Pilgrim Icon Program
Chairman Orville Fillbrandt Faith Programs
Every few years, the Knights of Columbus selects an icon of a saint whose patronage is particularly inspiring to Knights and their communities. Each jurisdiction receives one or several of these icons which travel from council to council and serve as the centerpieces for prayer services in parishes throughout the Order. Since the first traveling pilgrim icon of Our Lady of Guadalupe in 1979, more than 174,800 council and parish prayer services with some 22 million participants have been held.
See the attached documents, including a letter from State Chaplain Fr. Martin Schaefer addressed to Council Chaplains and all Priests.
For questions, comments, or to order additional supplies, contact Marian Hour of Prayer Chairman Orville Fillbrandt at the email or phone number shown above.
Action Steps
Planning
- Working with your pastor, obtain his permission and recommendations on conducting a Pilgrim Icon Prayer Service.
- Working with your jurisdiction Marian Prayer Program chairman, coordinate when your council is scheduled to receive the image.
- Identify council and parish members to fulfill the various roles required in the service.
- If not enough booklets remain from previous services, order additional copies of the Pilgrim Icon Prayer Booklet(#5050) through Supplies Online, the supply ordering portal available on Officers Online.
- Build public interest for the event! Promote the Pilgrim Icon Prayer Service in your parish and larger community through a variety of efforts:
- Prominently display promotional posters (which can be ordered through Supplies Online)
- Bulletin announcements
- Pulpit announcements
- Posting on your council and parish website / social media pages
Action
- Representatives of your council should attend the prayer service at the council from which you will receive the image and bring it to your council or parish.
- Hold your Marian Prayer Service with the following guidelines in mind:
- If possible, the choir leader should review the hymns with the congregation before the service
- Advise the readers and congregation to recite the prayers at a moderate pace to ensure the service is truly reverent
- At the close of the prayer service, formally present the image to the next host council. Also collect all Pilgrim Icon Prayer Booklets(#5050).
- After the service, the grand knight or council Pilgrim Icon Prayer Program chairman should report the participation. No paper logs will be used for reporting. Each council hosting a prayer service should report participation through the online Fraternal Programs Report Form. The form can be accessed online here, or by scanning this QR Code.
- Enter Member number and Last Name
- Check your email inbox and click on the link.
Enter data for Pilgrim Icon Program.
Resources