Annual Charity Drive
Hudson
Valley Chapter
The Hudson Valley Chapter
Knights of Columbus consists of more than 8000 Knights in 45 councils, serving
five New York counties in the mid-Hudson Valley and the Village of Cold Spring in
Putnam County as well as twenty Assemblies of the 2nd NY
District, and six Columbiette and lady auxiliaries, and several Squire Circles.
The
motto of the HV Chapter is Service through Unity
The Hudson Valley Chapter
promotes Unity through collaboration by providing its members the opportunities
to unite together and support Chapter sponsored fraternal and charitable
service programs and activities.
Examples of such service
programs are: the Annual Charity Drive, Vocations support through RSVP, Annual
Prayer Rally in Albany, Annual Lourdes Pilgrimage, Keep Christ in Christmas
campaigns, recognition of our families, youth and clergy and Pro Life initiatives.
The members of the Hudson Valley Chapter continue to sponsor special children and their parents on an annual pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in Lourdes, France.
The History
of Lourdes
Our Lady first appeared to
a young girl, Bernadette Soubirous, in Lourdes France on February 11,
1858. Bernadette experienced eighteen
apparitions of Our Lady between February 11 and July 16 of that same year.
On March 25, the feast of
the Annunciation, Mary announced, �I am the Immaculate Conception� thereby
confirming what Pope Pius IX had declared as official Church Doctrine in
1854. It was on this day that Our Lady
asked Bernadette to dig in the earth until a small puddle of water
appeared. This same puddle eventually
became known as the Sacred Spring of Massabielle for which Lourdes is now
famous.
The apparitions were declared authentic in 1862
and Lourdes rapidly became one of the world�s major pilgrimage destinations.
Millions journey to Lourdes
every year, praying and petitioning Our Lady for cures for a variety of
physical, emotional, and spiritual illnesses and to bathe in the miraculous
waters of Massabielle. Numerous miracles
have been reported during the past 150 years, since the first
apparition, and many have been confirmed by the Church.
Bernadette was declared a Saint
in 1933, not only because of the apparitions, but because of her dedication to
a life of simplicity and service to the church.
