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Leaders of the Knights of Columbus and Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA) completed a visit to Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Israel last month, offering prayer and material support to communities wounded by two years of war.
The delegation included Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly, Supreme Chaplain Archbishop William Lori, and Supreme Secretary John Marrella, who joined CNEWA president Msgr. Peter Vaccari for meetings and liturgies across the region.
The Catholic Near East Welfare Association was founded by Pope Pius XI in 1926 and continues as a papal agency of humanitarian support for the region. Meanwhile the Knights of Columbus is a fraternal organization that unites Catholic men around the world in a variety of service projects.
Uniting forces
In Jerusalem, the group met with Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin patriarch; prayed at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre; and continued to Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity and Nazareth’s Church of the Annunciation.
They also conferred with Franciscan Custos Father Francesco Ielpo and representatives of the Order of Malta.
Stops included Bethlehem’s Piccirillo Handicraft Center for artisans with disabilities, the St. Nicholas Home for the elderly in Beit Jala, and the Latin Patriarchate Seminary.
Archbishop Lori called the journey a timely act of presence: coming “to show that we care, to learn and understand, and also to help.”
Kelly described it as a “mission of hope and solidarity” and said the Knights are discerning concrete ways to assist local ministries that serve the vulnerable.
Practical hope
The visit unfolded as church leaders again urged restraint and in the lead-up to the start of the third year of the war.
The group also visited Christian communities rebuilding amid intimidation and loss. In the Christian town of Taybeh, church leaders say fires were set near the fifth-century Church of St. George and its cemetery in July; they pleaded for investigations and protection. The delegation prayed there for peace and perseverance.
For Catholics — and for all who long for stability in the Holy Land — the Knights’ and CNEWA’s message was simple: remain close to those who suffer, strengthen what is still alive, and keep hope practical.
As Kelly put it, the task now is to help “courageous sisters” and lay workers who cradle infants, feed families, and hold communities together. That is what solidarity looks like — not only in statements, but on the ground.
