By Fr. Rafael Rodriguez
Pastor, Cristo Rey Parish in Lincoln
I entered St. Gregory the Great Seminary in 2001. As part of my seminarian formation, I was introduced to many exciting classes and activities. Among those, I remember a meeting with the Knights of Columbus (K of C). I had never heard of them before.
On that day, I learned that they are a fraternal Catholic organization organized in 1882 by Father Michael McGivney in Connecticut. It was quite interesting how it was formed to help in many charitable ways the families of immigrants. Being an immigrant from Mexico myself, I took an initial interest to the Knights of Columbus.
The K of C of Bruno and Abie “adopted” me as their seminarian. I was always very thankful to them for their continuous prayers for my own vocational discernment, but also in their generosity: they sent me a check that usually came near Christmas. Once I was ordained a priest in 2007, it was beautiful to celebrate a Mass of thanksgiving for the Knights of Bruno and Abie. May the Lord continue to bless the K of C who help and support seminarians.
As an assistant at St. Teresa Parish in Lincoln and St. Vincent De Paul in Seward, I was always very edified by seeing how the parish K of C worked together and supported the parish. In 2021, when I became the pastor of Cristo Rey in Lincoln, I was approached by the Grand Knight of Sacred Heart Parish in Lincoln, David Diaz, who was very persistent with the idea of forming a K of C group at Cristo Rey. He knows how the K of C can empower Catholic men to become faith-filled leaders in their families and parishes. We agreed that it was a great opportunity for growth.
One weekend, the local K of C insurance agent presented to the parish after Sunday’s Masses the great opportunity and convenience of being part of the Knights and setting up life insurance for the members. Several parishioners showed interest in the information, and that is how the few initial members signed up to be part of the K of C.
At first, only a few men attended the initial meetings of the K of C. Some men were not ready to commit to becoming a member. Others lost interest, but thanks be to God, some said yes to the invitations and started to participate in some K of C activities.
The first activity was to assist the fireworks stand of Sacred Heart Church. Then they participated in “Coats for kids” that distributes coats to children, the “Tootsie Roll” drive that helps those who have special needs, and the “One Rose, One Life” initiative that helps to support culture of life organizations and events through the state of Nebraska.
Two of the Knights from Cristo Rey also participated during the Nebraska Walk for Life this year. They had two tasks, the first to pass along the pro-life signs to those who participated at the Walk for Life, and also, they helped with the releasing of the ballons that takes place right before the Walk starts. To their surprise, a photograph of the Knights who help release the balloons, was featured in the local newspaper.
The Knights of Columbus from Cristo Rey also participated in the annual clergy appreciation dinner. They all had a great time getting to know other fellow K of C members. Also, exemplifications to the Knight’s third degree has taken place at Cristo Rey Parish in Spanish.
We are eagerly awaiting to have enough active membership to fully and officially start the Knights council at Cristo Rey. We are very close to that important step. I honestly think that one of the great successes in increasing our membership has been the very personal one-to-one invitation of the established members that share all the blessings that the Knights have received.
You might ask, what name would be chosen for this council? In one of the meetings, it was decided to name this future council “San Joselito,” which is short for San Jose Sanchez del Rio, a young man who became a martyr during the religious persecution in Mexico. The decision was based on the heroic example that San Joselito gave by choosing to be loyal to Christ and his Church.
We humbly ask for his intercession so that this future new council of the Knights of Columbus can continue to grow with faith filled members. San Joselito, pray for us!
