A mix of rain and snow throughout the New York area did not stop more than 2,000 people from participating in the annual Mass for Life at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral in Midtown Manhattan, including a significant Knights of Columbus contingent and members of the Sisters of Life.  

Principal celebrant Cardinal Timothy Dolan followed a Knights color guard that featured members from New York and New Jersey. Concelebrating with Cardinal Dolan were Father Enrique Salvo, rector of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Father Philip Brown, president and rector of St. Mary’s Seminary and University in Baltimore, Monsignor Luke Sweeney, vice rector of St. Joseph’s Seminary, and Father Brian McWeeney, New York State associate chaplain for the Knights of Columbus.  

“Thanks again, beloved Knights, for all you do for Jesus, and thank you to the Sisters of Life,” Cardinal Dolan said in his opening remarks.  

During his homily, Cardinal Dolan referred to the “Litany of the Letter ‘C,’” a series of words that begin with the letter “C” such as call, convert, change, cure, and conquer. “He chased Satan away. He calmed storms that threatened to capsize. He was unjustly condemned,” he said, giving examples from the life of Jesus, “the Christ,” another C.  

“Twenty centuries have come and gone, and today this Jesus is the central figure of the human race, the leader of humanity’s progress. All the armies that have ever marched, all the navies that have ever sailed, all the Congresses that have ever sat, all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of mankind on earth as much as that one, solitary life,” Cardinal Dolan said.  

Leadership of the Columbiettes, a Catholic women’s organization founded by a New York Knights of Columbus chaplain in 1939, presented the gifts.  

Cardinal Dolan accepts Knights’ donation, presents award to Father McWeeney 

Following Mass, Cardinal Dolan greeted the Knights of Columbus color guard, the New York State Supreme Council, and Columbiettes’ leadership in the St. Patrick’s Cathedral Lady Chapel. The Knights presented the Archdiocese of New York with a $10,000 donation in support of vocations.  

Cardinal Dolan then took time to recognize Father McWeeney for his work as the director of the Office of Ecumenical and Interreligious Dialogue for the Archdiocese of New York. Cardinal Dolan and Father Ryan Muldoon, the current director of the archdiocesan office, presented Father McWeeney with the 2025 James E. Fitzgerald Award, given by the Catholic Association of Diocesan Ecumenical and Interreligious Officers. Father McWeeney received the award “for outstanding contribution and service in the work of Christian Unity and Interreligious understanding.”