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The Knights of Columbus Museum opens in New Haven on March 9,
2001.
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In preparation for the Church’s celebration of the Great Jubilee
of the Year 2000, the Knights underwrites the restoration of the
Maderno Atrium at St. Peter’s Basilica and of the Holy Year
Door; millions of pilgrims pass through the atrium and door
during the Jubilee Year.
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More than 12,000 Knights and family members attend the Knights
of Columbus Jubilee Year Mass and pilgrimage at the National
Shrine on April 1, 2000; the event includes the praying of the
rosary with Pope John Paul II live via satellite from Rome.
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In May 2000, Pope John Paul II canonizes six Mexican
priest-members of the Knights of Columbus who were martyred
during the era of Church persecution there in the early 20th
century; two additional priest-members from Mexico have since
been beatified, and one canonized.
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Carl A. Anderson is elected supreme knight in September 2000; in
ceremonies at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico
City, he places his administration under her intercession.
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In response to the terrorist attacks of Sept.11, 2001, the Knights on Sept. 12 establishes its $1 million Heroes Fund. Checks for $3,000 are presented to families of all full-time professional law enforcement, firefighters and emergency medical personnel who lost their lives at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Forty-five Knights were killed on 9/11. | The Knights of Columbus is honored by the Path to Peace Foundation with its Champion of Peace Award in ceremonies in New York, Nov. 26, 2001. Archbishop (now Cardinal) Renato R. Martino, apostolic nuncio of the Holy See’s mission at the United Nations, presents the award. Cardinal Martino is now the president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. |
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The first Blue Mass sponsored by the Knights of Columbus Supreme
Council is held at St. Mary’s Church, Feb.10, 2002.
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The first Knights of Columbus Day of the Unborn Child is
observed March 25, 2002, to coincide with the feast of the
Annunciation.
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In 2002, the Order establishes a $2 million Pacem in Terris fund to promote peace and education initiatives in the Holy Land and provide support for the Christian community there. |
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The first Knights of Columbus Eucharistic Congress is held at
the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception
in Washington, June 22-23, 2002.
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The Knights provides $1 million to World Youth Day in Toronto in
July 2002.
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The one-year anniversary of the 9/11
terrorist attacks is marked by the Order with a Mass and patriotic
program at the National Shrine. During a ceremony for peace,
participants’ candles are lighted from a tiny oil lamp first used at
a prayer meeting for peace in Assisi, Italy, convened by Pope John
Paul II on Jan .24. |
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In March 2003, 100,000 copies of a pocket-sized prayer book are printed by the Order and the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, and sent to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, along with 10,000 rosaries. |
The Knights finances a concert at the Vatican Jan.17, 2004, to
commemorate the 25th anniversary of Pope John interfaith
outreach to Muslims, Jews and Christians. The former chief rabbi
of Rome and an imam of the Rome mosque, among others, attend the
event, entitled the “Concert of Reconciliation.”
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In October 2004, the Order’s Board of Directors make a pilgrimage to Poland as part of the Order’s celebration of Pope John Paul’s 25th anniversary as pope. |
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In 2005, the Knights begins a partnership with the Wheelchair
Foundation, sending 2,000 wheelchairs to land-mine victims and
people with disabilities in Afghanistan and elsewhere.
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Villa Maria Guadalupe, the Order’s pro-life retreat center in
Stamford, Conn., operated by the Sisters of Life, opens in 2005.
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In 2005, the Order marks the 100th anniversary of its presence in Mexico and the Philippines; Supreme Knight Anderson travels to Mexico and the Philippines (below) to take part in celebrations. |
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Thousands attend an outdoor Eucharistic celebration in Chicago’s
Grant Park at the conclusion of the Order’s third Eucharistic
Congress, Aug. 4, 2005.
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To promote devotion to the Mexican saints of the Knights of
Columbus, the Order sponsors a pilgrimage of their relics in
communities throughout Mexico and the United States.
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In its first international expansion in 100 years, the Order charters its first councils in Poland in 2006. |
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In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in the U.S. Gulf, Knights
raise and donate close to $10 million to help rebuild Catholic
churches and schools.
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