(OSV News) -- A historically Black Catholic fraternal organization is growing -- and its members are drawing strength from the Eucharist to live out the Gospel message, said its top leader.
The Knights of Peter Claver and Ladies Auxiliary holds its annual senior national conclave and convention July 19-24 in Oklahoma City, a gathering that will unite members, young and old, to discern the coming year's charitable and spiritual initiatives for the organization.
Founded in 1909 by four priests of the St. Joseph's Society of the Sacred Heart, the Knights and Ladies Auxiliary work to further the legacy of St. Peter Claver, who ministered to enslaved people from Africa in Cartagena, Colombia, during the 17th century. The Jesuit priest routinely met docking ships to provide food, medical aid and spiritual instruction to them, ultimately baptizing an estimated 300,000 over four decades.
Through their charitable arm, the St. Peter Claver Foundation, the Knights and Ladies Auxiliary award thousands of dollars in donations to Catholic seminaries and outreaches, and in scholarships to students.
Supreme Knight and CEO Christopher Pichon told OSV News that the organization's annual gathering -- now in its 108th year -- will center on a daily celebration of the Mass.
"We celebrate the Eucharist every day, (with) a big opening Mass on Sunday, and ... Masses every morning on the other days," said Pichon. "It's about sharing and participating in the Eucharist."
"And with the National Eucharistic Congress coming up, (we are) really just focusing on the true meaning of the Eucharist, and … (being) at one with the Eucharist and the necessity of attending Mass on a regular basis," he said.
Pichon said his vision for the Knights and Ladies Auxiliary is summed up by the acronym "RISE."
"'R' represents reimagining our organization coming out of COVID, with new policies and practices that we've learned," he said. "'I' stands for being inclusive of all members, whether they're junior members from 7 to 10 years old, to elderly members in their 80s and 90s."
Pichon said that "S" evokes "the spiritual and corporal works of mercy," which call members to "get back to our foundational roots of community service, (exemplified by) our patron saint."
And "E," he said, means "becoming that eminent organization to where we are actually promoting the good work that Clavers are doing across the country, and highlighting that."
As part of that overall strategy, "we took it upon ourselves as an order to ensure that we were becoming evangelists and making sure that we are teaching and preaching the faith," said Pichon. "(We're) trying to bring past members as well as prospective members back into the fold of Catholicism and (inviting them to) rejoin the church, and then look at rejoining or becoming part of the Knights of Peter Claver."
The fruits of that vision are already manifesting themselves, Pichon said.
At present, there are "just over 15,000" members, with "a little over 2,000" of that total representing junior members ranging in age from 7 to 18, he said.
"We are recruiting new members and actually establishing new councils and courts units in areas that we hadn't been before," with strong growth particularly in the state of New York, he said.
"It's been booming out there," said Pichon.
The organization has also established units at several colleges, including Xavier University of Louisiana, Clark Atlanta University and Southern University, giving "college students who participate (the opportunity to) serve in the same leadership roles as a unit in any city," he said.
Several of the collegiate members will speak during the upcoming convention at a public forum on racism -- an issue Pichon said was one of five pillars of the organization's "strong, strong focus on social justice."
Along with racism, the group works to tackle human trafficking and domestic violence, while upholding the dignity of Black lives and seeking criminal justice reform, he said.
"We're constantly educating our members on social justice issues and what we can do as an organization to get more involved in really making an impact and transforming our communities," said Pichon.
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