The 144th Supreme Convention of the Knights of Columbus took place from August 4–6, 2026, at the Gaylord Rockies Resort and Convention Center in Denver, Colorado, U.S.A. Over 2,000 delegates, clergy, and families from across the globe—including the United States, Canada, Mexico, Poland, Ukraine, and the Philippines—gathered for three days of prayer, business sessions, award ceremonies, and fraternity.
Key Highlights & Keynote Themes
Theme: “In the One We Are One” - The official theme focuses on unity, Christian charity, and the role of Catholic men in building peace across polarized communities. Pope Leo XIV gave a recorded video message delivered during the opening session, and called on the Knights of Columbus to serve as “prophets of harmony.” He emphasized that while unity requires active, humble dialogue, charity acts as a powerful bridge to heal divisions in families, parishes, and modern society. An address on “The Virtue of Patriotism” was give at the States Dinner on August 4, by Archbishop Paul Coakley (President of the USCCB). He delivered a keynote distinguishing authentic patriotism from distorted nationalism. Citing St. Thomas Aquinas, he framed patriotism as a extension of the Fourth Commandment—a familial, religious duty of love and gratitude toward one’s homeland.
Archbishop James Golka of Denver, who serves as state chaplain of Colorado, was the principal celebrant and homilist during the opening liturgy, joined by dozens of cardinals, bishops and priests.
In his homily, Archbishop Golka reminded Knights that the Order exists to care for the people of God, urging them to seek the Lord’s will in every action — big and small.
“We can be busy about many, many good activities, but if they have not been planted by God, they’re going to fail,” Archbishop Golka said. “So what must we do before we do anything? Listen to God. Beg God for clarity on his plan. He already has a plan for the Knights of Columbus. He has a plan for your council. He has a plan for your marriage and your family. We need to be experts in listening to him, so we know what his plan is.”
Ultimately, the archbishop continued, every Knight should direct his life toward heaven and union with God.
“May this convention be a place where Jesus Christ unveils to us his reign, so we can live more for that and less for everything else,” Archbishop Golka said. “May every ... gathering of men to study their faith in Cor, every opportunity to raise money to help others, every ultrasound machine that we buy to support pro-life — may every one of those things be, in our heart, a place where we allow and ask Jesus to unveil for us his way.”
AWARDS - At the Knights of Columbus 144th Supreme Convention in Denver, Colorado, Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly presented the 2026 awards honoring individual Knights, councils, and chaplains for exemplary faith in action, fraternal leadership, and charitable service. The International Program Awards recognized St. Demetrius Council 17293 (Ukraine) in Faith for organizing a spiritual pilgrimage to Poland for families of fallen soldiers; Sta. Maria Della Strada Council 8444 (Philippines) in Family for helping 18 couples enter full communion with the Church through parish-wide weddings; Monsignor McCarthy Council 5902 (Canada) in Community for providing food and lodging to 50 firefighters during the Kingston wildfire; and Brother Felix Council 6667 (Michigan) in Life for volunteering over 1,000 hours to renovate a local pregnancy resource center. Additionally, the Francis A. Arlinghaus family of Maryland was named International Family of the Year for multi-generational service, pro-life leadership, and parish fundraising, while South Carolina State Chaplain Rev. Robert F. Higgins received the Blessed Michael McGivney Medal for 19 years of outstanding priestly zeal, extensive prison ministry, and outreach to Hispanic Catholic communities.
Message of the Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly:
Welcome to our Supreme Convention. We are here to celebrate our work over the past year and to chart our path for the years ahead. For nearly a century and a half, we have upheld the vision of our founder, Blessed Michael McGivney. And to this day, we continue to advance in charity, unity, fraternity and patriotism — always in service to Christ and his Church. This is a fitting time to reflect on our past, as well as our future. The United States — our original home — is commemorating its 250th anniversary. And Colorado is a fitting place to rededicate ourselves to the work ahead. We established our first council west of the Mississippi in this very city in 1900, and Denver Council 539 is still remembered as the “mother council of the West.”
This city is also famously associated with St. John Paul II’s bold call for a new evangelization at World Youth Day in 1993. In the years that followed, so many Catholics responded by pursuing the priesthood and religious life. So many others embraced their vocation to marriage and family. And the Knights of Columbus responded by putting our faith into action. We embraced the new evangelization in our hearts, our homes and our communities — in this country and around the world. And now we are responding to our new Holy Father.
In this time of global conflict and economic uncertainty, Pope Leo XIV has summoned us to meet the modern world with our eternal faith. And in the Holy Father’s motto, we are reminded of a powerful truth: “In the One, we are one.” These beautiful words speak to who we are as Knights of Columbus. We are not just another charitable organization. We are not a social club. We are a global brotherhood of Catholic leaders — and we are united in Jesus Christ. He is the source of our strength. And as we reflect on our service over the past year, we give all the glory to God.
MEMBERSHIP - The Lord has enabled us to do great things. And he is drawing men into the Knights. More than 2.2 million men now count themselves as Knights of Columbus. Last year, we welcomed more than 105,000 new members. That’s the most growth we’ve had in more than a century — since the surge that followed the First World War. Thank you for extending the hand of brotherhood to the next generation. We are flourishing today because of our fidelity to our founder’s vision. Father McGivney built the Knights of Columbus to help men grow in faith and friendship.
What began with a single council in a Connecticut parish basement has now spread to nearly 17,000 councils around the world. It has now been 20 years since we welcomed our first brother Knights in Poland. At the time, it was our first international expansion in a century. Our entry into Poland was soon followed by Ukraine, Lithuania, France and Korea. I would like to welcome our Polish delegation, and I congratulate them on 20 years as Rycerze Kolumba! And I’m pleased to announce that we have now expanded into a new country. In June, the Supreme Officers and I initiated the charter members of Council 19000 in the nation of Spain. And I’d like to note that since the Knights started in Spain, their national soccer team is undefeated! In our founder’s time, most Catholic Americans were recent immigrants or the children of immigrants. Father McGivney wanted to give them a home. Today, we are still serving immigrant communities and their descendants. Last year, 15% of new members in the United States and Canada were Hispanic. And our commitment to Latino communities has never been stronger.
See full Report - https://files.kofc.org/download/assets/2026+Supreme+Knights+Report+%28Web+Version%29.pdf/d97efeca903c11f1a2e6f21460d218af
Source - Knights of Columbus Website
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