Brother Knights,

Viva Cristo Rey!

This month marks the 100th anniversary of the Cristero War, an uprising of Catholics fighting for religious freedom amid violent persecution by the Mexican government. Mexican President Plutarco Elías Calles intensified its campaign to drive the Catholic faith completely from public life. Priests were expelled, churches were seized, and Catholics faced imprisonment, torture and even death. During the three-year conflict, tens of thousands of Catholics gave their lives rather than deny Christ the King, including more than 70 Knights of Columbus. Some fled the country, while others resisted peacefully. Many took up arms under the rallying cry, “¡Viva Cristo Rey y Santa María de Guadalupe!” — “Long live Christ the King and Holy Mary of Guadalupe!” What followed became known as La Cristiada, or the Cristero War.

More than 50 Knights of Columbus councils were active throughout Mexico at that time. As the persecution intensified, the Order helped establish the National League for the Defense of Religious Liberty, distributed five million pamphlets across the United States exposing the brutality of the Mexican government, and sent a delegation to President Calvin Coolidge urging him to intervene. Pope Pius XI recognized the Knights by name for their courageous response in his 1926 encyclical Iniquis Afflictisque.

One hundred years later, the witness of these courageous martyrs remains an inspiration to Knights around the world who seek to defend the faith with unwavering commitment. To learn more about these courageous men, check out the video in the link below.

Cristero Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqp6dbLidlE&t=49s

Vivat Jesus.

Kevin Cowles
Grand Knight 833

Brother Knights,

I hope that you have enjoyed celebrating the 250th anniversary of our great nation’s independence this past weekend. I would like to share a few reflections from a letter from his holiness, Pope Leo XIV, on this semi quincentennial anniversary of our great nation. A link to the full text is included, and I would encourage all to read it in its entirety.

Letter from his Holiness Pope Leo XIV

For two and a half centuries, generations of Americans have worked together to carry the principles of life, liberty, equality, justice, the pursuit of happiness, and democratic self-government forward through their sacrifice, service, and civic participation. We should reflect that, as the sons and daughters of this great nation, we have the responsibility to bear and uphold these same principles to one another, and to the generations who will inherit the nation that is being shaped today. As faithful sons and daughters of the Church, Catholics are called to imbue every dimension of their existence with the charity of Christ, living out the Gospel in the circumstances of daily life.

May this 250th anniversary milestone renew the shared commitment to the promise of freedom, justice, opportunity and democracy. May we also renew our commitment to safeguarding human life from its beginning at conception until natural death, and of building a society in which the vulnerable, the suffering, and the forgotten are always met with compassion, solidarity, and love. May we as Knights honor the courage and vision of those who came before them by strengthening our communities, respecting our differences and working together toward a more perfect union.

Vivat Jesus

Kevin Cowles
Grand Knight 833

Brother Knights,

Today is the annual Corpus Christi procession. I don’t know if all parishes to this procession, but I do know that we are very unique in that we are able to walk from our own church to the Pink Sisters convent. A lot of parishes only process around the block or even the church building. It’s a long walk but not too long.

Folks of all ages that the walk every year. We are showing the community what we have faith in as we all are called to be evangelizers. If you have never been or haven’t been in a while, give it a go. Help out if you can. It’s a worthy celebration of our Lord.

Matt Schafers
Grand Knight 833

Brother Knights,

Knights’ business is the topic this month. Nominations are underway now and we have several open positions that need to be filled. Please prayerfully consider volunteering for one of them and get more involved in your Council. We have now wrapped up our fish fries and the final sum of receipts will be finished next month. As you should already know, we will no longer be working on a fireworks tent starting this summer. That’s a big fundraiser to lose. There’s good and bad to it. The good is the amount of money we were collecting. The bad is constantly seeing the same folks working over those three days. This means that we will have less money to spread around to fund our charities and charitable works. We’ll be creating a new budget this summer to reflect those changes. You can have a say in how we go about our work by attending the once per month general meeting on the third Wednesday of every month.

I do want to thank all of you who helped out at one of the fish fries. Even though we cancelled the first one, I think we did about average for the season. Folks really like our fish, our friendly faces, and cozy atmosphere. More that one seasoned citizen told me how much they enjoy seeing the kids work, both inside the building and the drive through. Proof is in the tips the drive through collects! We are a fish fry destination! We need to keep it going and growing (as much as we can with the space we have) as it is our only way to make funds now.

Matt Schafers
Grand Knight 833

Brother Knights,

Lent is well underway and so are the fish fries! It’s already the third week (our second)! Since we were closed the first week, that gave my family the opportunity to try another church and see what all the trash talking is about. As we thought, it’s one sided. We’re the best. We went the St. John’s. They too have fried pollack but the coating, though homemade, is not anywhere as good as ours. The baked is tilapia, a cheap fish which tends to have more toxins from the environment. They do have ice cream available, but who needs that?

We continue to need help with every shift, especially the last one. Our first week was busy and we expect it to be busy throughout. Did I mention we have the best fish? Please consider getting involved, helping your fellow Knights, enjoying the great fish and some refreshing drinks, and building fraternity. We are a motley crew and it’s a great time! This is our big fundraiser for all the charitable work we fund. Without it, we would not be able to protect and provide for babies, spread the faith through Focus and other groups, support women in distress, etc.

Matt Schafers
Grand Knight 833