Vatican City, Dec 23, 2024 / 14:30 pm
The Knights of Columbus have donated a state-of-the-art mobile broadcasting van to the Vatican, just in time for the start of the Catholic Church’s 2025 Jubilee Year.
The new vehicle, unveiled on Dec. 21, was blessed by Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, in a ceremony attended by Paolo Ruffini, the prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication, and Patrick Kelly, the Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus.
Ruffini expressed his gratitude for the donation, which he said makes it possible “to broadcast the images from the Vatican, the heart of our Catholic Church,” and to “share the images of the jubilee, to narrate our pilgrimage of hope,” according to Vatican News.
“It really is an honor for us to be able to do this, to provide a van like this, which is top-notch technology and really is able to reach so many people who may never have the chance to come to Rome,” Kelly said in an interview with Vatican Radio.
“We are so pleased, as Knights, to partner with the Church on something that is so important to get the message of Christ to the world,” he said.
With Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly and the Paolo Ruffini, the Prefect of the Dicastery for Communication present, Cardinal Marcello Semeraro blessed a new, state-of-the-art broadcasting van donated to the Vatican by the Knights of Columbus.
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— Vatican News (@VaticanNews) December 21, 2024
This is the fourth broadcasting van donated to the Vatican by the Knights of Columbus in the 60 years of collaboration between the Knights and the Vatican’s communication office.
“It’s been a tremendously beneficial collaboration that has brought the message of the Church, the message of the vicar of Christ, and the message of Christ to the world,” Kelly said.
The Knights’ support of the Vatican is not limited to broadcasting technology. The organization also funded a significant restoration in St. Peter’s Basilica of Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s baldacchino and the Cathedra of St. Peter, a project originally valued at more than $760,000.
With over 2 million members, the Knights of Columbus is the world’s largest Catholic fraternal service organization and a powerful force for charitable work.
“We always say, ‘Where there’s a need, there’s a Knight,” Kelly said.
As Supreme Knight, Kelly recently had a private audience with Pope Francis on Dec. 20, which he described as “a very warm meeting.”
“The Holy Father was in very good spirits,” Kelly said. “[We] talked about the worldwide reach of the charitable side of the Knights of Columbus, what we do for charity around the world.”
“Since our very founding by Blessed Michael McGivney, we’ve always been in solidarity with our bishops and priests, and we’ve always enjoyed a very strong union with the Holy Father, the vicar of Christ on earth,” he added.
Looking ahead, Kelly expressed excitement for the 2025 Jubilee Year, which begins on Christmas Eve and is expected to draw more than 30 million pilgrims to Rome.
He expressed hope that the new restorations in St. Peter’s Basilica will “really inspire pilgrims who come here to see the beauty of the Church and to lift their hearts and their spirits to the Lord in this great Jubilee of Hope.”
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“Because hope is our anchor. And I think at this point in our culture, in our history, we could all use some hope,” Kelly said.
Courtney Mares is a Rome Correspondent for Catholic News Agency. A graduate of Harvard University, she has reported from news bureaus on three continents and was awarded the Gardner Fellowship for her work with North Korean refugees. She is the author of “Blessed Carlo Acutis: A Saint in Sneakers” (Ignatius, 2023), https://ignatius.com/carlo-acutis-sscap/.
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