Knights of Columbus bring annual convention to Colorado

Denver, Colo., Aug 1, 2011 / 23:01 pm

Members of the Catholic fraternal organization the Knight of Columbus are headed to Denver, Colo. for the group’s 129th annual convention, taking place Aug. 2-4.

Over 500 delegates – including 85 bishops – from the 1.8 million member organization will gather at the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Denver.

The event will kick off on Tuesday, Aug. 2 with a Mass celebrated by Denver Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, who was recently appointed to lead the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

Supreme Knight Carl Anderson will deliver his annual address on Aug. 2, followed by a gala “States Dinner” which will bring together over 2,300 knights and their families at the Colorado Convention Center for a black tie event.

The dinner will feature a keynote talk by Cardinal Raymond Burke, prefect of the Vatican's highest court, the Apostolic Signatura. Other speakers will include Archbishop Cyprian Lacroix of Quebec and Cardinal Juan Sandoval of Guadalajara, Mexico.

Award sessions will also be held during the convention, including special recognitions for the Knights of Columbus Family of the Year as well as community leaders, charity workers and pro-life activists.

In 2010, the Knights of Columbus donations to charity exceeded $154 million, with individual knights  volunteering over 70 million hours to charitable work.

There are 16,000 knights in Colorado alone, comprising 141 councils.