Supreme Master

Michael McCusker

 suprememaster@kofc.org

Supporting our Country, Community, and Church

 With Respect and Honor

Knights of Columbus Fourth Degree

March 2025

Supreme Master's Message

We Are Called to True Patriotism as Citizens of Heaven

At Mass recently, I heard St. Paul’s words to the Philippians that our citizenship is in heaven. These words sum up precisely my views on patriotism, and if you’ve read past monthly messages or had an occasion to hear me speak, you already know that I often focus on a patriotism that is less about flag waving or chest thumping but instead something far more significant. Namely, a patriotism that endeavors to live up to the meaning of the word patriot, which is derived from the word pater, meaning father. In essence, to be a patriot is to live as sons of our Heavenly Father, knowing that our true citizenship lies beyond the trappings of our earthly existence.

Regretfully, we often struggle to live a patriotism that best exemplifies our shared sonship in God. Instead, we are more often prone to the trappings that St. Paul warns of in the sentence immediately preceding the above referenced scripture: [many] conduct themselves as enemies of the cross of Christ…their minds occupied with earthly things.

This same sentiment is clearly expressed in the revised Exemplification of Patriotism which premiered last month during the 125th Anniversary celebration at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York. Specifically, the greatest threat to any democracy is a patriotism that holds that one’s own nation is superior to all others. A true patriot must guard against this form of patriotism, which only serves to foster distrust and disrespect among nations, and in the context of the Fourth Degree causes us to lose sight of the international nature of our Order. 

As members of the patriotic order, we are called to a higher sense of patriotism that focuses more on our heavenly citizenship than the trappings of earthly concerns. We must commit ourselves to a life dedicated to living as sons of the same Father in Heaven and, when politics divides, we should develop programs that unite. We must persistently express a willingness to examine earthly policies in the light of Christ’s teachings, especially when it comes to safeguarding the least of His people entrusted to us.

This March 29th, as we celebrate Founders Day, we should recall that Blessed McGivney established the Knights of Columbus in a period marked by unchecked class discrimination against Catholic immigrants that was fueled by distrust, misinformation, and suspicion, as well as a misguided sense of patriotism that held that Catholics were incapable of good citizenship. We should use this occasion to examine whether times have truly changed since 1882, asking the question: How often do our words today sound more like the slurs, insults, and suspicions once directed at our immigrant ancestors? By doing so, we can measure the true depths of our patriotic fervor, asking ourselves: Have we allowed earthly things to distract us from our heavenly citizenship? Or more precisely, do our patriotic sentiments lend to unity or do they stand as enemies of the cross of Christ?

Vivat Jesus!

Thank you to everyone who volunteered to assist at the 125th Anniversary Exemplification on February 22, 2025 in New York City. Thank you to all who served as Color Corps, Ushers, or Guards! The event was highly successful and memorable because of your efforts!



For the Vice Supreme Masters and District Masters: Please remember to send me information on every planned Exemplification and, once held, please send me the results. 

The new Drill Manual is in Supply!

The number of the publication is 808E and the date of the publication is 10/24. This is our guiding Drill Manual with a great deal of new information. Versions in languages other than English will soon follow.

Thank you for all your efforts in ceremonial areas! If you need anything ceremonial or have any questions related to ceremonials, please send them to me.

Finally, thanks for all that you do for our Order and the Fourth Degree!

Fraternally and patriotically,  

                                                   

Mike Thumm, FVSM

Fourth Degree Director of Ceremonials

On Sunday, March 2, 2025 at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot (MCRD) facility in San Diego California, Supreme Master Michael McCusker, joined by his wife Lady Theresa, along with Supreme Director Rene Trevino and his wife Lady Carla came onto the base to join with a weekly Mass celebration provided for U. S. Marine recruits going through their "boot camp" experience, transitioning from civilian life to pursue the goal of earning their Eagle Globe and Anchor, the coveted insignia of successfully completing initial training and now prepared to proceed to their next duty station assignment.

Fr. Booth's vision for Catholic recruits is to provide an "at-home-style Mass experience" for these recruits. Recruits are encouraged to be involved alongside local volunteers that are almost all Knights of Columbus members, but travel to the base from local communities, some traveling 20 miles or more to share time with these recruits.

On Sundays for these recruits, Fr. Booth, the Knights, their wives and other Catholic catechists and adults begin about 07:30 am to prepare several classrooms for 75-minutes of classroom time, actively reviewing sacraments, reminding these recruits of their Catholic faith and how they can nourish their own faith, re-engage with the Church, and use faith to support and strengthen their resolve to make it through the rigorous Marine training experience. The recruits are invited to attend the classroom sessions where Fr. Booth also offers to hear reconciliation as the morning time allows before he must start preparing for Mass. The Knights and catechists are the leaders in the classrooms, but they also look for recruits showing outward distress. They will offer support and encouragement, and let recruits know they are being prayed for, loved and admired for what they are doing. These adult support volunteers are the recruits’ surrogate emotional fathers, mothers, siblings, aunts, uncles, ... families they have back home.

On February 15, 2025, Sir Knights from Our Lady of Perpetual Help Assembly 1653 in Stephenville, Newfoundland took part in a flag raising ceremony as part of our National Flag Day. The day started with a Rosary in the church at 10:30 devoted to our national leaders and all those who protect and defend our country. This was followed by a short ceremony in front of our Assembly home where the national flag was raised and saluted by the Honor Guard, “O’ Canada” was sung and our Faithful Friar led us in a patriotic prayer. This was followed by a sit-down luncheon meeting. Although it was a cold and blustery day, all Sir Knights who took part are to be congratulated on what was a fitting tribute to our national flag in these uncertain times. All Sir Knights who took part in the Rosary, including our parish priest Father Joseph and our Faithful Friar Father O’Quinn.

Our Faithful Friar Father O’Quinn leading the Assembly in prayer.

Our District Master Sir Knight Bob Miller and District Marshal Western Sir Knight Wayne Alexander raised the national flag.

On March 1, 2025, the Knights of Columbus, in the Northern District of Illinois, Marquette Province, conducted an Exemplification of Patriotism for the 125th Anniversary of the Fourth Degree at the Jacob Henry Mansion, Joliet, IL. Master Ty Simmons, and dignitaries - VSM Gerry Mattix-Wand, FM Alex Tennant, FM Jack McCarthy, FM Garry Daly, and PSD’s Phil Barone, Rich Spada and Frank Schwartz Knighted 156 new Sir Knights.

The Host, Bishop Blanchette Assembly #3044, Naperville, IL, named PGK Christopher Cox (C.J.), from Robert Weaver Council #12005, as the Candidate of the Day. The Class Honorees were FM Garry Daly and FN Tim Rogers. 

Master’s Awards were presented to SK Brian Bergman - Joliet Assembly #204; SK’s Joseph Frontera - Cardinal Stritch Assembly #205; SK Matthew Borgard and SK Delmor Thurman, Dr.- Thomas Dooley Assembly #209; SK Joseph Mutholam, Father O’Callahan Assembly #2174; SK’s Mark Jatczak and Dan Schwartz – Bishop Blanchette Assembly #3044; SK Daniel Casing – Bishop Roger Kaffer Assembly #3232 and SK Harry Phillips – Bishop McNamara Assembly #202, who was unable to attend. 

125th Anniversary Coin Sells

Due to the overwhelming success of the 125th Anniversary of the Fourth Degree in New York City on February 22, 2025, the decision has been made to make the 125th Commemorative Coin available for purchase through Knights Gear. The coin was very well received at the celebration, where demand exceeded the supply.  

The coins will be available for purchase on Knights Gear in the coming weeks. You can sign up with your email to receive notifications once they are available. The coins will be sold for $10 plus shipping and will remain available for the next year. 

Sign up here to receive an email notification when the coins become available.  

Grave Marker Presentation

In May 2024, Mrs. Patti Neri wanted to honor her deceased husband, Sir Knight Bart Neri, Council 2191 (Illinois) and Assembly 188 (Illinois) by placing a Fourth Degree Marker on his grave. (He had passed away in 2019.) To her dismay, Neri discovered that the marker was no longer offered for sale by the Knights of Columbus. Undeterred, she wrote to Supreme Master Michael McCusker to discuss her dilemma. Moved by her letter, McCusker wrote back to Neri, letting her know that after much prayer and reflection, he would have the Fourth Degree grave marker put back into production. 

On March 1, 2025, Ed Ponder, Vice Supreme Master of the Father Hennepin Province, and Ohio State Secretary Michael Felerski delivered the first grave marker to Mrs. Neri on behalf of the Supreme Master. The presentation took place at Mrs. Neri’s home, with her son, Michael, also in attendance.

You can purchase a grave marker following this link.

Message from Director of New Assembly Development

My brother Sir Knights,

What a terrific 125th Anniversary Exemplification! It was incredible to see so many Sir Knights in uniform and over 650 candidates in attendance. I will never forget this event.

As an update to our last newsletter, we now have 40 new Assemblies this fraternal year with 3 awaiting approval. I am aware of another 13 in the pipeline. Hopefully, there are more out there of which I am not aware. Worthy VSMs and DMs, please let me know your forecasts and let me know if I can be of any help. These take time to complete, so let’s start working on these now.

Our goal this year is to create 133 new Assemblies across the Order. As you can see, we have a lot of work to do. If I total up approved, waiting approval and pipeline, I get 56. We have some work to do.

On the flip side for a good news story, last year we only had 23 new Assemblies, so we have nearly doubled our new Assembly count so far. Thank you for all your hard work in getting us this far.

Remember to keep a look out for potential new Assemblies. DMs, examine your districts. You have a bird’s eye view of your patch. Examine it carefully. Chat with your State Deputies, District Deputies and FNs for a potential new Assembly. Remember, your target is just 1 new Assembly this fraternal year. You can do it.



Thank you for your hard work on this.

God Bless,



Dale Hofer, PSD

Director of New Assembly Development

Our Ceremonials Director Mike Thumm, along with a few great Vice Supreme Masters, spent a lot of time and effort to update our Drill Manual and Manual of the Sword.

This is now available online at KofC.org where you can download and share virtual copies of the new manual. It can also be ordered in the printed version from the Supreme Office (email fraternalmission@kofc.org or call 203.752.4270).

I urge all Vice Supreme Masters and District Masters to make sure all our Assemblies have this new version and plan to update your Color Corps on the changes.

Every Assembly should plan to train their members on the changes and continue to train and practice at each month’s Fourth Degree meetings.

Please read this from cover to cover. There are some changes to the old version that answer a lot of

questions and clear up some confusion. But you’re going to have to read it first.

Click here for the manual.

If you have any other questions on training your members, please email me at

MJPKNIGHT9282@aol.com.

Fraternally,

Michael J. Porter

PSD,FM,FVSM

Fourth Degree Director of Training 

As April approaches, two significant programs are on the horizon for members of the Fourth Degree:

1....Korean & Vietnam War Census Program

• Due Date: The Census gathering has now closed, and we are compiling the information.
• This initiative aims to create a comprehensive record of service for veterans of the Korean and Vietnam Wars. Given that the Korean War started in 1950, surviving veterans are now approximately 91 years old. Those who served in Vietnam between 1965 and 1973 are typically aged 68-76. These wars represented pivotal changes in military service and the treatment of returning veterans, especially for those who served in Vietnam, who often faced a divided nation upon their return.



• Recognition: Certificates will be presented to surviving veterans through their councils. District Masters are advised to collaborate with Faithful Navigators and local Grand Knights to host a celebratory dinner or party for the veterans receiving these certificates, accompanied by a Fourth Degree Honor Guard to honor their service.

2....To Be A Patriot Award Program Application

• Each assembly is invited to submit a report on their most outstanding patriotic activity (using form #TBP-2) to the District Master. This program aims to recognize assemblies that exemplify the ideals of patriotism. 

• Evaluation Criteria: The selection process involves assessing the project based on several factors, including its embodiment of patriotism, member participation rates, community impact, originality, and publicity effectiveness.

Important Dates to Remember:

• April 30: Assemblies must submit their To Be A Patriot applications to the District Master.
• May 15: District Masters should submit their top entry to the Vice Supreme Master.
• May 31: Vice Supreme Masters need to forward their province's top entry to the Supreme Master.

A committee appointed by the Supreme Knight and Supreme Master will review all entries, and winners will be announced by the Supreme Master's office.

Let’s honor the sacrifices made by our veterans and recognize the valuable contributions of our assemblies to our communities.

Ron Boyce, PSD,

Fourth Degree Director of Programs

Food for Thought

I am always looking forward to learning something I didn’t know about history. The Bishop James A. Healy Province March Newsletter had an article that caught my eye. As we recognize patriots, maybe we should look at the Ghost Army Soldiers and how they impacted the outcome of the war. Enjoy this little bit of history; I know I did.

THE GHOST ARMY PROJECT

The Ghost Army used inflatable tanks, sound effects, radio trickery, and imagination to fool the Germans on the battlefields of Europe. The “unsung” heroes of the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops and the 3133rd Signal Company Special carried out 25 battlefield deceptions in France, Luxembourg, Belgium, Germany and Italy. They saved thousands of lives and helped win the war, but their efforts were kept secret for 50 years and were only recently officially recognized with the award of a Congressional Gold Medal. The mission of the Ghost Army Legacy Project is to preserve and honor the legacy of these men.

Click on title of article to watch a 3+ minute video of the Ghost Army 

Matthew Maly, PSD, FVSM

Fourth Degree Director of Communications

Administrative Assistant

Justyna Padilla 

justyna.padilla@kofc.org

203-752-4437

Special Projects and Associate Fourth Degree Specialist

Addie Roth 

adella.roth@kofc.org

203-752-4009