Father Oleksandr “Sashko” Bohomaz, a Ukrainian Greek Catholic priest and Knights of Columbus chaplain, made a courageous decision to remain with his parishioners in Melitopol, Ukraine, in February 2022 despite the onset of war from Russia’s invasion. For nine months, he provid...

Read More

Five days before the execution of James “Chip” Smith on Sept. 1, 1882, Father Michael J. McGivney celebrated a high Mass at the jailhouse in New Haven, Connecticut, where Smith was held. Thanks to countless hours that Father McGivney, the young curate at St. Mary’s Church, had s...

Read More

On Sept. 1, 1919, Marshal Ferdinand Foch, supreme commander of the Allied Forces, extended his hand in farewell to Gen. John J. Pershing as they stood aboard the USS Leviathan — a former German passenger liner turned U.S. battleship — in the harbor of Brest, France. Collabor...

Read More

Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly and Supreme Chaplain Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore joined over 250,000 pilgrims in Rome to honor and pray for Pope Francis, whose funeral Mass was celebrated in St. Peter’s Square on April 26. Pope Francis died on April 21 at age 88 in his Vatican residen...

Read More

With more than 230 million people, Nigeria is the sixth most populous country in the world and by far the most populous in Africa. It is home to as many as 100 million Christians, including 35 million Catholics. But ethnic and religious tensions, primarily between Muslims and Christians, have made t...

Read More

Editor’s Note: This article has been updated from the original version that appeared in the April 2023 issue of Columbia. The resignation of Pope Benedict XVI — the first papal resignation in nearly 600 years — was followed by a historic first. Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, arc...

Read More

Pope Francis greeted members of the Knights of Columbus Board of Directors and their families Feb. 10 in the Vatican, and commended the Order’s “generous commitment … to serve all in need.” The audience took place during the board’s pilgrimage to Rome Feb. 7-13 in comm...

Read More

Amid much fanfare, Knights of Columbus and family members from across the United States and beyond assembled in St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City on Feb. 22 to mark the 125th anniversary of the Fourth Degree. Many of them, including the board of directors and other K of C leaders, proud...

Read More

Father Ihor Makar, a Ukrainian Greek Catholic priest, was traveling through the Kherson region in eastern Ukraine to celebrate Divine Liturgy for the feast of the Baptism of the Lord in early January when his car was struck by a drone attack. Shrapnel from the explosion not only pierced the vehicle,...

Read More

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article was originally published in the April 2014 issue of Columbia. Over the course of his 26-year pontificate, Pope John Paul II addressed more than two-dozen messages of appreciation for and encouragement to the Knights of Columbus. In many ways, his speeches to...

Read More