Top photo caption: Pope Leo XIV poses with Supreme Knight Patrick E. Kelly of the Knights of Columbus during a private meeting at The Vatican July 4, 2025. On Aug. 25, 2026, Pope Leo appointed Kelly as a member of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life. OSV News photo/Mario Tomassetti, Vatican Media/CPP
By Courtney Mares, OSV News
OSV News — Pope Leo XIV on Aug. 25 appointed the Knights of Columbus’ Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly as a member of the Vatican Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life.
Kelly has served as the supreme Knight and CEO of the world’s largest Catholic fraternal service organization since 2021. The Knights of Columbus have 2.1 million members throughout the world.
“I am deeply grateful to His Holiness Pope Leo XIV for appointing me as a member of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life,” Kelly said following the Vatican’s announcement.
“Since our founding by Blessed Michael McGivney in 1882, the Knights of Columbus has been dedicated to strengthening Catholic laymen in the faith, to supporting Catholic family life and to building up a culture of life,” he added. “I look forward to supporting this vital work of the Catholic Church.”
As a member of the Vatican dicastery, Kelly will contribute to the dicastery’s mission of enhancing the apostolate of the lay faithful, the pastoral care of young people and the mission of the family according to God’s plan. The dicastery is also dedicated to the promotion and protection of life and the dignity of the elderly.
About two dozen people, including cardinals, married lay couples, and scholars from around the world, currently serve as members of the laity dicastery. Kelly will join fellow American members Helen Alvaré, lecturer at the George Mason University School of Law, and Cardinal Robert W. McElroy of Washington. The role does not require members to move to Rome.
Pope Francis established the dicastery in 2016, combining the responsibilities of the Pontifical Council for the Laity and the Pontifical Council for the Family. Cardinal Kevin J. Farrell, the former bishop of Dallas, has served as the prefect of the dicastery since its founding.
The Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life plays a key role in organizing World Youth Day, the next which is scheduled to take place in Seoul, South Korea, Aug. 3-8, 2027. The dicastery also organizes the World Meeting of Families and the annual World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly.
Kelly, who is based in Connecticut with his wife and three daughters, has served for 42 years as a Knight of Columbus. He previously served as the first executive director of the St. John Paul II National Shrine in Washington and as a senior adviser to the ambassador-at-large for International Religious Freedom at the U.S. State Department. Before that, he served in the U.S. Navy for 24 years, including as a judge advocate general specializing in international and operational law and as the commanding officer of the international law unit at the U.S. Naval War College.
Pope Leo met privately with Kelly and the Knights’ supreme chaplain, Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore, on Oct. 6 before the Pope held a private audience with members of the Knights of Columbus’ board of directors. Kelly and Archbishop Lori met privately with the U.S.-born Pope for the first time on July 4, 2025.
In a video message to the Knights of Columbus’ convention earlier in August, Pope Leo commended the organization for uniting Catholic men in prayer and fraternity, while extending “generous service to vulnerable populations.”
“The Knights of Columbus have worked together for well over a century to show Christ’s love to the unborn, expectant mothers, persecuted Christians, victims of war and human trafficking, the poor and vulnerable, and those who live on the margins of society,” Pope Leo said in the video released on Aug. 4.
“Through the initiatives undertaken by your local Councils as well as at the national and international levels, countless people have benefitted from your kindness. For my part, I express deep gratitude for your Order’s continued generosity to the less fortunate, and trust that your endeavors will continue to bear fruit for many years to come,” the Pope said.
Courtney Mares is Vatican editor for OSV News. Follow her on X @catholicourtney.
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