My Brother Knights and their families,

During his visit to Baltimore in October 1995, Pope John Paul II said: “ The challenge facing you, dear
friends, is to increase people’s awareness of the importance for society of religious freedom; to defend that
freedom against those who would take religion out of the public domain and establish secularism as America’s
official faith. And it is vitally necessary, for the very survival of the American experience, to transmit to the next
generation the precious legacy of religious freedom and the convictions which sustain it.”

How prophetic do these words ring today. We as Knights of Columbus defend our Mother Church, so much
so, that we are commonly referred to as “the strong arm of the Catholic Church”. Our strength is in our numbers. With each new Brother Knight we gain not only a servant of God for our many volunteer events but an apologist for our faith for the recruitment of Brother Knights & the sharing our good works.

The Venerable Pope John Paul II was blessed with the foresight to see the challenges facing our culture
today. Let us respond in solidarity and defend the Catholic Church yet again. Let us become a public presence
and let others know that we are Knights of Columbus. It is in that declaration that we proclaim to others that we stand for the word of God, that we are practical Catholics and that our voice will be heard. Let someone know that you are Knight of Columbus today… and they might join us tomorrow.

“GO! Make a Difference”
Father Micheal McGivney- Pray for us!
Ricardo Saldana
Grand Knight Council 953