Did you know this about the IW Knights of Columbus?
This is the second in a 2-part series about the Knights of Columbus in Ukraine.
“The seeds of the Order’s expansion to Ukraine were sown in 2005 by Cardinal Lubomyr Husar, then the foremost leader of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. Husar, who fled the Soviet invasion of Ukraine with his family in 1944, emigrated to the United States as a teenager and became aware of the Order’s work as a priest.”
“’I have become very interested in transplanting the Order of Knights of Columbus to Ukraine,’ the cardinal said in a homily at the 123rd Supreme Convention in Chicago. ‘Ukraine has gone through a period of at least 70 years in which a communist regime has tried to create a new human being … to take away from the hearts of men their faith in God.’”
“Already, the Order was preparing its first international expansion in nearly a century — with the first council in Poland being established in January 2006. With assistance from Knights in Poland, Canada and the U.S., the Supreme Council then laid the groundwork for the first Ukrainian-language exemplifications in 2012 and 2013, and the first Ukrainian councils: Greek-rite St. Volodymyr Council 15800 in Kyiv and the Latin-rite John Paul II Council 15801 in Lviv.”
“’I find that it was truly providential that the first council was established in Ukraine’s capital city — Kyiv, five years ago, just before the beginning of the Maidan, or ‘Revolution of Dignity’ as we call it in Ukraine,’ Archbishop Shevchuk said during his States Dinner keynote address in 2018.”
“The Revolution of Dignity began 11/21/13, when tens of thousands of people gathered in Kyiv’s Independence Square (Maidan Nezalezhnosti) to protest government corruption and Russian influence; confrontations with police resulted in more than 100 dead and many more wounded.”
“Bogdan Kovaliv, charter grand knight of Council 15800 in Kyiv and later the jurisdiction’s first state deputy, helped lead K of C relief efforts to aid the wounded, provide food and warm clothing, and assist families of those who died. Knights also set up a prayer tent at Maidan to offer spiritual support.”
“’Solidarity and support for those in need demonstrate the KofC principles for action,’ Kovaliv said in 2015. ‘These initiatives also helped the active development of the Order.’”
“The Order’s principle of unity has also been a galvanizing force among Knights in Ukraine.”
“’Collaboration between representatives of the two rites within a large organization like the Knights of Columbus is a wonderful example of creating unity through diversity,’ said Ukrainian Catholic Bishop Mykhaylo Bubniy of Odessa. They are an example of how men take responsibility for their Church at the local level.”
“Since the jurisdiction surpassed 1,000 members and was designated a state council in 2018, Ukraine’s membership has nearly doubled, with Knights in more than 40 local councils.”
’The KofC has grown from a small seed into a large community,’ said Archbishop Mokrzycki. ‘We did not become Knights to gain fame, prestige or money, but to serve through deeds of love for the good of the Church, that is, for the community of people united by one faith and one baptism. This conviction should serve us as a goal, especially here in war-stricken Ukraine.’”
Information on our feature story or about the Knights of Columbus can be found at IWKnights9981.com/bulletin or on facebook.com/IWknights9981 and NOW on Twitter at twitter.com/IwKnights.
Links Related to this week’s column:
Prepared by Providence
Ukrainian Knights serving the needs of their country amid war see God’s hand in the Order’s presence and growth.
By Knights of Columbus (4/1/2022)
Click here to read the article
Rack-in-the-Back . . . . . . . .
Please shop our book and CD Rack-in-the-Back. Suggested Donation for the CD's is $3.00/title - books on the top shelf are FREE.
We would like to talk with you about becoming an IW Knight. Please visit us on-line at our web site at www.IWknights9981.com/AboutUs. Or call Rob Schultz at: (314) 973-2373.
