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CV NEWS FEED // The Knights of Columbus recently surpassed $100 million in donations to support priestly and religious vocations.
The Knights of Columbus at Our Lady of the Holy Spirit Council 11582 in Mount Zion, Illinois, has been sending monthly care packages to seminarians at St. Meinrad Seminary in Indiana, as part of the Order’s Refund Support for Vocations Program (RSVP), according to an article on the Knights’ website titled “Raising Up Priests.”
Through the program, the Order offers a $100 refund to any Knights council that makes a $500 donation to support a seminarian’s or religious postulant’s personal or educational needs. Since its launch in 1981, RSVP has helped Knights contribute more than $100 million to support those discerning vocations to the priesthood or religious life.
RSVP is about more than financial assistance, however. Knights councils offer spiritual and moral support, praying for seminarians and hosting them for Mass. The Knights at Council 11582 in Mount Zion view their RSVP involvement as a way to build relationships and pray for the seminarians they support.
Each month, the Knights send care packages filled with practical items like black socks, stamps, and stationery, along with homemade treats, candy, and a personal note from a Knight and his family, expressing encouragement and prayers.
Financial Secretary Steve Bowman, who has led the council’s RSVP participation since 2012, shared the importance of supporting seminarians in a way that goes beyond financial help.
“It’s one thing to financially support somebody, it’s another to support them emotionally,” he said in the article on the Knight’s website. “It’s important for seminarians and priests to know they’ve got an extended family, and that they’re not alone.”
The Knights’ efforts have made a meaningful impact on many seminarians, providing them with encouragement during their formation. Knights have heard from several seminarians about how the monthly care packages and the prayers they represent helped them through academic and spiritual challenges.
Father Zachary Samples, who faced the sudden loss of his mother in a car accident during his third year in seminary, said that the care packages sent by the Knights “were always appreciated, but to feel the love of my brother Knights during that season of my life was especially important. I would get those packages and smile during a time period [when] it was pretty difficult to smile.”
When an RSVP-sponsored seminarian is ordained, Council 11582 holds a celebratory dinner and presents the new priest with a gift, such as vestments or sacred vessels. Grand Knight Stuart Leo emphasized that the program has fostered appreciation for all seminarians and priests.
“The personal approach helps us get to know the seminarians and them to know us,” Leo said. “We’re able to accompany them through the formation process, which helps us understand how our Church works and what the priests are sacrificing for our faith.”
The council’s relationships with seminarians often continue beyond ordination, with members supporting young priests however they can.
“A lot of younger priests get assigned to our parish, and we take them under our wing as a council,” Bowman explained. “Like with our seminarians, these relationships build very quickly, and the priests can lean on the council to ask, ‘I need some help here,’ or ‘What do you think of this?’ It’s one of the ways we put our faith into action.”
Bowman also recounted a conversation with a retired priest who frequently filled in to celebrate Mass.
When asked why, the priest responded, “These young priests are under so much pressure nowadays with everything going on in our society. They need all the support they can get from everywhere.”
Through RSVP, the Knights say they hope to provide that foundation, supporting seminarians as they build connections that continue into their priestly ministry.
