Spanish bishop invited to the Supreme Convention of the Knights of Columbus

The Bishop of Getafe (Spain), Bishop Ginés García Beltrán, attended as a guest the Supreme Convention of the Knights of Columbus that was held this week in Quebec (Canada).

The Diocese of Getafe has reported that the visit occurs “with the objective of learning about this important lay reality and seeing how to receive it in Spain” after this lay organization has shown interest in starting its apostolate in the country.

Along with the Spanish prelate, two parish priests of the diocese (Javier Siegrist and Julián Lozano) and the lay people Borja Barragán and Diego Torres have traveled. The latter belongs to the Diocese of Alcalá de Henares.

This is the first time that a Spanish bishop has been invited to the Supreme Convention of the Knights of Columbus, whose head, Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly, visited Bishop García last spring in Spain. As a gesture of “unity and gratitude”, the Bishop of Getafe has presented Kelly with a figure of the Sacred Heart.

Who are the Knights of Columbus?

On October 2, 1881, Blessed Michael J. McGivney, vice pastor of St. Mary’s Church in New Haven, Connecticut, USA, gathered a group of men who took Christopher Columbus as their patron and formalized their organization in 1882. Charity, unity, fraternity and patriotism are its guiding principles.

Today, the Knights of Columbus has more than 2 million members organized through more than 16,000 local councils in countries around the world.