2023 marks the 63rd year of the program which began in 1960 to honor the Blessed Virgin under her title of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Americas. The program has continued since then as a project of Knights of Columbus councils and Fourth Degree assemblies in several jurisdictions.

In 2001, then Supreme Knight Carl Anderson expanded the program by beginning the “Running of the Rose” from the 119th Annual Meeting of the Supreme Council in Toronto. This is “a perfect program for the Knights of Columbus,” said Supreme Knight Anderson. “Through it we honor not only Our Lady of Guadalupe and express the unity of the Order, but we also reaffirm the Order’s dedication to the sanctity of human life. It is to the Blessed Mother that we turn in prayer as we work to end the Culture of Death that grips our society. As we think in terms of ‘One Life, One Rose,’ it is most appropriate that we turn to Our Lady of Guadalupe who made known her will through Juan Diego and the miracle of the roses.”

Today, eight Silver Roses travel through North America exemplifying Knights of Columbus devotion to Our Lady and commitment to the Culture of Life.

Additional information about the Silver Rose can be found on KofC.org