KofCHolyFamilyPrayerProgram

The St Alphonsus Knights of Columbus invite any visitor to this page to download a free copy of the Holy Family Prayer Program.


“The future of the world and of the Church passes through the family,” observed St. John Paul II, whom Pope Francis called “the Pope of the Family.” Recognizing the vital role of families in the world, the Knights of Columbus has dedicated its 17th Orderwide
prayer program to the Holy Family, with the intention of strengthening Catholic families and their prayer lives.The featured image for this program is an etching of the Holy Family by Giovanni Balestra (1774-1842). The original etching, based on a painting by Giovanni Battista Salvi da Sassoferrato (1609-1685), is housed in the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family in Rome. The images were blessed by Pope Francis on June 29, 2015, the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, through the auspices of the Almoner of His Holiness, Archbishop Konrad Krajewski.

The Holy Family Prayer Program began August 4 at the 133rd Supreme Convention in Philadelphia. This program features an image of the Holy Family. Each Knights of Columbus jurisdiction received several Holy Family images, which will be the centerpiece of prayer services conducted in churches and council meeting places throughout the Order for the duration of the program.

The Holy Family Prayer Program is the 17th Marian Prayer Program sponsored by the Knights of Columbus, beginning with the first program – honoring Mary under her title of Our Lady of Guadalupe – in 1979. In preparation for the 1982 Centennial of the Order, the second prayer program was initiated, which highlighted the Holy Family. Since then, the Blessed Mother has been honored by her Knights under her titles of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Our Lady of Czestochowa, Our Lady of Pochaiv, Our Lady of the Assumption, Our Lady of the Rosary and Our Lady of Charity.

These Orderwide programs of Marian Prayer have gathered together more than 16 million people at some 140,000 prayer services conducted at local councils and parishes.

“Families are the domestic Church, where Jesus grows; he grows in the love of spouses, he grows in the lives of children. That is why the enemy so often attacks the family. The devil does not want the family; he tries to destroy it, to make sure that there is no love there. Families are this domestic Church.” These were Pope Francis’ words on June 1st, at the Olympic Stadium, before more than 52,000 people gathered for the XXXVII National Congress of the Renewal in the Holy Spirit.

At the 2015 Knights of Columbus Supreme Convention: The supreme knight asked the assembled leaders to urge their jurisdiction’s council to accelerate their efforts to work with their pastors to strengthen their parishes and also seek to strengthen Christian family life.

“The family as domestic Church is central to both the work of the New Evangelization and to the future sustainability of our parishes — also the future sustainability of the Order,” Supreme Knight Anderson said. “But the Catholic family cannot perform this important mission on its own. The reason is simple: as Pope Paul VI observed, the family can only truly be a domestic Church when its daily life ‘mirrors the various aspects of the entire Church.’ And for this to become a reality the family must be more fully integrated into the sacramental life of the parish.”

Knights of Columbus parish-based councils today are not only places that provide invaluable support to parish life in terms of charitable and social activities, he said, they also are a primary place to support the evangelization of family life through the mission of the domestic church. Councils can do this by more fully integrating families into the life of the parish through the many programs of parish-based councils, he said.

“If we do this, then we will continue the legacy of Father McGivney—a legacy, which as Pope Benedict observed, was to promote spiritual renewal among Catholics by strengthening them in holiness and unity,” Supreme Knight Anderson said. “And as a parish priest, Father McGivney saw that this renewal could be assisted in powerful ways in the parish by the new organization he had established.”

To help councils become more integrated into their parishes, the supreme knight announced the new initiative, Building the Domestic Church While Strengthening Our Parish.

“This new initiative builds upon our past programs and accomplishments,” Supreme Knight Anderson said. “At the same time it requires that in the future we do some things differently.”

Read more about this family campaign here.

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