By Lou Baldwin • Posted March 18, 2020

In keeping with a directive from Carl Anderson, the supreme knight of the Knights of Columbus, the Philadelphia Chapter of the Catholic fraternal organization has strongly recommended that its member councils suspend all meetings until the coronavirus has ebbed.

Among the recommendations from the Knights’ Supreme Council, all until further notice:

— cancel all personal contact meetings including business meetings;

— cancel all planned events where people would gather;

— cancel all travel for Knights of Columbus business.

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In lieu of face-to-face meetings, the Supreme Council suggests the local councils conduct their business through conference calls, Skype video, Google Hangouts, text message or other remote methods.

“This is a moment to deepen our commitment to the very principles which define us: unity, charity and fraternity,” said Anderson in a message to the Knights. “There will likely be many opportunities in the coming weeks to live out these principles in service to our brother Knights, their families and our communities. May this time of difficulty also be a moment we as Knights step into the breach and show ourselves to be disciples of Jesus Christ and men of service to others.”

Locally the Philadelphia Chapter of the Knights of Columbus has canceled its March 27 meeting and Easter visit to St. John’s Hospice.

“Hopefully, the medical experts will quickly discover a cure for this virus and we can all get back to business as usual,” said Daniel Donovan, president of the Philadelphia Chapter. 

He urged his member councils to “pray for those who are really suffering from this affliction.”