Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 17, 2022 / 11:24 am
Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly of the Knights of Columbus has called on the organization’s members worldwide to join in a nine-day campaign of prayer, beginning March 17.
The novena will conclude on March 25, the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord, when Pope Francis will consecrate Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary at the Vatican.
“During this time of immense suffering in Ukraine, I call on my 2 million brother Knights to unite in prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary,” Kelly said in a statement. “Together, we’ll ask Our Lady to
intercede on behalf of those directly impacted by the conflict, to give strength to our Ukrainian and Polish Knights working so hard to deliver relief, and to help bring peace and healing to the region.”
The novena was initiated by Catholics in Ukraine and first requested by the Latin-rite archbishop of Lviv, Archbishop Mieczysław Mokrzycki, who is a former secretary of St. John Paul II and a member of the Knights of Columbus in Ukraine, Kelly noted. The date of the consecration is historically
significant, he added, as St. John Paul II consecrated Russia and the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on March 25, 1984.