The Knights of Columbus have announced that its local councils have surpassed $100 million in financial support for seminarians, postulants, and novices through its Refund Support Vocations Program (RSVP).

“For more than 40 years, RSVP has supported tens of thousands of men and women as they answer the Lord’s call to serve the Church and the people of God,” Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly stated in a Nov. 8 release. “Our support for vocations speaks to the love Knights of Columbus have for the Eucharist, our parishes, and the Church.”

Founded in 1981, RSVP provides aid to seminarians and entrants into religious life so they can continue to discern their vocations despite financial burdens such as outstanding student loan debt. 

The Knights of Columbus encourage local councils and parishes to raise money for seminarians in the area — for every $500 a local council distributes to an individual, the Supreme Council refunds the local council $100.

Additionally, local councils are required to provide nonfinancial support to seminarians and religious, whether through personal visits, correspondence, or invitations to council events. 

Financial support for vocations is a special cause for the Knights of Columbus, whose founder, Blessed Michael McGivney, had almost been forced to leave the seminary due to financial pressure in the wake of his father’s death. Had it not been for the “crucial financial support” from the bishop of Hartford, Kelly pointed out, “the Knights of Columbus would not exist.” 

“RSVP and our other vocation scholarships are really our way of paying that forward and supporting the next generation of priests and religious,” Kelly stated. 

The Connecticut-born priest and founder of the Knights was beatified in October 2020. Pope Francis wrote in an apostolic letter at the time that McGivney’s “zeal for the proclamation of the Gospel and generous concern for his brothers and sisters [had] made him an outstanding witness of Christian solidarity and fraternal assistance.”

McGivney originally founded the Knights of Columbus in 1882 as a small fraternal benefit society to serve his community in New Haven, Connecticut, which was largely composed of working-class immigrant families. 

Today, the Knights of Columbus have more than 2.1 million members in over 16,800 local councils around the world.