Knights of Columbus to Hold Annual Convention in St. Louis

ST. LOUIS, July 27, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Nearly 100 members of the Catholic hierarchy, including cardinals, archbishops and bishops, will gather in St. Louis in August for the 135th international convention of the Knights of Columbus.

The bishops and cardinals will be joined by approximately 2,000 attendees made up of Knights and their family members. In light of the Knights' work on behalf of persecuted Christians in the Middle East, prelates from the region will attend and will update the Knights and the public about current conditions.

The convention will be held from Tuesday to Thursday, Aug. 1-3, at the America's Center Convention Complex. It will be the fourth Knights of Columbus international convention to be held in the city, which has previously hosted the gathering in 1908, 1959, and 1991.

The meeting will include a mixture of business, fellowship, prayer and the presentation of international service and achievement awards to individual Knights and Knights councils.

The convention opens on Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. with a concelebrated Mass led by St. Louis Archbishop Robert J. Carlson. More than 500 delegates will participate in the opening business session that afternoon.

Tuesday's events will include a report by Knights of Columbus CEO Carl Anderson and the gala States Dinner, which will include the presentation of the Gaudium et Spes Award, the Knights' highest honor.

Founded in 1882 by Venerable Father Michael J. McGivney, the Knights of Columbus has grown to 1.9 million members, with charity as the organization's primary mission. In 2016, Knights donated $175.5 million and more than 75 million hours of service to charitable causes.

In addition to the Mass, Tuesday's events will include the opening session and the dinner addresses. They will be broadcast live by Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN), CatholicTV, Canada's Salt + Light Television, and EWTN Radio. The masses on all three days of the convention will be broadcast live by the same outlets. The Catholic Channel will broadcast its popular Busted Halo program from the convention site on Monday and Tuesday.

Follow #KofC135 on Twitter and Facebook for live coverage of the Knights' 135^th International Convention.

SOURCE Knights of Columbus