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Supreme Master
Michael McCusker
suprememaster@kofc.org
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Supporting our Country, Community, and Church
With Respect and Honor
Knights of Columbus Fourth Degree
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It is 1976 - America’s Bicentennial. I am eight years old. The fireworks over Philadelphia have just ended but thick smoke lingers over the hot, humid city. A massive crowd makes its way back home.
I remember tightly grasping my father’s hand as we pushed our way through the crowd. My brothers, John and Kevin, were behind me with my mother in tow.
For whatever reason, I asked my dad “Do you think I’ll be alive for the Tricentennial?”
“Maybe. It is possible. You would be 108, but that is not unheard of these days.”
He paused. Took a long drag on his cigarette, exhaled the cloud of smoke, then added, “But I guarantee you will make it to the 250th. You’ll only be fifty-eight.”
And here we are. 2026. America’s 250th.
The hazy, lingering smoke of both those fireworks and my father’s cigarette are only memories now, as are also both my mother and father.
Next week, on July Fourth, I am certain that another eight year old will ask his father the same question that I asked all those years ago.
It is a reminder of the perpetual watchwords of our Order. Tempus fugit, memento mori. Time flies, remember death.
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I do not write this to be gloomy. I write it in memory of those who guided each of us from one point of our lives to another. Those who held our hands, pointed us in the right direction, and made us believe in not only what we can become but also in what is possible in the lives of our individual nations, and what God expects of us as patriots.
This year, each of the nations that comprise the Knights of Columbus will celebrate their anniversary. Some will be quite old and others are younger nations. All have a role to play in doing God’s work here on earth. As we celebrate our nations, let us rededicate ourselves to living as sons of God in cooperation with His divine will.
And if we do, then those eight year olds of today who wonder what the future holds, will one day look back with nostalgia, love, and appreciation of what their nations have been and will equally draw strength from what they yet may become.
Vivat Jesus!
Michael McCusker
Supreme Master
| | Message From Fourth Degree Director of Training | | |
Training for the new Assembly Officers
I recently sent copies of the Assembly officers training decks to the Vice Supreme Masters, and they have shared those with the District Masters.
It’s important that the new Assembly officers, especially the new incoming Faithful Navigator, receive this training, so he knows the goals of the District, the Province, and those of the Supreme Master.
District Masters, please share your Exemplification schedule and membership drive suggestions with the assemblies as quickly as possible.
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July 1 is right around the corner, and the assemblies need to be ready to hit the ground running to grow our Fourth-Degree numbers, our uniform numbers, and support the councils attached to their assemblies.
Have a great summer!
Fraternally,
Michael J. Porter, PSD,FM,FVSM
Fourth Degree Director of Training
| | Message from the Director of Ceremonials | | |
We’re down to the stretch for this Fraternal Year! Please assist me in finishing up the Fourth Degree Exemplification Schedule Spreadsheet by sending me any missing content and any updates necessary. I am busy getting the Fraternal Year 2026-2027 Spreadsheet ready and I welcome those early scheduled Exemplifications for it!
Remember, for your convenience, the latest Drill Manual version now resides on the supreme website! Please make sure that all who perform Color Corps duties are familiar with the Drill Manual contents, so that we can continue our work towards uniformity in our drill! Send me any questions or suggestions related to the Drill Manual. I retain everything in order to refer to it for the next update and to determine what needs to be added, changed, or updated! As always, I recommend using your chain of command.
I am currently securing copies of the Knights of Columbus Flag Manual that contains all information on displaying the US Flag. Once I get it, I will prepare a PDF version to share for your use. We need to make sure that we are always displaying and carrying the flag correctly!
Remember, the Fourth Degree Pin (PG-113) is the only pin that is worn on the Fourth Degree Uniform. It is placed in the lapel buttonhole to be centered across the lapel. If it cannot be centered, then cheat just out of the lapel buttonhole toward the lapel center to position it.
I continue to work to make the Fourth Degree Exemplification Schedule spreadsheet a very useful tool for our Supreme Master. Please continue in this effort along with me. We are gaining in making sure that all scheduled exemplifications are contained in it. Please all VSMs and DMs continue your work to identify what from your districts and provinces has not been reported and send those items and events to me so that I can add them to the spreadsheet. An entire list of scheduled exemplifications and results of those completed helps to make sure we have them all incorporated in the spreadsheet. For 2026-2027, please try to start off by sending me every exemplification that is scheduled as soon as that is accomplished. Then, once completed, I need to know the results of each exemplification. All I need is the number of new sir knights and if there were any Priests in the class. Just cc’ing me when the report of exemplification is sent to supreme will do the trick, too! If you can do these things for me, then we will provide the Supreme Master with the useful tool that he needs and desires!
Please let me know if I can assist you with anything ceremonial! Thanks for all of your work in these areas!
Fraternally and Patriotically,
Mike Thumm, FVSM
Fourth Degree Director of Ceremonials
| | Membership - Provincial Quotas | | |
Please view the Provincial Quotas as of May 31st.
Keep up the good work!
Click the image to view at full size.
| | Message from the Director of New Assembly Development | | |
Worthy Sirs,
As you may have heard me say, or read in this newsletter, our Worthy Supreme Master wants quality rather than quantity with respect to new assemblies. This means not create an assembly to “tick a box”, but rather to form a new assembly that is sustainable and creates value to the Order and our Patriotic degree.
As this current fraternal year comes to an end, let’s take a peek at the new assemblies formed this fraternal year, or maybe even more relevant, the assemblies formed in the previous year to see how they are doing. Are they functioning as you expected? Are they growing and doing programs? Do they have an Honor Guard and being visible? If not, what happened to this new assembly?
If they are not functioning, circle back to coach and mentor them back to a functioning assembly. Assign someone to stick with them until they are back on their feet and can teach them to stay productive.
During my attendance in a few AGM/Conventions, I was very impressed with the participation of the Fourth Degree in the ceremonies. It made me proud to be a member of the degree.
As we head into a new fraternal year, Worthy VSM’s and Worthy DM’s, please start the year again looking for opportunities for new assemblies. I feel this year is going to be a year of great Fourth Degree membership. Take advantage of that and create a new assembly with the new membership if the opportunity is right.
As usual, I am just an email or phone call away if you have any questions or need help with forming a new assembly. My email is dale.hofer@kofc.org.
Thank you and God Bless,
Dale Hofer, PSD
Director of New Assembly Development
| | Message from the Director of Communications | | |
“We hold these truths to be self evident…”. When the Founding Fathers of the United States committed these words to paper, it was a revolutionary act. Yet it rested upon a deeper conviction: that truth is objective, knowable, and enduring. Society itself was understood to be ordered around Christian principles, even if those principles were not always perfectly lived.
Today, we find ourselves at a very different moment in history. Truth is no longer widely accepted as self evident. Many now deny that objective truth exists at all, while others dismiss its importance altogether. As Pope Benedict XVI said, “Without truth, without trust and love for what is true, there is no social conscience and responsibility, and social action ends up serving private interests and the logic of power, resulting in social fragmentation, especially in a globalized society at difficult times like the present… Truth preserves and expresses charity’s power to liberate in the ever-changing events of history.”
As Knights of Columbus, we are called to stand as witnesses to Truth—the eternal Truth found in Jesus Christ. Through our charity, unity, fraternity, and patriotism, our presence in our parishes and communities helps build up the Body of Christ. The witness we provide has the power to change lives, often in quiet and unseen ways, but sometimes in extraordinary ones. By sharing your own efforts, you may encourage others to do likewise.
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Please continue to share your successes, your acts of charity, and your witness to Truth with The Catholic Patriot, so that together we can inspire others through your example.
Vivat Jesus!
Sterling C. Roatch
Director of Fourth Degree Communications
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Virgil Dechant succeeded William Mulligan as Supreme Master of the Fourth Degree in 1966. Widely regarded as one of the most influential Catholic lay leaders, Dechant modernized the Order while maintaining its core traditions, ultimately serving as the longest-tenured Supreme Knight.
Born on September 24, 1930, in Antonio, Kansas, Dechant was the son of Cornel and Ursula Dechant, descendants of German-Russian immigrants. After graduating from St. Joseph Military Academy in Hays, Kansas, Dechant was a farmer and a farm equipment salesman, eventually operating an automobile and farm implement agency in Lacrosse. In 1951, he married Ann Laverna Schafer, another Kansas native who lived on her family’s farm. Their union brought four children—Daniel, Thomas, Karen and Robert.
Dechant joined the Knights in 1949 and was a member of LaCrosse Council 2970 and St. Augustine Council 2340 in Liebenthal, Kansas. A car accident that same year resulted in a broken hip. During his recovery, Dechant’s fellow council members visited daily, which inspired him to deepen his service to the Order. Dechant served as Grand Knight of the Libenthal Council and became district deputy in 1952, a role he served in for five years. In 1957, he was elected state treasurer, which he would serve in for two years before being appointed state membership director. In 1956, he took the Fourth Degree in Hays, Kansas, and in 1960, he was elected State Deputy, one of the youngest to ever hold the office.
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In 1967, Dechant and his family moved to Connecticut so he could serve as Supreme Secretary. He was also elected Supreme Master, a role in which he served from October 21, 1966 to October 6, 1967. Though holding a brief tenure, Dechant oversaw 77 exemplifications to the Fourth Degree, which compared to the 45 in the previous year. He also granted masters a more central role in their assemblies. Dechant was also responsible for the push to digitize Fourth Degree records, creating a system that assigned councils to a general assembly and determined their eligibility for the Fourth Degree more quickly.
In 1977, Dechant was elected the 12th Supreme Knight, a position he held until his retirement in 2000, making him the longest-tenured Supreme Knight. During his leadership, membership grew to 1.6 million globally, and he focused the Order on involving families in Knights activities, vocational promotion, supporting the Holy See, and fostering a new “culture of life” through pro-life initiatives.
Even in retirement, Dechant remained an active advocate, urging members to combat “the new anti-Catholics.” For his efforts in strengthening the Order’s ties to the Vatican, he received the Gaudium et Spes Award, the Order’s highest honor, and held multiple knighthoods granted by the papacy. He passed away in Leawood, Kansas, on February 16, 2020, at age 89.
– Based on records from the Knights of Columbus Supreme Council Archives, obituaries, Columbia, and The Fraternalist.
Cecelia Puckhaber
Senior Fraternal Resources Associate
| | Fourth Degree Across the Order | | Archbishop Blanchet Province | | Archbishop Blanchet Province had a Provincial-Wide Exemplification of Patriotism in honor of the 250th Anniversary of the United States. | | Corpus Christi Eucharistic Procession in Portland | | Archbishop Blanchet province participated in an Archdiocese-wide Corpus Christi Eucharistic Procession in Portland. Archbishop Sample called upon all faithful in the Archdiocese of Portland to gather at the Cathedral for a large Eucharistic Procession. He also consecrated the Archdiocese of Portland to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. | | | Guadalupe Province Memorial Day Mass | | Members of the Guadalupe Province held a Memorial Day Mass in honor of beloved members of the community who had sacrificed their lives in the service of their country, and the loved ones left behind. A new flagpole was also installed and blessed at the Parish before the Mass. | | Members of the Philippines Province held a drill competition before the 13th National Convention in Davos City in May. | | Members of the Father Padilla Province provided an honor guard for the Eucharistic Procession on Corpus Christi. | | |
Would you like to see your Assembly featured here?
Email photos and a brief write up of events to CatholicPatriot@kofc.org!
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