bridge for the children” in Tagalog, is an organization dedicated to serving the vulnerable, including the elderly, the hungry, and neglected children, at 35 different facilities.

Guided by its director, Father Matthieu Dauchez, a French-born priest of the Archdiocese of Manila, the delegation visited several of the foundation’s sites in the Aroma shantytown, including its home for elders, two of its day cares, a facility that serves abandoned boys, and a nursery that cares for infants abandoned by their families.

Thursday, Aug. 22, began with Mass at the chancery of the Archdiocese of Manila to celebrate the feast of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Cardinal Jose Advincula, archbishop of Manila, was principal celebrant and delivered the homily, encouraging Knights to “imitate the motherly love and compassion of Mary by bringing life to one another.”

After Mass, the delegation visited Cardinal Advincula at his residence, where Supreme Knight Kelly expressed gratitude for the warm reception the group had received from Filipino Knights and pledged the Order’s continued support of the Church in the Philippines.

From there, the group walked a few blocks to the hall of Manila Council 1000. As the group approached, they were welcomed with great festivity by a corps of drummers at the entrance to the historic council hall. Supreme Knight Kelly met with Grand Knight Santy Morante Jr. in his office, which once belonged to Servant of God George Willmann, a Jesuit priest and fraternal pioneer who helped the Order spread throughout the Philippines.

The Supreme Council delegation began Friday, Aug. 23, with Mass at Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary in Binondo, Manila, where they were joined by members of the parish’s St. Lorenzo Ruiz Council 7344.

After Mass, the delegation visited the headquarters of the Knights of Columbus Fraternal Association of the Philippines (KCFAPI) in Intramuros, where K of C leaders laid a wreath at a statue of Blessed Michael McGivney and toured a museum dedicated to the Servant of God George Willmann. Archbishop Lori blessed several offices at the headquarters and two new K of C minivans.

Bishop Pablo David of Kalookan, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, met that afternoon with the delegation and Filipino K of C leaders, who presented him with earnings from KCFAPI’s charitable fund which benefits the bishops’ conference.

The delegation and Filipino leaders concluded the day at a dinner in the supreme knight’s honor hosted by Archbishop Charles Brown, apostolic nuncio to the Philippines.

A GRAND CELEBRATION

Archbishop Brown joined the supreme knight and supreme chaplain the next day when they spent the morning with the Sisters of Mary at their Girlstown boarding school in Cavite, Silang, about an hour outside of Manila. The community — founded by Venerable Msgr. Aloysius Schwartz, a U.S.-born priest and member of the Knights who spent almost his entire priesthood ministering in Asia — serves underprivileged children, the sick and the homeless. About 3,000 students are enrolled at Girlstown, all on scholarships made possible by international fundraising efforts. After Mass celebrated by Archbishop Brown, the students put on an elaborate cultural show for their guests.

That afternoon, Archbishop Lori celebrated a vigil Mass at the historic San Agustin Church in Intramuros, attended by the leadership of the four Philippine jurisdictions and several hundred local council members. In his homily, Archbishop Lori said modern Catholics, like the disciples in the Gospel, are facing a moment of decision: “Will we be committed Catholic Christians of the 21st century or will we let ourselves be assimilated by a global, secular culture? This is the great decision each of us must make,” he said. “Let us decide anew, every day, to stake our lives on the Eucharist.”

The day culminated in a National Dinner attended by about 1,250 Filipino Knights that featured cultural performances, a preview of a new mini-documentary on George Willmann, and the screening of a K of C video highlighting a new council formed by Indigenous Knights on the island of Mindoro.

The supreme knight, supreme chaplain and apostolic nuncio were among those who delivered remarks.

“The charity, the unity, the fraternity for which the Knights of Columbus is famous were very, very evident, not only in your warm hospitality but also in the works of charity and faith we have been witnessing during these days,” Supreme Chaplain Archbishop Lori said.

Archbishop Brown, appointed by Pope Francis in September 2020 to serve as his representative to the Philippines, praised the Knights in particular for their efforts to support faithful marriage and family life.

“Everything that you as Knights can do to strengthen marriage is greatly appreciated by me and by the Holy See, and by the Holy Father, Pope Francis,” he said. “How beautiful that is, how wonderful that is, how important that is for the life of the Church, because the family is the domestic church.”

Supreme Knight Kelly, in his keynote address, said, “My message to all of you tonight is very simple: Thank you for all you do for the Knights of Columbus and for the Catholic Church.”

Echoing the theme from the 142nd Supreme Convention earlier this month, the supreme knight went on to reflect on how Filipino Knights demonstrate what it means to be “on mission.”

“Hope is at the heart of who we are as Catholics and as Knights. It led Father McGivney and the first Knights to band together, trusting that through them, Our Lord would do great things,” he concluded. “Like those first Knights, we trust in the living God who holds the future in his hands. He will guide us, as he did our forefathers. And like them, he calls the Knights of Columbus in the Philippines to go on mission.”

During the event, Supreme Knight Kelly also presented the St. Michael Award, which honors exemplary service to the Order, to former Supreme Director Jose Reyes Jr., a retired justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines. The citation read, in part, “Amid many fraternal and charitable duties, he also served the Philippines with unparalleled energy and insight, taking on higher offices over a 40-year career as a judge, and eventually rising to the high office of Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, where he upheld the dignity of the human person, the right to life of the unborn child, and the sacred institutions of marriage and the family.”

“Your appreciation of my modest contribution to the Order is humbling and at the same time inspiring to me and to all of my brother Knights in the Philippines and beyond,” Reyes said. Speaking to his brother Knights assembled for the National Dinner, he added, “I share the honor with of all of you, and I pray that you will reach even greater heights of service to God and our country, the Philippines.”

VISITING VISAYAS

For their last days in the Philippines, Supreme Knight Kelly and the rest of the K of C delegation traveled to Cebu City, Visayas, where they were welcomed by Visayas Deputy Odelon Mabutin, Mindanao Deputy Rogelio Tadura and other state officers.

On Aug. 26, the supreme knight, his wife, Vanessa, and Archbishop Lori visited the Bidlisiw Foundation — a frontline partner of the Arise Foundation, with which the Supreme Council is working to combat human trafficking in the Philippines. They also had a meaningful dialogue and prayed with several young people who survived human trafficking.

In the afternoon, the delegation proceeded to the Basilica of Santo Niño de Cebu, the oldest church in the country, to venerate the miraculous statue of the Holy Infant. Archbishop Lori celebrated a special Mass there for Knights from Visayas and Mindanao, featuring a Fourth Degree honor guard and Knights’ choir.

Reflecting on the image of Santo Niño, the supreme chaplain emphasized in his homily the need to become like little children.

“Our greatest calling, received in baptism, is to be adopted children of God, sons and daughters of our heavenly Father,” he said. “We can acquire many titles in life — some of us can even be known as archbishops — but our greatest dignity and greatest calling is to be children of God, those whom the Father loves and cherishes beyond all measure because he sees and loves in us what he sees and loves in Christ.”

After Mass, the delegation walked to the nearby Magellan Cross, which marks the spot where the Catholic Portuguese explorer planted a cross just over 500 years ago on April 21, 1521.

That evening, a celebratory “Fraternal Fiesta” was held at the IC3 Convention Center of Cebu, with about 400 guests enjoying a dinner, songs and dancing. Both the supreme knight and supreme chaplain delivered farewell remarks at the event.

“From start to finish, you — the Knights of Columbus and your wives in this beautiful land — have outdone yourselves in your wonderful hospitality. Salamat! Thank you so much,” said Archbishop Lori. “Pope Francis is challenging you and me to move ahead, full speed, with the Church’s mission and not to be discouraged, not to be distracted, not to be stymied by obstacles. Full speed ahead! I can’t think of any organization that does this better than the Knights of Columbus, and I can’t think of any place in the Knights of Columbus that does it better than you do.”

Before the event concluded with Archbishop Lori offering benediction and invoking Our Lady of Guadalupe, Supreme Knight expressed his gratitude for the hospitality and the witness of the Knights of the Philippines one final time.

“We started our journey to the Philippines on the feast of Blessed Michael McGivney and every day that we have been here, Father McGivney has been with us in the spirit of the brotherhood of the Knights of Columbus in the Philippines,” he said. “If ever there was a group of men and their ladies and their families who are on mission, it’s you. So thank you from the bottom of our hearts.”