Carl A. Anderson

Past Supreme Knight

Carl A. Anderson served as supreme knight from 2000 to 2021, leading the Knights of Columbus to unprecedented levels of charitable giving and support for their communities and the Catholic Church. During his tenure, the Order grew to more than 2 million members, provided more than 700 million hours of volunteer service and made $1.5 billion in charitable donations. The Order’s fraternal activities were modernized, including the introduction of online membership and outreach initiatives to promote membership among Hispanic Catholics in the United States. Activities expanded in Mexico and the Philippines, and the first jurisdictions were established in Europe with new councils in Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine and France, as well as on the mainland of Asia in South Korea.

He strengthened the spiritual identity of the Order, dedicating the Knights of Columbus to Our Lady of Guadalupe in 2001 and leading efforts which culminated in the beatification of Father Michael McGivney in 2020.

Mr. Anderson oversaw consistently strong growth in the Knights’ financial resources. From 2000 to 2020, life insurance in force grew from $40.4 billion to more than $113 billion. Assets under management increased from $8 billion to $26 billion. As part of his strategic modernization initiatives, Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors was launched, including a family of eight ethically-screened mutual funds and a donor-advised fund, making the Knights of Columbus one of America’s premier faith-based investment solutions for individual and institutional investors.

Before becoming the leader of the Knights of Columbus, Mr. Anderson had a distinguished career as a public servant and educator. He worked in the White House in various positions, including as acting director of the White House Office of Public Liaison and an advisor to President Ronald Reagan on Catholic and pro-life concerns. He also served for a decade as a member of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. He taught family law at the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family at the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome, and was the founding vice president and first dean of a new session of this graduate school of theology in Washington, D.C.

Mr. Anderson is the author of the New York Times bestseller, A Civilization of Love: What Every Catholic Can Do To Transform The World; co-author (with Msgr. Eduardo Chávez) of Our Lady of Guadalupe: Mother of the Civilization of Love, also a New York Times bestseller; co-editor (with Msgr. Livio Melina) of The Way of Love: Reflections on Pope Benedict XVI’s Encyclical Deus Caritas Est; co-author (with Rev. José Granados) of Called to Love: Approaching John Paul II’s Theology of the Body; and author of Beyond a House Divided: The Moral Consensus Ignored by Washington, Wall Street and the Media; These Liberties We Hold Sacred: Essays on Faith and Citizenship in the 21^st Century; and Conscience as a Political Problem: Faith, Culture and Christian Statesmanship. His books have been translated into eight languages.

Pope John Paul II appointed Mr. Anderson as a member of the Pontifical Academy for Life (1998) and the Pontifical Council for the Laity (2002), and as a consultor to the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace (2003). Pope Benedict XVI appointed him as a consultor to the Pontifical Council for Social Communications (2007) and as a member of the Pontifical Council for the Family (2008). He was reappointed to the Pontifical Academy for Life by Pope Francis (2017). He was a member of the Vatican delegation for the Fifteenth Meeting of the International Jewish Liaison Committee held in Jerusalem (1994).

In addition, Mr. Anderson served as a consultant to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) committees on pro-life activities, religious liberty, marriage, and against racism. He currently serves as a consultant to the USCCB International Justice and Peace Committee.

Mr. Anderson is a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Sylvester, the Order of St. Gregory the Great and the Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.

He serves as a trustee emeritus of The Catholic University of America and the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. He has received honorary doctorates from The Catholic University of America, the Pontifical Theology Academy of Krakow, St. Vincent’s Seminary, St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, Sacred Heart Seminary, Albertus Magnus College, Sacred Heart University, Ave Maria University, Ave Maria University School of Law, Thomas More College, John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, and Divine Mercy University.

Mr. Anderson is the recipient of many honors including the Imago Dei Award, Archdiocese of Denver (2005); the Canterbury Medal, Becket Fund for Religious Liberty (2007); the Servant of Peace Award, Holy See Mission to the United Nations (2007); the Rector’s Award, Pontifical North American College, Rome (2008); the John Carroll Society Award (2009); the Lupa Capitolina Award, City of Rome (2009); the John Cardinal O’Connor Award, Sisters of Life (2009); the Evangelium Vitae Medal, University of Notre Dame (2015); the Path to Peace Award, Holy See Mission to the United Nations (2016); the St. Thomas Aquinas Medallion, Thomas Aquinas College (2022); and the Lumen Vitae Award of St. Benedict Abbey (2026).

After joining Potomac Council 433 in Washington, D.C., he served as grand knight, district deputy, state advocate, state secretary and state deputy of the District of Columbia. From 1987 to 1997, he served as the Order’s vice president for public policy. He went on to serve as assistant supreme secretary and then supreme secretary, until his election as supreme knight.

Mr. Anderson led the Knights of Columbus in a variety of charitable endeavors including:

Establishing the Heroes Fund to provide immediate assistance to the families of first responders who lost their lives in the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001.
Creating the $2 million Pacem in Terris Fund, to assist the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem in supporting the Christian community in the Holy Land.
Printing and donating more than half a million Catholic prayer books for U.S. military personnel.
Giving the gift of mobility by providing wheelchairs to tens of thousands of people in need in Afghanistan, Argentina, Canada, Colombia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, Jordan, Mexico, Morocco, Oman, Panama, the Philippines, Poland, Ukraine, the United States, and Vietnam.
Establishing the Villa Maria Guadalupe retreat center in Stamford, Conn., with the Sisters of Life.
Raising close to $10 million to help rebuild Catholic churches and schools in the U.S. Gulf Coast in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Establishing McGivney Hall on the campus of The Catholic University of America as the new home of the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family.
Creating the Knights of Columbus Ultrasound Initiative which has donated more than 2,000 ultrasound machines to crisis pregnancy resource centers in all 50 states.
Establishing the Knights of Columbus Coats for Kids program which has provided new winter coats to low-income children.
Creating the Healing Haiti’s Children program, which provided approximately 1,000 prosthetic limbs in the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake that devastated Haiti.
Purchasing the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center in Washington, D.C., to establish the Saint John Paul II National Shrine, a permanent memorial that houses a world-class museum dedicated to John Paul II’s life, pontificate and teaching.
Expanding educational opportunities for AIDS orphans in Kenya and Uganda, in cooperation with the Apostles of Jesus.
Launching the Christian Refugee Relief Fund, a charitable fund that has raised more than $35 million to benefit persecuted Christians in the Middle East.
Co-sponsoring Warriors to Lourdes with the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA — an annual pilgrimage of wounded veterans and military personnel to the annual International Military Pilgrimage (PMI) to Lourdes, France.
Creating the Native Solidarity Initiative to honor the religious heritage of Indigenous Catholics in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Mr. Anderson holds degrees in philosophy from Seattle University and in law from the University of Denver. He is a member of the bar of the District of Columbia and is admitted to practice law before the U.S. Supreme Court.

He and his wife, Dorian, are the parents of five children.