Pope John Paul II, with Vatican and KofC dignitaries, views the mobile television studio funded by the Knights of Columbus.
Knights of Columbus and their families are encouraged to watch this year’s Midnight Mass broadcast from the Vatican on Dec. 24 at 11:35 p.m. ET on NBC. Check your area NBC affiliate for local times. Since 1975, the Knights have underwritten the cost of the satellite “uplink,” for the Vatican’s annual Midnight Mass on Christmas.
The Christmas Midnight Mass will also be telecast twice on CatholicTV. The first broadcast will be at 11 p.m. on Christmas Eve, the second at 7 a.m. on Christmas Day.
In 1975 the Knights entered into an arrangement with the Holy See to provide for the worldwide televising of the pope via satellite. The Knights agreed to a request from the Pontifical Commission for Social Communications to fund the televising programming from the Vatican each year, of several events including the Christmas Midnight Mass.
In 1978 the Knights underwrote the cost of televising the funeral of Pope Paul VI, and Pope John Paul I. And in 2005, under Supreme Knight Carl Anderson, the Knights worked with the Pontifical Council to provide the live satellite feed for the funeral of Pope John Paul II.
This year will also mark the 25th year that Cardinal John Foley – a member of the Knights Columbus and Grand Master of the Order of the Holy Sepulcher – will do the English-language commentary. A regular attendee at the Supreme Convention, Cardinal Foley told the attendees of the 125th Supreme Convention: “[Y]ou know that you have made and continue to make possible one of the most effective and popular forms of evangelization in existence today. You are truly bringing Christ to the world, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
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