Saint George Knights of Columbus make a tribute to the unborn children with memorial monument

Friday, Dec. 11, 2015

ST. GEORGE — Father Oscar Martin Picos, pastor of St. George Parish, dedicated a memorial monument in memory of the unborn children of abortion Dec. 6.

The St. George Knights of Columbus Bishop Scanlan Assembly 2393 worked for more than three years on the memorial monument project “to speak about life, and it is important for the parish as a whole,” said Fr. Picos. “It is a good sign for the people of St. George to see as they drive by the church. Many of them are not Catholic and they will see that we, as a church, are pro-life and we embrace life. I know that some will not agree with us, and maybe one of these nights the monument might be painted with graffiti, but it doesn’t matter. What matters is that it gives the message of life from the Gospel.”  

The sandstone monument is etched with the depiction of a newborn baby cradled in the hands of God and “is in a very prominent place in front of the church where it will draw attention; people will know where we stand,” said Knight of Columbus David Arndt, who led the Knights in designing the marker. “We wanted to do this project to show our support for the unborn children, the victims of abortion.”

“If it will save just one life, it will all be worth everything we did for it,” said John Soucy, who served as the Knights’ Faithful Navigator from 2013-2015, when the concept for the memorial monument came about.

The Knights of Columbus have four degrees. The first three degrees make up the council: Charity, Unity and Fraternity, respectively. The fourth degree is the Assembly, which is patriotism, the visible portion of the Knights of Columbus, those who can be seen wearing the regalia for funerals, Confirmations or during First Holy Communion Mass celebrations, said Soucy.

St. George Parish has a Knights of Columbus Council and Assembly. 

About three years ago the St. George Knights of Columbus Council took over the cause to raise funds for the memorial monument, but also became involved in raising funds for an ultrasound machine with the St. George pro-life group for the Pregnancy Resource Center, said Soucy. “That put the memorial monument on the shelf,” he said. “Then two years ago Dave and I were passionate about making the concept of the monument a reality and we put our full-time concentrated efforts together; the Assembly took over finding ways to raise funds for the monument. Dave was very instrumental in getting people involved and figuring out a lot of the details.” 

One of the ways the Fourth Degree Knights of Columbus Assembly raised the money for the memorial marker was by having John and Mary Kay Soucy host the Knights’ December social dinners two years at their home.

“We couldn’t have done it without my wife,” said Soucy. “I don’t know how she cooked two full-course meals complete with hors d’oeuvres, two main courses and a dessert for 28 people one year and 36 people the next. Our house isn’t that big and she wouldn’t turn anyone away. God was good to us and we raised enough money for the memorial.”