ADDRESS OF PAUL VI
TO THE MEMBERS OF THE KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS

Monday, 17 March 1975 

Dear sons and daughters,

Once again we have the joy of welcoming the Knights of Columbus and their families. But this time our encounter is a very special one, for this is the Year of the Jubilee and you have come to profess your faith at the Memorials of the Apostles and to pledge before the Successor of Peter the renewal of your Christian lives. In effect, you are saying - you are telling us before the world - that you will strive, that you will endeavour, that you will try to make every effort to give an ever greater witness in today’s world to Jesus Christ and to his Coming.

We personally have known over the years the good works done by your association. We have seen firsthand the deeds of charity performed by your colleagues for those in need. We know that these actions were motivated by the love of Christ and his brethren, and we will never forget them.

And today as we express again our gratitude for what has been accomplished in the past, we wish to confirm you in your faith, in the exercise of charitable solicitude for others and in the full commitment of your Christian lives. We hope that, as a portion of the laity of Christ’s Church, you will, under the guidance of your Bishops, take an active role in the renewal and reconciliation of the world. We hope that you will always lend upright, enlightened and dynamic leadership in the communities in which you live. We hope that, as a body, you will address yourselves to the great religious and moral questions of the day: that your voice will be heard and that your witness will be effective in those issues that are decisive for mankind. May you give testimony to the sanctity of life in all its stages and to the rights of all to share in the gift of God’s creation, so that there will truly be liberty and justice for all. May your special solicitude be always for the poor, the suffering, those in need, the handicapped, the incurably ill and all those on the margin of society and who are without voice.

And may your homes be centers of love and prayer in which the new generation will learn by word and example to appreciate the gift of faith and the dignity of marriage and the family. And we hope too that, in the joy of your Christian homes, new vocations may be found for the Church of tomorrow.

In all these important issues we ask your help and the full measure of your collaboration. And be assured of our continued affection in the Lord Jesus, in whose name we bless you.