Despite a global rise in secularism, the Knights of Columbus reported a significant increase in membership and a record-high amount in charitable donations in 2023 at the group’s annual convention in Quebec, Canada, this week.
Supreme Knight Patrick E. Kelly announced that the Knights’ membership rose to 2.1 million members last year with 92,000 new people joining the fraternal organization — one of the best years for growth in the last century. He also announced that Knights spent more than 47 million hours “serving and sacrificing for the sake of others” and set a new record for charitable giving: $190 million.
“Together, we build up families, parishes, and communities that are centered on Christ,” Kelly said in his Aug. 6 speech. “There is no greater task. It requires sacrifice and sometimes even suffering, but that’s what it means to be a disciple.”
“That’s what it means to be on mission,” he added, referencing the 2024 convention’s theme: “On Mission.”
The membership growth and charitable work spanned several continents.
Kelly noted a rise in membership in the United States, Ukraine, the Philippines, Mexico, and France. He also emphasized the rise in membership in South Korea — a country the Knights expanded to 10 years ago — and an increase in Cuba — a country in which the Knights and other Catholics faced severe suppression beginning in the mid-1900s.
In the United States, Kelly said that half of the new members to join online were Hispanic, which is continuing to become a larger share of the American Catholic population.
Kelly expressed hope that the Knights of Columbus will continue to grow and envisions “a day when we will have 4 or 5 million.” He referenced a survey commissioned by the Knights of Columbus that found 7 million Catholics said they would be interested in joining the Knights and that one of the top reasons for not joining was that they had never been invited.
“Father [Michael] McGivney created the Knights to make that impact,” Kelly said. “And by inviting the first Knights to join him in a great work, he created a culture of invitation that we must carry forward. So today, I ask every Knight: Will you extend that invitation, that hand of brotherhood, to the next generation?”
Some of the charitable work noted in Kelly’s speech included efforts to rebuild churches and support Catholic communities in countries where Catholics face persecution, including Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon.
Kelly also announced two new initiatives in Africa: one in Nigeria and one in Benin.
Kelly announced a collaboration between the bishops’ conference in Nigeria and the Franciscan University of Steubenville to establish a national catechetical institute to support “the ongoing formation of priests and lay leaders.” He noted that more than 80% of Christians being killed for their faith live in Nigeria.
In Benin, a small country that neighbors Nigeria to the West, Kelly announced support for Sisters of the Company of the Savior to build a vocational training center for young girls “to discover their God-given talents and develop socially and economically.” He noted that girls are often targeted by terrorists and kidnapped in the country.
The Knights of Columbus Charity Convoys have also delivered more than 8.5 million pounds of relief supplies to communities in Ukraine and the organization’s Mercy Centers and programs have provided material and spiritual aid to more than 1.6 million refugees, according to Kelly. He said the Ukraine Solidarity Fund has provided $17 million in humanitarian relief overall.
The Knights also awarded their “International Family of the Year” award to the Ampe family: The husband, Joseph, and his wife, Tiffany, adopted two children with Down syndrome from Ukraine.
Other charitable efforts included support for people suffering in natural disasters, such as the victims of the 2023 wildfires in Hawaii. The Knights delivered supplies and helped rebuild the affected communities, including a local Catholic school in Maui called Sacred Hearts. The Knights also provided financial support to 11 Catholic school teachers who continued to go to work despite losing their homes in the fires.
In his speech, Kelly noted that the Knights accomplished this work despite the rise of secularism seen in the United States, Canada, and throughout Europe, saying that “the days of easy faith are over.” He urged his fellow Knights to follow in the footsteps of Blessed Michael J. McGivney, the priest who founded the fraternal organization, and St. François de Laval, who served as the first bishop of Quebec.
“We must have the zeal of Bishop de Laval and Father McGivney,” Kelly said. “Like them, we must build and we must start by building up a new generation of Catholic men — men formed in faith and virtue; men prepared to be missionary disciples.”
