This year the Knights’ fundraising efforts were particularly successful allowing them to present to the Bishop $20,750—their largest donation to date. This exceeds last year’s effort by $4,000. The Knights of Columbus continue to support the seminarian program because they realize that the seminarians are the future of the Church, said Knight Glen Kraig, who added that he believes it is the responsibility of all to both encourage vocations and to support, both with prayer and with financial assistance, those who have decided to live a life of service, both to God and to His Church.
“As many of our priests currently serving are aging, many in their sixties and seventies, we need to bring more men into the priesthood to take the place of those more experienced priests who are heading into retirement,” Kraig said. “The mantra that we recite to remind us of this urgency is ‘Without seminarians, there will be no priests. Without priests there will be no Mass. Without the Mass there will be no Eucharist. Without the Eucharist there is no Church.’ ”
The funds were raised starting with a dinner wherein Councils were encouraged to make donations toward the seminarian fund. At each of the many K of C events throughout the year more contributions were solicited until the goal was reached.
“I want to offer my deepest gratitude to our Knights of Columbus for their ongoing and very generous support of our seminarians,” Bishop Barnes said. “Their recognition of the importance of vocations to the priesthood is a model for the entire Diocese.”