WARSAW, Poland, Oct. 11, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Knights of
Columbus Supreme Knight Carl Anderson met with Poland's President Andrzej Duda this week in Warsaw to discuss the legacy of Pope St. John
Paul II, the growing presence and charity of the Knights in
Poland and the good relations they
help foster between U.S. and Polish societies.
Duda and Anderson also discussed the persecution of Christians
in the Middle East. Their cause
has been the object of charitable efforts by the Knights of
Columbus, the Polish government and charitable organizations in
Poland.
Anderson was in Poland along
with the Knights of Columbus Board
of Directors to help mark the 100th anniversary of Poland regaining its independence and the 40th
anniversary of the election of Cardinal Karol Wojtyła as Pope John Paul II.
Duda expressed his gratitude for the charitable work of the
Polish Knights, including the numerous volunteers who came to the
assistance of those affected by the 2017 hurricane in the
Pomeranian region. The financial, material and spiritual assistance
provided by the local Knights was substantial and continues to be
experienced by those in the affected region.
The establishment of the Knights of Columbus in Poland began in 2005 and marked the first
major international expansion of the organization since 1905. The
Knights in Poland now number over
5.5 thousand members operate through 110 local councils in 28
dioceses. Over the past 12 years, the Polish Knights have
contributed more than $1.6 million to
charity and notched more than 825,000 hours of volunteer
service.
"By establishing the Knights of Columbus in Poland, we fulfilled a request of Pope John
Paul II that we bring our work of charity, unity, fraternity and
patriotism to his homeland," said Anderson in an address to Polish
Knights. "Because of this, we may truly say that every new
member recruited, every new council established, every act of
charity given, every devotion and prayer offered is in a special
way the fulfillment of our promise to this great saint."
The two leaders also reflected on the role of the Knights in
building strong relations between the Polish and American people
and the role that John Paul II's
teaching has played in forming a common understanding of the world
by Catholics and others in both nations.
In his talk to the Polish Knights, Anderson said the
organization came to Poland
seeking, in John Paul's phrase, a
"fraternal exchange of gifts" and with the expectation that all
would be, in the words of the pope, "mutually enriched by the
diversity of each other's experiences."
This was not the first meeting between Duda and Anderson, who
was awarded the Order of Merit in 2015 by the Polish president "for
outstanding services in charity, for promoting the heritage of
John Paul II and disseminating
knowledge about the recent history of Poland." They also met a year later during
President Duda's visit to Washington.
At their meeting in Warsaw,
Anderson presented President Duda with a commemorative album about
the Knights' National Shrine of Saint John Paul II in Washington, D.C. and a replica of the
Carolingian Cross from the Chapel of Cyril and Methodius in the
grottos of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, which the Knights renovated in the
1980s.
During his visit to Poland,
Anderson placed a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in
Warsaw and led the Knights group
on pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Częstochowa. Before
returning home, Anderson will give a talk at the Veritatis Splendor
Conference at the Pontifical John Paul II University in Krakow to
mark the 40th anniversary of John Paul's election.
About the Knights of Columbus
Founded in 1882, the
Knights of Columbus is a 1.9 million member fraternal organization
and Fortune 1000 insurance company. The organization is well known
for its charitable activities carried out by its 15,000 councils
that support local neighbors and the Catholic Church.
However, the K of C's reach extends beyond parishes and communities
to the rest of the world. Whether it's donating food and clothes,
providing support for disaster relief, helping persecuted
Christians in the Middle East,
volunteering to help children with special needs with the Special
Olympics or supporting mothers of unborn children, Knights
demonstrate the power and impact of men turning their faith into
action every day. 2017 was a record-setting year for Knights of
Columbus charitable work with an unprecedented $185.6 million in donations and 75.6 million
hours of volunteer service provided worldwide. For more
information, visit www.kofc.org.
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SOURCE Knights of Columbus