Dear Dames, Knights and friends,

As we plan for our Investiture in Chicago, in June 2008, I would like to take this opportunity, during the launch of our new website, to share with you all some of my thoughts after having taken over as Delegate from David Garrison.

The Order has come a long way since its early days in the United States. With David’s enthusiasm and commitment, we have not only managed to attract a solid membership across many parts of the country, but also position ourselves as an important part of the Order internationally.

We are all very grateful for David’s work and now must turn to how we wish to manage and develop this Order in the future. With that in mind, the Council met in Chicago this last January and agreed to start developing and focusing on a few key areas in the coming years. Some of the main ideas that were discussed included: Spirituality, Service, Fundraising, Chivalry, Continuity, Communication and Membership.

I am making a special point in the fact that, going forward our Order, will be managed much more by our Council and I look forward to all of you in playing a much greater part in participating in the Order through communication not only with me but also through our Council members. While we have come a long way in the last few years, it is now important to position us for the future for growth and it is you, our members, who are such an important part of that growth through the introduction of potential new members

It is in particular with respect to communication, that we have been focusing on in the last few months and are now launching this website which we hope will be the first step in making our members a much greater part of our Order. The site as you will see will not only serve to facilitate communication among us but will also greatly assist in fundraising and membership recruitment as we are able to make people much more aware of our work and needs.

Spirituality is another area that will become a focus of our work and activities. With that in mind we will be sending out invitations to our next Retreat in Washington DC which will be led by His Emminence Cardinal Theodore McCarrick in early December 2007.

Our services and charity work are another area that we have focused on lately. What should be the mission of our Order in the United States? Are we focusing on the right needs of our Faith? The January discussions have validated some of the work that we have been doing until now.

This year’s St. George Trek was a great success and we will continue to provide support to our boy scouts going forward as this initiative was not only very close to David’s heart but also has been adopted by so many others in the Order.

During March of this year I was able to go to New Orleans and tour some of the areas that had been devastated by the hurricane. At this time, I would like to thank again those of you that gave so much, both financially and in efforts, towards the Katrina relief efforts. Our work then has helped us all realize how important a factor we can be in times of need for our community as a whole.

There are presently 1,500,000 Catholic men and women and their families serving in the US Armed forces. Although Catholics make up nearly 30% of the military, only 8% of the Chaplains are Catholic Priests. As a result it is estimated that nearly 30% of all Catholics the military leave the faith with another 30% being converted to another religion. The Archdiocese for the Military Services (AMS) is charged with meeting the spiritual and pastoral care of these Catholics. Over the last three years, through mainly the efforts of Jeff Ludwig, our Order has contributed substantially in assisting the AMS meet its needs and we will continue to do so as we feel that these efforts are an important part of our Order’s mission to help develop and defend the faith.

And last but not least, our support of the Redemptoris Mater Mission Seminary, the adoption of a new priest is of so much importance to what we are all about as an Order, the defense and promotion of our faith. In times like these when there is such a strong need for new priests, our Order can help play an important part even if in a very small scale.

Please welcome me in thanking everyone for all their hard work in outing together this website, in particular Dame Aisha Davis and Knight Commander Jeffrey Ludwig.

You will soon receive invitations to our October brunch that we are organizing in Washington on October 21st.

I look forward to seeing you soon,

Michael Sullivan
Delegate