K of C Faith Program Overview

Programs in this category are designed to help men, their families and their parishes grow closer to Christ. Through our programs and resources, we provide opportunities to live and spread the Catholic faith.  Our “Faith in Action” program is an opportunity for Catholic males to grow in the Catholic faith while participating in several core areas under our Supreme Council’s guidelines.  But long before the Faith in Action program, the Knights of Columbus has been active spreading the word of Christ and helping men and women grow in the Catholic faith through the Catholic Information Service (CIS).  

The Knights of Columbus Faith in Action program can be demonstrated and lived in many different ways and varies somewhat from council to council.  However, the key areas our Supreme Council provides guidelines on through their training and actions are discussed briefly below, to serve as examples of the great work that the Knights of Columbus performs in helping Brother Knights, their families and parishes grow in the Catholic faith.

Rosary Program

Build faithful families and communities through rosary prayer. The Knights of Columbus Rosary Program encourages councils to promote devotion to the rosary in our families and parishes by scheduling regular rosary prayer services. Kits with rosary rings, rosary prayer guides, and leader books are available for councils to order.  This program encourages devotion to Mary, the patroness of our Order, and emphasizes the importance of prayer in community and as a family. The Rosary Program encourages councils to schedule regular rosary prayer services on any day of the week, at any time of the year, with the guidance of their pastor. 

Into the Breach

In his Apostolic Exhortation Into the Breach, Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted outlines the challenges faced by men of faith in the world today. Into the Breach is a call to battle for Catholic men which urges them to wholeheartedly embrace masculine virtues in a world at crisis. By reading and discussing Bishop Olmsted’s inspirational words and the accompanying study guide with like-minded men of faith, councils will prayerfully examine the enormous breach in the battle line that lies before them. In doing so, they will begin to devise a personal plan of spiritual battle.  Knights of Columbus councils can help deepen our members’ spirituality and aid formation to combat the crisis of religious faith in our world through instituting men’s study groups to read the Apostolic Exhortation “Into the Breach.”

Pilgrim Icon Program

Every few years, the Knights of Columbus selects an icon of a saint whose patronage is particularly inspiring to Knights and their communities. Each jurisdiction receives one or several of these icons which travel from council to council and serve as the centerpieces for prayer services in parishes throughout the Order. Since the first traveling pilgrim icon of Our Lady of Guadalupe in 1979, more than 174,800 council and parish prayer services with some 22 million participants have been held.

Our current icon is Saint Joseph.  We encourage Knights participating in this program to help spread devotion to St. Joseph and pray for the courage to stand up and carry out our mission of protecting, defending, and raising future generations.

Holy Hour

Holy Hours feature the exposition and benediction of the Blessed Sacrament and can also include a reflection, communal rosary, prayers for intercession by Blessed Michael McGivney or St. Joseph, and other devotions as decided by the council and pastor. Eucharistic Processions provide an opportunity to walk with the Blessed Sacrament through your community, bringing Jesus to everyone along the route.

Spiritual Reflection

Create annual opportunities for prayer and reflection together as a fraternity. Under the guidance of their chaplain, councils can attend a retreat or day of reflection together or perhaps organize their own event for the men of their parish.  Many Catholic young people can attest that religious retreats are radically rejuvenating spiritual events that often leave a lasting impact on participants’ relationship to their faith. Yet, so often, retreats seem only to be open to students and youth. In conjunction with pastors, councils and jurisdictions can hold low-cost retreats of their own. These events might be open only to council members or men of the parish – or may be open to entire families. If councils are unable to organize these events themselves, they could go as a group and attend a retreat in their area to satisfy the requirement. Additionally, councils are strongly encouraged to consider visiting The Saint John Paul II National Shrine in Washington, D.C. as part of this program.

Refund Support Vocations Program (RSVP)

Keep the faith alive by supporting our seminarians and postulants. As the strong right arm of the church, Knights of Columbus are committed to providing moral, financial and spiritual support to our future priests and religious at all stages of their formation. A featured program, RSVP counts for two credits toward the Columbian Award.

Knights of Columbus stand in solidarity with our priests and religious. Through this program, council and parish families will raise funds to support seminarians in their area. For every $500 given to an individual, the Supreme Council will refund the council or assembly $100. The maximum refund a council or assembly can receive is $400 per individual supported. Though financial support is vitally important, it is not the only aspect of the RSVP. Councils are also called to provide their “adopted” seminarian or religious aspirant with moral support and prayers for their success.

Building the Domestic Church Kiosk

Help strengthen the domestic church (our families) by providing exceptional religious education materials to all Catholics. Building the Domestic Church Kiosks contain engaging, faith-based literature and are available for councils to distribute to members, parishioners, and the general public.  By organizing activities in their parishes, councils can educate and evangelize using the rich resources found in the Catholic Information Service (CIS) Building the Domestic Church series of booklets.

Sacramental Gifts

Support families during the most important events in the life of the domestic church: the sacraments. Councils will play an integral role in these momentous faith events and the lives of our families and parish community through prayer and the presentation of symbolic gifts.  The sacraments stand as the most significant events in the life of the domestic church. The Knights of Columbus will be there to support and embrace our parish families at these essential moments of encounter with Christ. As children and adult members become more integrated into the life of the church and their parish, they should know that members of the Knights of Columbus will always be present in a tangible and meaningful way.

ABOUT CATHOLIC INFORMATION SERVICE

CIS has taken up the call of Jesus Christ to make disciples of all nations. In imitation of St. Pope John Paul II and Pope Francis, we propose the truth of the Catholic faith. Ours is the basic work of evangelizing today’s culture by accepting the challenge to make God visible in the human face of Jesus Christ.  In over 60 years, CIS has printed millions of booklets in multiple media formats and enrolled more than a hundred thousand students in our courses: all in an effort to preach Jesus Christ to the world.