EWTN video screengrab / YouTube
CV NEWS FEED // According to the Knights of Columbus (KofC), major sponsors of the National Eucharistic Congress, the event was a transformative experience for their members and the organization.
Many members of the KofC and their families, including an honor guard of nearly 60 Fourth Degree Knights, played a prominent role in the massive Eucharistic procession through downtown Indianapolis. With the Eucharist held in a 4-foot-tall monstrance, the procession drew an estimated 60,000 Catholics who lined the streets and joined in reverent prayer.
According to the KofC, Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly engaged with attendees at the KofC booth in the exhibit hall throughout the National Eucharistic Congress. Visitors were able to learn about the Order, post prayer intentions, and venerate relics of Mexican members of the Order who have been canonized as martyrs.
Phil Stackowicz, a KofC general agent serving Indiana, emphasized that the impressive efforts of the Knights working behind the scenes were rooted in the Eucharist and the call to evangelization. “You can’t miss Jesus all around us,” Stackowicz remarked. “You can’t miss that faith on fire.”
In addition to their main booth, the Knights also had a booth in Lucas Oil Stadium dedicated to promoting vocations to the diocesan priesthood and sponsored a breakout session on Our Lady of Guadalupe, which KofC member Archbishop José Gomez of Los Angeles led.
Tony Rizzuto, a member of Father Francis J. Diamond Council 6292 in Fairfax, Virginia, attended the National Eucharistic Congress with his family, hoping to strengthen his children’s faith.
Rizzuto, who works at the Pentagon for the U.S. Space Force, described how living as a family with different values from the rest of the world can sometimes feel isolating. He hoped that his children would leave the event with the sense that “they’re not alone in the faith,” thanks to the presence of other families and people of all ages with the same fire of faith.
“Having that witness from the thousands of people here is truly special,” he said.
Mark Hublar, a member of Cardinal Ritter Council 1221 in New Albany, Indiana, who has Down syndrome, dedicates his life to encouraging others with disabilities to live well and serve God through motivational speaking.
“I’ve been helping God, and I always will help God,” Hublar said. “I know God’s busy in heaven, but I can help him down here.”
Hublar was one of four people chosen nationally to share his testimony through a video during the evening Revival Sessions in the packed Lucas Oil Stadium.
Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly addressed the crowd of faithful in Lucas Oil Stadium on Thursday night, July 18, sharing inspiring stories from the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage. He recounted his experience of walking with the Seton Route Pilgrims through Manhattan and of noticing applause and gestures of reverence, “even in the heart of New York City.”
“Countless Knights of Columbus around the country joined processions just like that one,” Kelly told the crowd. “And the reason is simple. The Knights exist to serve Christ and his Church.”
