'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

    http://www.kofc.org/un/eb/en/images/1979_papal_plaque.jpg

    http://www.kofc.org/un/eb/en/images/2008_papal_plaque.jpg

Link to this page: