08/09/2025
Utah’s own, State Deputy Frank “Chico” Carmona delivered the Order’s greeting to Pope Leo XIV at Supreme Convention in Washington D.C.
Most Holy Father:
Gathered in Washington, D.C., for the 143rd Supreme Convention of the Knights of Columbus, we convey our deep gratitude and filial devotion on behalf of our more than 2.1 million members worldwide. We are especially thankful for your gracious video message to this convention, presented at the opening session, and for the blessing you imparted upon us, invoking the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, and Blessed Michael McGivney.
We were deeply moved by your reflection on the “essential virtue” of hope, especially in light of the Jubilee Year and this year’s convention theme, Heralds of Hope. In your inspiring reflection, you reminded us that “the source of our hope is Jesus Christ” and that the Church is called to be a sign of hope in every age.
Particularly during this Holy Year, we embrace this call to be “tangible signs of hope” for those in need in our families, parishes, communities, and beyond. Like our Founder, Blessed Michael McGivney, who brought relief to struggling immigrant families through sacramental ministry and fraternal care, we seek to embody a charity that evangelizes — lifting up those on the margins, defending the dignity of life from conception to natural death, and strengthening the faith and mission of Catholic families.
We also take to heart your commendation of our faith formation initiatives and our charitable works in service to the vulnerable. These efforts — and our continued promotion of Eucharistic devotion, especially through Cor and our pilgrim icon program dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus — stand at the center of our identity as Knights and our mission to build up the Church.
The Order’s recent assistance in restoring Bernini’s iconic baldacchino and Chair of St. Peter in St. Peter’s Basilica, as well as the Chapel of the Sacred Heart at the Church of the Gesù, is itself a “tangible sign” of our devotion and our commitment to the Church’s unity and mission of evangelization.
Holy Father, we pledge our unwavering loyalty and prayers for your apostolic ministry, especially as you call the Church to unity and renewed missionary zeal. We ask your continued prayers for the Knights, our families and those we serve, that we may reflect the hope that does not disappoint (Rom 5:5) and proclaim ever more clearly the saving power of Christ.
Through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Blessed Michael McGivney, we entrust our work and witness to the Lord, that we may be instruments of unity and heralds of hope.
Most Respectfully in Christ,
Chairman Francisco E. Carmona, Utah State Deputy
Arnaud Boutheon, Territorial Deputy, France
Angelito A. Alvarez, State Deputy, Hawaii
Danilo A. Sanchez, Luzon South Deputy, Philippines
Mark E. Desjardins, State Deputy, Manitoba,
Alberto Colmenero Perez, State Deputy, Mexico Northwest
Tomasz Wawrzkowicz, State Deputy, Poland
Shin Kyoung-soo, Territorial Deputy, Republic of Korea
Mykola I. Mostovyak, State Deputy, Ukraine
