"Gaudium et Spes" Award conferred to Card. Tarcisio Bertone, Secretary of State
Agost 24, 2007

The L’Osservatore Romano highlights the presence of His Eminence Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone at the 125th Convention of the Knights of Columbus held from August 7 to 9, 2007 in Nashville, Tennessee. Following is the translation of the article.

L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO Friday, August 24, 2007

The "Gaudium et Spes" International Award was conferred to Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone. This high recognition was awarded by the Knights of Columbus Foundation, on the occasion of the 125th Convention held from August 7th to 9th at Nashville in Tennessee.

The assignment of the "Gaudium et Spes" award to "persons who are particularly distinguished for their work in the Catholic world" is a consuetude of the annual celebration of the "Convention" of the Foundation. This year’s has assumed a special connotation as it coincides with the 125th anniversary of the founding of the Knights of Columbus Order.

125 years of glorious history lived following the footsteps of the young Irish priest, who, during the mere 38 years which he was granted to live, was able to inflame, with the humbleness of his service, the least, the souls of a multitude of youth. He left a great spiritual heredity which is still diffused today in the thousands of brooks (streams) which are fed by the works of the Knights of Columbus Order all over the world. We are speaking about Father Michael J. McGivney.

From his parents - Irishmen landing in Canada during the famous migration wave in the 19th century - Michael learned the fortitude of faith and love, but, above all, he experimented the "push" which derives from a healthy and united family. Born on August 12, 1852 - the first of 13 children, six of whom died during infancy -, he was forced to work in a factory as a youth to help sustain his extremely poor family.

However, at the age of sixteen, he decided to follow his vocation: he left the factory and began to study. He passed from the College of St. Hyacinthe, in Quebec to the Our Lady of Angels Seminary in New York to the Jesuit St. Mary’s Seminary near Montreal before attending the St. Mary Seminary in Baltimore, the city where, on December 22, 1877, he received his ordination as priest.

From this point on, his life was totally dedicated to soccour the needs of the segregated: from poor Irish immigrant families, to alcoholics, to workers.

But his most intense and incisive work was with the youth of St. Mary’s Parish. In 1881, he began to nourish the idea of establishing, along with the most committed laymen, a fraternal Catholic society which would, in spite of common opinion that such forms of aggregation tend to catalyze, give the possibility to strengthen faith and, at the same time, provide support for the most needy families.

In the pages of the diary of William Geary, one of the first members of the Order, it reads that during the first council meeting in 1882, "24 men with hearts full of joy and thanksgiving" acclaimed him as founder, "recognizing that without his optimism, his will to succeed, his counsel and advice they would have failed."

Initially, he has suggested to call his "creature", "Sons of Columbus", because he felt that this would better represent the union between Catholicism and Americanism through common faith and bold vision of the New World’s discoverer. The word "Knight" was later inserted by key members of the Organization.

The Order was recognized as a "legal corporation" on March 29 in the same year by Connecticut legislature.

On August 14, 1890, Father McGinvey died of pneumonia. In 1997, then Archbishop of Hartford, Mgsr. Daniel Croni, started diocesan procedures for his canonization. The diocesan phase has been completed. Now, works by the Congregation for the Cause of Saints are being waiting for.

The spirituality of the Servant of God, the power of his faith, his courage in facing everything and everyone in order to serve the Church of Christ through the poor have survived and are testified today by approximately two million "Knights" from all over the world. All working following the four ideals which inspired the founder and his work: unity, charity, fraternity and patriotism.

Ideals which the "Knights" unfailingly confront themselves with every year during their "Convention". As time has passed, these meetings have become more important, also due to the desire to open themselves more and more towards the universality of Catholicism. A desire which is testified by the endowment of the "Gaudium et Spes" Award to those who are dedicated with great intensity to witness the spirit of Christ in the contemporary world. Just as a few examples, in 1992, the Award was granted to Mother Teresa of Calcutta and, in 2005, Jean Vanier, founder of Arche.

The Holy Father Benedict XVI focused on these sentiments in his Message which he sent to the Knights on the occasion of their "Convention". Pausing on the theme of the meeting - "Celebrating 125 years of Faith in Action"; Witnessing to the "Yes" of Jesus Christ" - the Holy Father wanted to emphasize how important it is to witness to modern society that "the evangelic message is one of the positive responses to all the deepest hopes and aspirations of humanity! Without God, the human person remains restless and unfulfilled. According to Saint Augustine’s classic formulation, our heart was made for the Lord and it finds no peace until it rests in him (cf. Confessions 1:1)". "Yet - the Pope continues - when we acknowledge God and welcome him into our lives, the Spirit comes to dwell within us, enkindling our hearts with divine love. Thus we begin to understand the greatness of our vocation to become children of God, and we marvel at the irrevocable "Yes" that God has spoken to us in his Son Jesus Christ. For 125 years, the Knights of Columbus have sought to respond to that "Yes" by wholeheartedly accepting the summons to discipleship. The Second Vatican Council teaches that "as sharers in the mission of Christ, priest, prophet and king, the lay faithful have an active part to play in the life and activity of the Church" (Apostolicam Actuositatem, 10). This includes the mission of proclaiming the Gospel, expecially by means of catechetical instruction and by leading to the Church people who are perhaps far removed from her (cf. Christifideles Laici, 33). It includes service to society through acts of charity, care of the poor and the sick, and assistance to those in need of any kind, in the spirit of your founder, Father Michael McGivney."

In connection with this, the Pope wanted to pose again the exemplarity of the Christian family, "It includes - indeed he added - the faithful witness of Christian marriage and family life, whereby the sanctifying presence of the "domestic Church" transforms society from within. In all these ways, and many more, the Knights of Columbus have actively built up the Kingdom of God on earth, and I know you will continue to devote your energies and your apostolic zeal to promoting the Church’s mission wherever you may be.

After exhorting the Knights to continue their mission, the Holy Father concluded his Message commending "you and the work of the 125th Supreme Convention to the loving intercession of Mary, Mother of the Church."

Similar sentiments were expressed by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone during the Homily of the Holy Mass which inaugurated the "Convention". After tracing the life of the founder, Father McGivney, and presenting his testimony of service, the Cardinal wished to emphasize a particular aspect of his mission, "He also helped others - among other things he said - to recognize the call that Christ addressed to them, and to respond generously. This was the key to his apostolic vision in founding the Knights. He recognized the material and spiritual poverty of so many members of the Catholic community, and he understood that it was part of the lay vocation to become actively involved in offering assistance to brothers and sisters in need. He knew that it is not only priests and religious who have a vocation, but that every Christian is called by Christ to carry out a particular mission in the Church. He left a lasting legacy in the organization that he founded which has continued to provide opportunities for the countless lay Catholics to play their part in building up the Kingdom of God.

Associating this testimony to the Gospel which had previously been proclaimed, the Cardinal concluded by urging the Knights to continue their work, "Like the Good Samaritan, you bind the wounds of those you discover lying by the wayside and help restore them to health and strength. In so doing you are following in the footsteps of your founder, and with him imitating Christ, who came that we might have life in abundance."

"The celebration of the Eucharist raises our thought to God the Father, who through Jesus Christ, gives us the Holy Spirit and nourishes us with the Bread of Life. Today we remember with gratitude the life of Father McGivney, the talents and graces which he received."

The ceremony for the bestowal of the Award gave Cardinal Bertone the opportunity to express again his appreciation for the work carried out by the Order. In his address of thank you at the conclusion of the ceremony, after having expressed his gratitude to Mr. Carl Anderson, Supreme Knight, for the recognition and for the concrete help which the Order offers for the charity works of the Church, Cardinal Bertone said that he was particularly pleased "to receive this prize inasmuch as it bears the name of one of the most important documents of the Second Vatican Council, the Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes. This Council document has been quoted and revisited many times in recent years, and it is called "pastoral" because its intension is to explain the Church’s stance vis-à-vis the world and the people of our day on the basis of the doctrinal principles issuing from the certainties of faith."

"The Church’s mission - added the Cardinal Secretary of State - is to spread the Gospel of love through specific good works. This is a mission that involves all the baptized - priests, consecrated and lay persons - since bearing witness to truth and love means taking an active part in Christ’s redemptive work."

"This evening - he continued - I have further reason to be happy, namely that two great apostles of charity are among the first recipients of the Gaudium et Spes: Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who made an unforgettable impression on so many hearts through their heroic dedication to serving the poorest of the poor, and Jean Vanier, who in various parts of the world continues to carry out a vast program of humanitarian service and Christian charity towards our frailest brothers and sisters through the institute that he founded, known as L’Arche. Let it never be forgotten that, besides prayer and witness to the Gospel, an integral part of the Church’s mission is service to our brothers and sisters, especially those who suffer material or spiritual adversity."

Then, the Cardinal referred to the teachings of Benedict XVI in his "Deus Caritas Est" where it is clearly stated that "those who carry out the Church’s charitable activity on a practical level ’must be persons moved by Christ’s love" (no. 33). The Holy Father stresses this point - they must be ’persons whose hears Christ has conquered with his love, awakening within them a love of neighbor’ (ibid.) "I am well aware that your Association is constantly engaged in such service to neighbor, inspired by evangelical love."

Thanking once again for the honor which he received, Cardinal Bertone concluded asking, once again, the Knights of Columbus to continue enthusiastically their mission. "It is my heartfelt wish - he said in particular - that the good work which the Knights of Columbus carry out with such generous enthusiasm will continue to alleviate the sufferings of many of our brothers and sisters, and will be constantly sustained by a deep spiritual life."

"May the Lord help you to grow in common purpose, to his glory and in the service of humanity! I assure you that I shall pray for this intention."