Knights to remember

By Jim Davis - Florida Catholic

Photography: JIM DAVIS | FC

CORAL SPRINGS | “Good evening, good knights.”

Archbishop Thomas Wenski’s quip got the expected laughs. The more than 200 listeners were members of the Knights of Columbus, along with their families and friends.

The Aug. 13, 2025, Votive Mass at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish, was indeed a good evening for the Knights. They were celebrating the feast day of Blessed Michael McGivney, the 19th-century founder of their fraternal order.

The Mass also celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Knights of Columbus Council 8838 in Coral Springs, which includes 406 members in three parishes – not only St. Elizabeth Ann Seton but neighboring St. Andrew and Mary Help of Christians in Parkland.

As they entered the church, worshipers were given prayer cards featuring Father McGivney. After Mass, many of them filed up to a relic, a piece of cloth. They first kissed the relic, then pressed their prayer cards and rosaries to it.

In his homily, Archbishop Wenski commended the Knights for their long history of charity and for promoting Catholic values and spirituality.

“The Knights in their history have promoted a Catholic identity that is strong in faith and unafraid,” said the archbishop, himself chaplain for the group. “And, in doing so, they have promoted the legitimate place of Catholic citizenship in a pluralistic, democratic American society.”

In encouraging Catholic values, the Knights were standing against the current “culture of death,” the archbishop said, citing abortion, euthanasia, assisted suicide and same-sex marriage.

“You have promoted a culture of life, and you have done so united with our Holy Father and with the bishops,” Archbishop Wenski said.

 

GOOD PEOPLE

The Council 8838 won an International Program Award Aug. 4 at the Knights of Columbus’ Supreme Convention in Washington, D.C. The award recognized the group’s monthly spiritual programs for young Catholics, including confessions, a half-hour rosary and Eucharistic adoration.

Other council activities include pitching in at a soup kitchen in Pompano Beach during a summer slump of volunteers; singing, chats and ice cream at a nursing home for veterans in Pembroke Pines; and delivering diapers, formula and baby clothes to Respect Life centers in Hollywood and Fort Lauderdale.

Council 8838 draws a cross-section of men, from ages 18 into their 90s. They include doctors and firefighters, teachers and accountants. Bob Hildebidle, the council’s Grand Knight, is a retired air traffic manager.

“When you ask why they wanted to join, they say they wanted to devote time and energy to make a difference,” Hildebidle said. “It's refreshing, inspiring, motivational. They're good people to be around.”

Prominent at the Mass were 17 leather-vested members of the Knights on Bikes, a special motorcycle-riding wing of the group. Archbishop Wenski, himself a member, rode his own motorcycle to the Mass as well.

The bikers join in Knightly events as do their four-wheeled brothers. On July 20, 25 members prayed the rosary with Archbishop Wenski outside the so-called “Alligator Alcatraz,” a makeshift federal camp in the Everglades.

“I don't know if Father McGivney would have envisioned Knights on Bikes,” said David C. Campos, secretary for Florida’s 200 bikers. “But I'm sure he'd be happy about us.”

 

LIKE A GIFT

After the Mass, two youths received Altar Server of the Year awards for their outstanding service.

Sophia Lozano, 18, serves at Sunday Masses at St. Andrew Parish and even helps train new servers. Two years ago, she launched a Bible study with six friends. She said she wants to pursue a career in health care.

Aiden Disla, 8, the other awardee, is the youngest of the 107 altar servers at St. Andrew, even helping older servers. He aspires to become a deacon.

“I want people to see the love of God in my heart,” Aiden said.

Sophia and Aiden weren't the only young faces at the Aug. 14 event. Daniel Perez, 42, came with his son Anthony, 20. Both joined the Knights this spring.

Anthony said he enjoyed spending time with a half-dozen other members, cleaning equipment including a funnel cake maker. “I work better in groups,” he said simply. “It's fun.”

His father went deeper. When Daniel received an envelope inviting him to join the Knights, “it was like a gift,” he said. “I knew it was from God. I felt it in my heart.”

The Coral Springs group is one of 17,000 councils worldwide, uniting 2.1 million men in both charity and spirituality. More than 61,000 of them live in Florida.

Last year, the Knights of Columbus volunteered more than 17 million hours worldwide and donated an enormous $197 million.

“Men are hungry and thirsty for truth, and we’re bringing it,” said Michael Gizewiski, state deputy for the Knight of Columbus Florida Council, who attended the Aug. 13 Mass. “If we show them Jesus, they’ll come.”

Richard Gallant, state warden for the Knights of Columbus Florida Council, said the numbers indicate a “resurgence” of interest in faith. The signs include a widespread rise in conversions, the National Eucharistic Revival, and online searches for “How to become a Catholic” – an unprecedented 373% this spring.

“It's a good sign,” said Gallant, who also attended the Aug. 13 Mass in Coral Springs. “People are coming back to the Church. They want to seek God, re-ignite with religion.”