Toronto Knights of Columbus aid seminarians

By 
  • April 14, 2009
{mosimage}TORONTO - The Knights of Columbus Toronto Council 1388 will celebrate 100 years of service by making a gift of $100,000.

At a gala dinner April 25 to mark its 100th anniversary, the Toronto Council will donate $100,000 to create an endowment to support Toronto’s seminarians. It is the largest gift in the history of Council 1388.

“We wanted to do something special and unique to commemorate our 100th anniversary,” said Grand Knight Harry Turner. “When someone proposed that we do something to support the seminary and seminarians, it was unanimous to make them the benefactor of our gift.”

Providing support for seminarians has been a priority of the Knights almost from the day the Toronto Council opened its doors in 1909.

For Turner, the council’s 61st Grand Knight, the gift has special meaning. He was baptized at Our Lady of Victory parish and remains a member there. Growing up he remembers the parish always having two priests. Today, the parish often has to call in help to assist the parish’s one priest.

“It’s the same in many parishes,” Turner said. “There is a shortage of priests... They need our help.”

Turner says the endowment is to be used to provide financial support for seminarians and will be managed by the archdiocese of Toronto.

“From the Supreme Council on down, the priesthood and support of vocations has always been high on our list of priorities,” Turner said.

The 100th anniversary dinner will be held at Le Parc Banquet Hall in Markham. Tickets are $100 and are available from Pat Francis at (416) 767-9579.

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