Support of Vocations

One of the greatest services any Catholic can perform for the Church is to foster priestly and religious vocations. The Knights of Columbus offers wide-ranging support for vocations, including the following initiatives:

They answered the call. Is there one for you?

RSVP (Refund Support Vocations Program)

The Supreme Council encourages support of vocations at the local level by paying a $100 "refund" to a local council whenever it donates $500 to a seminarian or postulant. Since 1981, more than $22,930,299 has been contributed under this program, and 39,760 seminarians, novices and postulants have been helped.

Vocations Scholarship Fund

The Order maintains a vocations scholarship endowment fund, now $9 million from which annual scholarships of $2,500 are awarded to needy seminarians. These scholarships are reserved for those who have advanced to the theologate. In 2000, 143 scholarships were awarded. Approximately 497 seminarians have been assisted by this program since 1992. Application for these scholarships is made through the Supreme Council. Through this program, Knights councils and their families also provide moral support to priestly and religious vocations by "adopting" a seminarian or postulant. They write letters of support, offer prayers, and invite their adopted candidate to council-sponsored activities.

Support of Seminarians Abroad

The Order has also established funds to support the missions of the national colleges for priestly training in Rome: the North American College, the Pontifical Canadian College, and the Pontifical Mexican College. Another fund supports the American College in Louvain, Belgium.

Support of Vocations: A Way of Life

The Order encourages all its members to foster vocations among their own families and friends. Each issue of Columbia Magazine, which is delivered monthly to every Knight, includes a full-page advertisement for vocations on its back cover.

Sixty Percent and Rising

In 1999, approximately 60 percent of all seminarians received some form of financial support from the Knights of Columbus. The ultimate goal is to provide 100 percent of seminarians with material support.