All of us in the fraternal family of knights throughout the world owe a great debt of gratitude to Fr. McGivney because without his vision and strength of purpose none of the Orders in the Alliance would exist today. When he founded the Knights of Columbus in 1881 I am sure not even he was aware of the future international impact of his actions. Any new or existing Order seeking to join the International Alliance of Catholic Knights must show by its constitution and activities that it operates in conformity with the ethos and aspirations of Father McGivney. In 2008 Father McGivney was declared Venerable. The Cause for his Beatification is in progress.
In consultation with International President, Brother Vic Barra, it has been decided to encourage all members of the Alliance to pray for the Beatification of Father McGivney. A miracle, attributable to Father McGivney, is required for Beatification. All favours received should be reported to Father Gabriel B. O’Donnell who is the Vice-Postulator. He can be reached through the Knights of Columbus website. www.kofc.org.
At the bottom of this newschannel I reproduce the Prayer for the Canonisation of Father McGivney. I encourage all Alliance members to use this prayer on a regular basis.
Orders of Knights
Arising from a statement from the Vatican regarding the validity of Catholic Equestrian Orders I have been asked by quite a few people to explain the differences between the various kind of Orders. For our purposes there are three types of Knighthood which can be termed Papal Orders, Recognized Orders and others.
Papal Orders – There are a number of these. Those best known are The Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great and the Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Sylvester. These are granted to individuals who have shown great service to the Church. There are other higher titles such as the Pian Order and Gentlemen of His Holiness but they are not relevant to this discussion.
Recognised Orders – These are the Knights of Malta and the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre. Both of these Order are very ancient and have direct links to the Papacy.
Others
All of the Orders in IACK are termed Fraternal Orders. The International Alliance is recognised by the Holy See as an International Association of Lay Faithful and its relationship to the Vatican is
through the Pontifical Council for the Laity.
There are many other individual Catholic Orders of Knights throughout the world none of whom are officially recognised by Rome.
Fraternally
Niall M. Kennedy
KCSG Secretary General