The Knights of Columbus recently donated a state-of-the-art mobile broadcasting unit to the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication, unveiling the vehicle in Rome just days before Pope Francis inaugurated the Jubilee Year 2025.
The new broadcasting van was blessed by Cardinal Marcello Semeraro during a Dec. 21 ceremony attended by Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly, staff of the Dicastery for Communication, including Paolo Ruffini, prefect, and others.
In an interview with Vatican News that day, the supreme knight said the new mobile broadcasting unit will not only help bring the voice of Pope Francis to a wider audience but will “deliver the message of Jesus Christ from the Vatican to Catholics and all people of goodwill around the world.”
“I’m particularly pleased to be here just several days before the great Jubilee of Hope begins,” Supreme Knight Kelly added. “I think it’s fitting that we are here inaugurating this new van at this time.”
The vehicle is the fourth broadcasting unit donated by the Knights of Columbus, which has supported various projects in partnership with the Vatican’s communication office for many decades. From the donation of a powerful new transmitter to Vatican Radio in 1965 to supporting the launch of The Pope App — now the Vatican News app — in 2013, the Knights of Columbus has been behind numerous advances in the Vatican’s communications technology. Previously, mobile broadcasting units were provided by the Order in 1985, 1995 and 2010.
The partnership has included other long-term broadcast support, including funding broadcasts of the Holy Father’s events in Rome and most recently, the broadcast of the opening of the Holy Door on Dec. 24.
“It’s a tremendous honor for me to be here today … and to be part of this great partnership that is 60 years old,” Supreme Knight Kelly said. “Our second principle is unity, and that unity is what we as Knights are all about as we partner with the Vatican Dicastery for Communication with the mobile van and with so many of their endeavors to get out the message of the Church and the saving message of Christ.”
Beyond its support of the Vatican’s communication efforts, the Order has a long history of contributing to Vatican initiatives and projects — including the recent restoration of Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s iconic baldacchino in St. Peter’s Basilica in anticipation of the Jubilee 2025. The Order also sponsored the restoration of Bernini’s bronze masterpiece at the Altar of the Chair of St. Peter.
During a private audience with Pope Francis on Dec. 20, Supreme Knight Kelly discussed these restoration efforts with the Holy Father and shared updates on the Order’s worldwide charitable outreach and initiatives.
“The Knights of Columbus, since our very founding, [has] always been in solidarity with our bishops and priests and we’ve always enjoyed a very strong union with the Holy Father,” the supreme knight said in an interview with Vatican Radio on Dec. 21. “That is just part of who the Knights of Columbus is, to be in unity with Rome and in unity with the Church — to have co-responsibility for the mission of the Church.”