August 2026 | VOLUME 19, NUMBER 8 | KOFC.ORG/CHAPLAINS

By Fr. Jonathan D. Kalisch, O.P.

Director of Chaplains and Spiritual Development

The days of August remind us why we accompany our brother Knights of Columbus. The Aug. 4 feast of St. Jean-Marie Vianney brings to mind his beautiful description of the ministerial priesthood as “the love of the Heart of Jesus.” On this feast of the universal patron of priests, I invite you to join in a nine-day novena ending on the vigil of the Aug. 13 feast of Blessed Michael McGivney. The following day, Aug. 14, we celebrate the heroic gift of self made by St. Maximilian Maria Kolbe, who exchanged his life for that of a married man at Auschwitz, the Nazi German concentration camp in Poland. The celebrations of the Assumption and the Queenship of Mary remain beautiful occasions to rededicate our vocations under the Blessed Virgin Mary’s maternal care. The feasts later in the month — St. Monica on Aug. 27, St. Augustine on Aug. 28 and the Beheading of St. John the Baptist on Aug. 29 — prepare us for the singular work ahead: leading those we serve to encounter Christ.

This month also marks the centenary of the beginning of the Cristero War in August 1926, when many priests and laymen, including at least six Knights of Columbus chaplains, were martyred for the faith amid the Mexican government’s persecution of the Catholic Church. The Knights of Columbus in Mexico played a heroic role during those dark days, and their story is worth learning about and sharing with those you serve.

In addition, this September marks the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. More than 40 brother Knights lost their lives that day, and their sacrifice is commemorated in a permanent memorial — accompanied by a special exhibit in honor of the anniversary — at the Blessed Michael McGivney Pilgrimage Center in New Haven, Connecticut. As you prepare your own commemorations of these events, please include the memory and witness of our brother Knights. Vivat Jesus! 

This month, Supreme Chaplain Archbishop William Lori challenges Knights to study the life and example of our founder, Blessed Michael McGivney, whose feast day is Aug. 13. Use the Blessed Michael McGivney Cor Session Guide (freely available at kofc.org/shopcis), noting in particular how Father McGivney always sought to align his will with that of God.

Blessed Michael McGivney's Corner

On Aug. 13, we celebrate the feast of Blessed Michael McGivney. This date falls between two important days in the life of our Founder: his birthday on Aug. 12 and the anniversary of his death on Aug. 14. Like many priests of his time, Father McGivney died young, his health unable to endure the demands of his vocation. Even while confined to bed, he never stopped thinking about and caring for his parishioners. Father McGivney welcomed death peacefully, regretting only that he could not attend the ordinations of his two younger brothers. For his funeral, the Knights prepared “a four-foot cross made of flowers marked ‘Founder’ and ‘Chaplain,’” as recounted in his biography Parish Priest.

Resources are available to help parishes and councils commemorate the feast day. These materials include Mass propers and preaching themes. Councils are also invited to lead a novena to Blessed Michael McGivney from Aug. 4-12. In addition, a free digital Cor discussion guide inspired by the life of our Founder can be downloaded here.

Supreme Convention

The 144th Supreme Convention of the Knights of Columbus will be held in Denver from Aug. 4-6. Watch the convention proceedings and liturgies via livestream at kofc.org/convention.

Main Events and Masses (all times Eastern Daylight Time):

• Monday, Aug. 3, 9 p.m.: Supreme Knight’s Awards Session
• Tuesday, Aug. 4, 11:30 a.m.: Opening Mass
• Tuesday, Aug. 4, 3:00 p.m.: Opening Business Session and Supreme Knight’s Report
• Tuesday, Aug. 4, 8:45 p.m.: States Dinner
• Wednesday, Aug. 5, 11 a.m.: Convention Mass
• Thursday, Aug. 6, 10 a.m.: Memorial Mass

Follow Knights of Columbus social media for updates, and tune in to Catholic media outlets — EWTN TV (English and Spanish) and EWTN Radio, CatholicTV, Salt + Light TV, Relevant Radio’s The Drew Mariani Show, and The Katie McGrady Show on SiriusXM’s The Catholic Channel — for broadcasts of major events and additional coverage.  

Pilgrimage of Hope

Blessed Michael McGivney founded the Knights of Columbus to provide financial security for Catholic families — particularly widows and orphans left destitute by the deaths of husbands and fathers. Today, the Knights are addressing a similar challenge by helping war widows and orphans from Ukraine. Recently, Polish and Ukrainian Knights, with financial support from the Supreme Council, organized a weeklong “Pilgrimage of Hope” for 45 widows and orphans of fallen Ukrainian soldiers, offering them respite and hope as they visited holy sites across Poland.

During the pilgrimage, the widows and orphans traveled to Warsaw, the Polish capital; Krakow, the city of St. Faustina and St. John Paul II; and Częstochowa, home to the miraculous icon of Our Lady of Częstochowa. “We realize that these [families] are suffering very much,” said Supreme Warden Andrzej Anasiak, “and we wanted to give them a safe place to rest.”

Read more about this pilgrimage here.

State Chaplains Meeting

More than 40 state chaplains met in New Haven, Connecticut, for a State Chaplains Meeting held June 3-6, coinciding with the annual Organizational Meeting of State Deputies. During the gathering, Supreme Chaplain Archbishop William Lori led the chaplains on a pilgrimage to sites associated with the life of Blessed Michael McGivney, including Waterbury, where he was born; St. Thomas Church in Thomaston, where he served as pastor from 1884 until his death in 1890; and Immaculate Conception Church in Terryville, a mission church he also served.

The pilgrimage included Mass at Immaculate Conception Church, where Archbishop Lori reflected on Father McGivney’s deep devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. He noted that Father McGivney’s legacy is rooted in priestly love and self-sacrifice, adding that the Knights of Columbus continue to reflect “the truth and love of the Sacred Heart that found a home in his priestly heart.”

Read the full homily here.

Discover Humanum: A Journal on Catholic Social Teaching

Humanum: Issues in Family, Culture & Science is a free online quarterly journal published by the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family, which is supported by the Knights of Columbus. Humanum takes on central questions of human existence, exploring them in the context of family, education, science, technology, ecclesial life and more.

In anticipation of Labor Day on Sept. 7, we especially recommend a review of Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski’s book The Spirit of Human Work, an article on the role of the home in the modern economy and a reflection on the good and bad aspects of the modern economy. Read additional articles on Catholic teaching about human labor here.

All of Humanum’s articles are available free of charge on its website and can be searched by topic.

Sept. 7 — Labor Day

In his recent encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, Pope Leo reminds us that “work is not simply an instrument; it expresses and enhances the dignity of our lives.” Our latest video series, Into the Breach: The Dignity of Work, is an excellent resource for your council and the men of your parish to consider what this teaching means for their own lives, what the Church teaches about work, and how they can better integrate their faith into their work. If you are planning Cor for the fall, consider using Into the Breach: The Dignity of Work.

Learn more about the series in this article from the March issue of Columbia, and watch the videos at www.kofc.org/intothebreach.

Sept. 11 — The 25th Anniversary of the 9/11 Attacks

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C., on Sept. 11, 2001. The unprecedented attacks took the lives of nearly 3,000 people, among them 46 Knights of Columbus — 12 firefighters, six law enforcement officers and 28 other victims. You can find the full list of names here.

Following the attacks, local Knights sprang into action, supporting first responders, donning uniforms as volunteers and reaching out to families in need. Chaplains offered Masses and ministered to workers and volunteers at ground zero. The day after the attacks, the Order’s Board of Directors established the $1 million Knights of Columbus Heroes Fund to provide emergency assistance to the families of fallen first responders. K of C agents worked to identify those families and bring them checks for $3,000 to help meet immediate needs — the first financial assistance many of the families received. You can read more about these efforts in this article from the September 2021 issue of Columbia.

On this somber anniversary, all Knights are encouraged to pray for the souls of those who died in the attacks and for the families and friends they left behind 25 years ago. You might encourage your councils to visit the permanent 9/11 Memorial exhibit at the Blessed Michael McGivney Pilgrimage Center in New Haven, Connecticut, where the names of the 46 Knights are inscribed on a plaque, or the special exhibit Remembering 9/11: 25 Years Later, on view May 30 – Oct. 11. Councils might also plan visits to memorial sites around the country — such as the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in New York, the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial in Arlington, Virginia, or the Flight 93 National Memorial in Stoystown, Pennsylvania.

'A Magnificent Humanity' — Pope Leo's First Encyclical

Amid the changes brought about by the development of artificial intelligence, Pope Leo XIV recently published his first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas (A Magnificent Humanity). In the text, the pope addresses the technological advances of our era and the ethics of artificial intelligence while also highlighting the importance of Catholic social teaching.

Pope Leo signed the encyclical May 15, the 135th anniversary of Pope Leo XIII’s encyclical Rerum Novarum, the foundational text of Catholic social teaching.

You can read more about Magnifica Humanitas in this article from the July/August 2026 issue of Columbia.

To view previous editions of Chaplain's Report, click here.

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