Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly - The Eucharistic Heart of a Father

This speech was given on Oct. 21, 2023 at the New York State Eucharistic Congress, held at the Shrine of Our Lady of Martyrs in Auriesville, New York.
Patrick E. Kelly is the 14th Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus, the world’s largest Catholic fraternal service organization, with more than 2 million members internationally. Mr. Kelly previously served as Deputy Supreme Knight and Vice President for Public Policy for 11 years. He was the first executive director of the Saint John Paul II National Shrine in Washington, D.C. Prior to his leadership roles in the Knights, he was Senior Advisor to the Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom at the State Department. He also held legal advisory roles on the House Intelligence Committee and in the Department of Justice, where he specialized in counterterrorism and national security. Mr. Kelly served in the United States Navy for 24 years as a Judge Advocate General, as Commanding Officer of the international law unit at the U.S. Naval War College, on the staff of the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations and aboard the USS Guam as the Staff Judge Advocate for Amphibious Squadron Two. He serves as consultant to the USCCB's Committees on Pro-life Activities, on Religious Liberty, on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth, and Against Racism of the United States Conference. He was the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the March for Life from 2012-2021. He holds a master’s degree in theology from the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family at CUA, a law degree from Marquette University Law School and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Marquette. He and his wife, Vanessa, have three daughters and live in Connecticut.