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Father Karol Wojtyła, who later became Pope John Paul II, is pictured in the early 1950s surrounded by young people. Father Wojtyła would regularly go on mountain excursions with a group of young married couples and students that called itself Środowisko, meaning environment or milieu. (Archival Collection of Adam Bujak)Karol Wojtyła, the man who became St. John Paul II, regularly escaped from two of the worst totalitarian regimes in history: German Nazism, and later, Soviet Communism. By “escaped,” I do not mean that he ran away. Rather, as a priest and bishop, he escaped only by going deeper.As the...

Unveiling the Beauty of Our Lady of Help  The Madonna del Soccorso, a revered fresco that is considered the preeminent Marian icon in St. Peter’s Basilica, is pictured before and after its restoration. (photos by M. Falcioni, Fabbrica di San Pietro) During the Year of Faith, following the February restoration of the Vatican’s Madonna of the Column, the Knights of Columbus was proud to support a sister initiative to refurbish the most important and beloved image of Mary in St. Peter’s Basilica. Situated above the altar of the Gregorian Chapel, the freshly unveiled Madonna del Soccorso (Our Lady of Help)...

Why Columbus Sailed   5/24/2014   An interview about Christopher Columbus and the religious motivations for his journeyby Alton Pelowski   When the Knights of Columbus was founded 130 years ago, their namesake, Christopher Columbus, was a symbol of the idea that there is no contradiction in being a Catholic and an American. In recent decades, however, Columbus has become a figure of controversy, leaving conflicting opinions about his legacy.In recent decades, however, Columbus has become a figure of controversy, leaving conflicting opinions about his legacy.Carol Delaney, a cultural anthropologist and long-time professor at Stanford University, had little knowledge...

In his love for Mary and Jesus, St. Joseph’s faithfulness and purity are an example for all Christian fathersby Father Frederick J. Miller (Tyrolese Art Glass Co., Austria, 1899 / Courtesy Saint Joseph's University Collection, Philadelphia) In his 1989 apostolic letter, Guardian of the Redeemer, Blessed John Paul II held up St. Joseph as a model of the Christian life for all believers. He wrote, “St. Joseph’s example transcends all individual states of life and serves as a model for the entire Christian community, whatever the condition and duties of each of its members may be” (30). Precisely because...

The Importance of Mothers and Fathersby Archbishop William E. LoriNo one loves us quite so tenderly and persistently as our mothers. Where would we be without them? They are the glue that holds families together. Even though Mother’s Day is past, it is never too late to pay tribute to our mothers, living and dead, and to commend them to the Lord. Let me wager, however, that good mothers desire, more than anything else, good husbands and fathers. They deserve husbands who are loving and faithful. Mothers understand how important a father’s love and example is for their children....

Reproductions of a 1925 painting that hangs above the main altar in the Basilica-Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Québec are serving as the centerpiece of the Knights of Columbus Marian Prayer Program currently underway. From 2013-2015, blessed images of the Immaculate Conception are traveling throughout K of C jurisdictions as the faithful gather for prayer programs, rosary recitations and holy hours. During Advent each year, on Dec. 8, Holy Mother Church invites us to reflect on the meaning of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God. Some of the faithful incorrectly think that the Immaculate Conception refers...

Throughout his ministry as archbishop and pope, the Holy Father has issued a clarion call to affirm lifeby Columbia staffPope Francis kisses a child as he arrives to lead his weekly audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican May 8, 2013. (CNS photo/Stefano Rellandini, Reuters) During his 15 years as archbishop of Buenos Aires and his 10 months as Pope Francis, Jorge Mario Bergoglio has consistently defended the dignity of human life from the moment of conception to natural death. In the face of what Pope Francis has called the “throwaway culture” of our times, a recurring theme in...

Saving Jesus in Montana - A statue of Christ in a national forest, Knights argue, is a historic landmark, not a constitutional problem Big Mountain Jesus, a statue placed in 1954 to honor World War II veterans, has recently been challenged as unconstitutional. On an overcast day at the Whitefish Mountain Resort in northwestern Montana, a horizontal wall of clouds meets Big Mountain near the top of a chairlift, next to a life-size statue of Jesus. The statue stands with outstretched arms, blessing the Flathead Valley that spreads for miles below. A large question undergirds the debate on whether a religious...

Father James E. Coyle, an extraordinary priest and Knight of Columbus in the early 20th century, courageously stood up against widely-held anti-Catholic views at the risk, and then cost, of his life.The Irish-born priest was scarcely in his 20s when, after his ordination in Rome, he was dispatched to Alabama to begin his priesthood. The Catholic population in Alabama had exploded with a promise of jobs, especially in and around Birmingham’s network of coal mines, steel mills and iron foundries. Father Coyle arrived in the city shortly before a wave of anti-Catholicism flooded the country, and the revived Ku...

The 12th installment of Supreme Chaplain Bishop William E. Lori’s faith formation program addresses questions 106 – 112 of the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.There is no better time than Lent to meditate daily on the redemption that the Lord won for us by his suffering, death and resurrection. Lent is a time of renewal, during which we ask for the grace to strengthen our prayer life, to practice fasting and mortification, and to give generously of ourselves to those in need. It is not a mere self-improvement program, but a time-tested way of participating more...

Beginning in September, Knights will spread devotion to Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre, Cuba, through a yearlong Marian Hour of Prayer program for the intentions of Pope Benedict XVI.  Our Lady of Charity, the Order's Pilgrim Virgin image for 2007-08.Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre, Cuba (Nuestra Señora de la Caridad del Cobre) may not be as well known in American culture as Our Lady of Guadalupe. But one can find Our Lady of Charity’s image in churches around the world. Wherever Cuban refugees have resettled, they have brought with them their devotion to la Caridad.  She...

Father Rafael González, postulator of the cause for sainthood of Bishop Rafael Guízar Valencia of Veracruz, Mexico, was interviewed for the February issue of Columbia. Additional questions and answers not included in the print edition are published here.How did you learn about Bishop Rafael Guízar Valencia?Father González: My family has had a devotion to him for many years, since my childhood. During the persecution, St. Rafael hid in my grandparents’ house. My grandmother would cook for him and all his priests. The last retreat he preached was in my grandparents’ house and there were 40 priests present. Every blessing in...

This article reports on a 1993 lecture the late French geneticist and pro-life pioneer Dr. Jerome Lejeune delivered at the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family in Washington, D.C. This story originally appeared in the January 1994 Columbia and is a companion article to the January 2007 "By Their Works" profile of Knight and pro-life entrepreneur Bill Schneeberger. Dr. Jerome Lejeune, the French geneticist, still marvels at the circumstances that caused him to travel from his laboratory in Paris to a Tennessee courtroom to give expert testimony about when life begins. The 1989 case involved...

Order takes message to tens of millions through public service announcements and tree lightings. Keep Christ in Christmas Ads  • Television Ad 1 (rm, 30 sec., 985 kb) • Television Ad 2 (rm, 30 sec., 893 kb) • Radio Ad 1 (mp3, 28 sec., 455 kb) • Radio Ad 2 (mp3, 28 sec., 342 kb) • Radio Ad 3 (mp3, 18 sec., 288 kb) Millions of people in North America will get the message to “Keep Christ in Christmas” thanks to public service announcements from the Knights of Columbus that will be aired in the United States and Canada during the Christmas season.Radio spots encouraging people to “Keep Christ in Christmas” in...

Address of Mother Teresa of Calcutta to the Supreme Convention in New York City when she received the first Knights of Columbus Gaudium et Spes Award in 1992 Let us thank God for his great love in giving us this beautiful opportunity to thank the Knights of Columbus for all the good things they have done for the people of God. I accepted to come, and to accept out of sheer gratitude, for they have done so much for our congregation and for our poor. We have no other way of showing our gratitude to them, only by our...

America awoke on Sept. 11, 2001, to attacks on its financial, military and government centers. As hijacked planes crashed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, heroes were at the scene, ready to sacrifice and save. There were heroes already in the buildings who died helping others to safety; and there were heroes rushing into the buildings to rescue those seeking to escape.The same heroism was seen at the Pentagon, where another plane hit, and on United Airlines flight 93, where passengers rose against the hijackers to take back the aircraft, which crashed in...

The ongoing debate over embryonic stem cell research often presents the issue in highly emotional terms. Selective language is used in an effort to tip the scales in favor of a perceived good or an end that justifies the means. We hear about all of the wonderful medical advances that might possibly result from this type of research and eventual therapy. The image of a child struggling with diabetes is placed in the balance against what is described as “just clumps of microscopic cells.” One national news magazine dismissed the entire ethical and moral aspect of stem cell research by...

Apostles of Divine Mercy by Basilian Father George W. KosickiDivine Mercy, a special legacy of Pope John Paul II, has been embraced by Pope Benedict XVIAmong the many legacies of Pope John Paul II, his legacy of Divine Mercy stands out as special; only in this legacy does he specifically say that he passes on the message of Divine Mercy to the whole world as the message for the third millennium:“Sister Faustina’s canonization has a particular eloquence. By this act I intend to pass this message on to the new millennium. I pass it on to all people, so...

MID RUMORS THAT HE WOULD announce his retirement due to failing health, Pope John Paul II traveled to Poland last summer and proclaimed a message far different to the expectant world. During a dedication Mass in the shrine of Divine Mercy in Krakow Aug. 17, the pope announced: “Today, therefore, in this shrine, I wish solemnly to entrust the world to Divine Mercy.” The Divine Mercy devotion, though humble in origin, offers nothing less than the promise of salvation and peace to all mankind. Efforts on many different fronts are furthering the hope that Catholics everywhere will soon know...

Knights in Iraq and Afghanistan faced challenges to their Catholicism, but a new program funded by the Order is helping U.S. troops stay close to the Church. A soldier rests his head on his Bible during a Sunday service in Tikrit, Iraq. Of the hundreds of patrols U.S. Marine Capt. Michael Ogden engaged in during his two tours of duty in Iraq, one in November 2004 is noteworthy if only because Ogden considers it “pretty minor.”   A soldier rests his head on his Bible during a Sunday service in Tikrit, Iraq. The patrol, in the violent western province of...