A banner for last year’s World Day of the Poor hangs from the facade of St. Peter’s Basilica in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican. (Pablo Esparza / CNS)
Office for Social Ministry
“Whenever we encounter a poor person, we cannot look away, for that would prevent us from encountering the face of the Lord Jesus.” (Pope Francis’ message for the World Day of the Poor, 2023)
As the church enthusiastically celebrates the final months of the Jubilee Year of Hope, we are called to always remember that mercy and hope walk hand in hand. Mercy opens our eyes to Christ in those who suffer. Hope strengthens our resilience to build a future of justice and compassion.
Pope Francis emphasized this when he established the first World Day of the Poor in 2017 during his “Misericordia et Misera” message at the end of the 2016 Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy. Now Pope Leo XIV has carried that vision forward in his 2025 message for the ninth World Day of the Poor, reminding all: “The poor are … creative subjects who challenge us to find novel ways of living out the Gospel today. … Helping the poor is a matter of justice before a question of charity.”
That vision and mission of service to those in need was embodied anew in Honolulu this September.
For the first time in history, the Knights of Peter Claver — the largest Black Catholic lay organization in the United States — opened a new American unit outside the continental U.S.
On Sept. 12, Council 419 of the Knights of Peter Claver was officially established here. The Knights and Ladies Auxiliary units are named after St. Damien de Veuster and St. Marianne Cope of Molokai, respectively.
Council 419 of the Knights of Peter Claver reflects the diversity of the Catholic Church by including men and women, priests and deacons, married couples and lay leaders, and young and old, representing Catholics of African, Filipino, Chinese, Polynesian and European heritage.
They embody what Pope Francis once called “a church of open doors, where all who are willing to serve are welcome.”
Their diversity is more than symbolic — it reveals the global heart of Catholicism that call us to serve across and through integrating cultures.
Just a day after Council 419 was formally recognized, the new Knights and Ladies joined the Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa parish food pantry in providing more than 200 senior food boxes to kupuna, many of whom arrived on foot or by bus.
From 7 to 9 a.m., the Knights and Ladies stood shoulder to shoulder with parish volunteers, distributing bags of rice, canned goods and other nonperishable items from the Hawaii Foodbank to vulnerable yet resilient elders.
Council 419 began their mission by recognizing Christ in the hungry kupuna who line up at the parish food pantry, and in all those who serve with them side by side.
Later that evening, the joy of shared service turned into the joy of shared worship. Dozens of Knights and Ladies of Peter Claver from the mainland joined their new brothers and sisters in Hawaii at the co-cathedral’s vigil Mass, where the newly elected officers of Council 419 were installed and blessed.
It was an inspiring sign of solidarity — linking Hawaii with Knights and Ladies from across the nation, united in the mission of compassionate mercy and justice. It was fitting that the first acts of the Knights of St. Damien and Ladies of St. Marianne Cope were living out their faith together in both prayer and action.
The Knights of Peter Claver fraternal organization was founded in 1909, providing Black Catholics a place of belonging when segregation kept them out of other religious organizations.
For more than a century, the Knights of Peter Claver has carried out its mission of compassionate service, education and justice, following the example of its patron saint, St. Peter Claver, who worked tirelessly with slaves on boats in the harbors of South America.
Now, by planting its seeds in Hawaii, this Catholic organization is showing that its Gospel mission is also alive and growing in Kalihi.
For more about the Knights of Peter Claver, please visit its website at kofpc.org. Let us all follow the footsteps of our inspiring saints by responding to this Jubilee Year’s call to pray and serve with mercy and hope together.
Mahalo,
Your friends in the Office for Social Ministry