Knights of Columbus to Provide Tribute for Pope's Yankee Stadium Mass

'Monument Park' Plaque Continues Organization's Relationship, Cooperation With Papacy

NEW YORK, April 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Yankee Stadium will have a lasting memorial of Pope Benedict XVI's April 20 Mass there, courtesy of the Knights of Columbus. The New York ballpark will permanently commemorate the occasion with a bronze plaque commissioned by the Catholic fraternal organization, based in nearby New Haven, Conn. The pontiff is expected to bless the plaque in a private ceremony before the Mass.

In 1953, the Knights of Columbus acquired the acreage on which Yankee Stadium is built. It was sold to the city of New York upon the stadium's refurbishment in the 1970s. New York Gov. (and U.S. presidential candidate) Al Smith, a Knight of Columbus, threw out the ceremonial first pitch at Yankee Stadium's inaugural game, April 18, 1923. Yankee slugger and Hall of Famer Babe Ruth was a Knight of Columbus, and hit the stadium's first home run. Retired Yankee and Cy Young Award winner Ron Guidry is also a Knight. Both players' numbers (Ruth's #3 and Guidry's #49) have been retired and are a part of the Monument Park display, which will be relocated to the new stadium upon its completion.

The 105-pound papal plaque, which is 39.5 inches tall and 27 inches wide, will be located in Yankee Stadium's Monument Park, along with plaques memorializing Masses celebrated there by Pope Paul VI (Oct. 4, 1965) and Pope John Paul II (Oct. 2, 1979), also gifts of the Knights of Columbus. The Benedict XVI plaque was crafted by United States Bronze of New Hyde Park, N.Y.

The pope's Mass will mark the 200th anniversary of the Archdiocese of New York, which was erected as a diocese (along with the Archdioceses of Boston, Philadelphia and Louisville) April 8, 1808 by Pope Pius VII. The event will conclude Pope Benedict's six-day trip to the United States, which also included visits to the White House and a Mass at Nationals Park in Washington, DC, and an address to the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

The Knights of Columbus has enjoyed a close relationship with the papacy for much of its 126-year history and has provided regular support to the Vatican and assistance to papal initiatives. Among such significant contributions, a Knights of Columbus delegation in 1920 was granted an audience with Pope Benedict XV. Shortly after, in response to a request from Pope Benedict, the K of C established five recreation centers for youth in Rome from 1924-1927. In 1985, the organization presented a mobile television production unit to Vatican Television for broadcasting papal ceremonies. Later that year, the Knights of Columbus agreed to underwrite the restoration of the 65,000-square-foot facade of St. Peter's Basilica. Several subsequent projects have taken place at St. Peter's, including the creation or restoration of chapels within the basilica's grottoes.

The K of C, together with the Diocese of Brooklyn, cosponsored Pope John Paul II's Mass at the Aqueduct race track during his 1995 visit to the United States. Through its "Vicarius Christi" fund the organization makes an annual contribution to the pope in support of his charitable initiatives. Cumulative contributions from this fund exceed $41 million.

The Knights of Columbus is the world's largest Catholic fraternal family service organization with nearly 1,750,000 members in the Americas, the Caribbean, the Philippines, Poland and Guam. Last year, Knights contributed more than $143 million and 68 million volunteer hours to charitable causes.

Photos available at:
http://www.kofc.org/un/eb/en/images/1965_papal_plaque.jpg

Source: Knights of Columbus

CONTACT: Peter Sonski, +1-203-410-4693, for Knights of Columbus

2008-04-20 07:41:36 0339985 PRNEWSWIRE