Knights will buy cultural centre, establish shrine to late Pope

(August 04, 2011) Supreme Knight Carl Anderson announced August 2^nd that the Knights of Columbus will purchase the Pope John Paul II Cultural Centre in Washington. The announcement came during the business session of the Knights' 129th annual convention August 2-4. Anderson, delivering his annual report, said that over the next year, the fraternal organization will build a shrine to Blessed John Paul and put up related exhibits on the property. "True to Pope John Paul II's vision, and using the story of his life as inspiration, the shrine will be an opportunity to evangelize and spread the good news of the Gospel through a new evangelization," he said. The centre, which went up for sale about 18 months ago, sits on 12 acres just steps from the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception and The Catholic University of America. The Knights of Columbus will reportedly pay $22 million for the centre, of which $20 million will go to the Archdiocese of Detroit. This amount will enable the archdiocese to pay off $18 million in loans still due on the building constructed. The current head of the Detroit archdiocese, Archbishop Allen Vigneron, said of the sale: "I am most grateful to the Knights for stepping forward to make this transaction a reality." The Knights of Columbus announced plans to expand the Centre’s exhibits and preserve it as a museum dedicated to the late Pontiff.