July 30, 2025 Editor’s note: The following is the first installment of what’s intended to be an occasional column from New York State Knights of Colubmus Upstate Conference Coordinator for Evangelization and Faith Formation Mike Langlois, a member of St. Augustine’s Council 7273 in Peru, New York. By Mike Langlois In November 2023, I was in my first year as grand knight for St. Augustine’s Council 7273, Peru, when an article in the Knights of Columbus’ Columbia magazine piqued my interest. The article, “At the Heart of Our Mission,” described a pilot of a new Supreme Council men’s faith-based program, Cor. The magazine piece focused on about two dozen men from St. Mary Magdalen Council 12295 in Brighton, Michigan, taking the bold step of reengaging Catholic men to the Knights’ faith roots. Now, I am a cradle Catholic who attended 12 years of Catholic school, and my parents made sure our family was at Mass each Sunday. Still, I drifted away from the Church for much of my adult life. In time, I learned that God, not me, was running the show, and I’d better get with the plan. Slowly, through His grace, the desire to build my prayer life and return to the Church had taken a firm hold. In 2019, I put my “faith into action” and joined my local Knights of Columbus council. After reading the Columbia article, I realized that the Cor program was an opportunity for our council to reacquaint ourselves to, and deepen, our faith. The name Cor is taken from the motto of St. John Henry Newman, Cor ad cor loquitur, which is Latin for “Heart speaks to heart.” Cor exists to form and strengthen Catholic men in faith and virtue as missionary disciples by drawing them into a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ through prayer, formation, and fraternity. What is great about the Cor meetings is that each council can determine how to fulfill the program’s guidelines. Meetings, usually held weekly or monthly, cover any faith topic relevant to a particular council. Ideally, the Cor program leader, the council’s faith director or any member the grand knight appoints to the position, will poll the meeting attendees for potential topics. A good option is to choose timely topics from the Church’s Liturgical Calendar. No matter which topics a council chooses for a Cor meeting, it is important to keep the meetings informal to encourage meaningful faith-based conversation. In fact, you’d be surprised by the various directions a meeting can go when in a relaxed atmosphere. Since January 2024, when Council 7273 began its first Cor meeting, topics have included Lent, Easter, forgiveness, Eucharistic Miracles, an explanation of the Mass, Lectio Divina, Marian apparitions, and St. Faustina and the Divine Mercy, to name a few. It’s important to note that a council seeking to institute Cor must involve the pastor and seek his permission before opening the meeting to the entire parish. For Council 7273, we were fortunate to have the complete support of our parish priest and the council membership to begin the regular Cor meetings. We have had a priest at most of our meetings, and their intimate knowledge of the faith brings a powerful dynamic to the conversation. The program’s three pillars – prayer, formation and fraternity – are met with a beginning and ending prayer (prayer), the topic presentation (formation), and informal conversation (fraternity). My council has averaged between 12 and 22 men at each meeting. The focus should not be on a particular headcount since, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20). Men who have attended Cor meetings say having a safe space to discuss real-world faith issues with like-minded men has reinforced their relationship to the Church. Essentially, the Cor meetings address the challenges of faith retention and spiritual isolation by creating small group settings where men can deepen their relationship with Christ. Cor meetings are open to all men of the parish, and it is not a prerequisite to be a Knight of Columbus. In fact, the opening of these critical faith conversations can attract men who have, for their own reasons, distanced themselves from the church. According to the U.S. Census Bureau for 2024, there were roughly 53 million Catholic adults nationwide. A Pew Research poll conducted in March 2025 found that only three-in-10 U.S. Catholics (29%) attend Mass weekly or more often. The same poll found that nearly six-in-10 Catholic adults (58%) are ages 50 and older. The data reveals what Catholics who attend the Mass regularly already know. There is an overall decline in U.S. adults attending weekly church services, and the ones that do are older. The Knights of Columbus are on the front lines with parish pastoral administrators to take risks for social justice, mercy and healing, and evangelization and to bring Jesus to the world. The Cor program can help rebuild the Church by reacquainting – or introducing – men, and their families, to the faith. The Cor meetings allow men to explore the good, the bad, and the ugly of our Catholic faith. Local Knights of Columbus councils should promote the Cor program because it fosters spiritual growth and strengthens council fraternity and, as a healthy by-product, helps to make Catholic men better husbands, fathers, and community members. The Cor member, by way of example, can then be a potential beacon to guide souls back to the church and the Mass. Mike Langlois is the Grand Knight of St. Augustine Knights of Columbus Council 7273 in Peru, New York. He is also the Upstate Conference Coordinator for Evangelization and Faith Formation for the New York State Knights of Columbus, which encompasses the Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, and Ogdensburg dioceses. Local Knights of Columbus councils interested in fortifying the faith of their memberships, or offering column topic ideas, can contact him at mjlang67@gmail.com.
Bringing the program to four dioceses By Darcy Fargo When he first explored bringing the Knights of Columbus Cor program to his council in Peru, Grand Knight Mike Langlois had no idea the inquiry would lead him to a new role within the Catholic fraternal organization. Langlois has been named Upstate Conference coordinator for Evangelization and Faith Formation for the New York State Knights of Columbus. “Back in 2023, when I first saw the article in Columbia magazine, I picked up the phone and called the gentlemen referenced in the article, a guy from Michigan,” Langlois said. “He explained that the program is a very flexible men’s faith-based program. It’s trying to get back to the Knights of Columbus’ roots. He invited me to a couple meetings online.” As he researched the Cor program, he discovered the program was backed by Patrick Kelly, the organization’s supreme knight. “The Knights aren’t just pancake breakfasts and fundraising,” Langlois said. “We want to grow in faith, and we want to share the faith.” He first established the Cor program in Peru in January 2024. “For that kickoff, we had 20 guys show up,” Langlois said. “We average 12 to 18 people at our meetings.” “New York State level saw the success we were having,” Langlois said. “(A state official) said, ‘we’d like you to take a bigger role in it.’” In his new role, Langlois is promoting Cor across a four-diocese region that includes Ogdensburg, Syracuse, Albany and Buffalo dioceses. “We’re hoping to start Cor in more locations,” Langlois said. “It’s my role to serve as a resource as to how it’s done. So if we find an individual, maybe a council faith director or anyone the grand knight feels is capable and willing to commit, and for say six months, I would work with them to help them get the confidence and materials needed to run the program. We have 2,000 years of Catholic material to choose from. There’s no end in sight to the topics.” Langlois noted that Cor leaders don’t have to know all the answers to every question that may arise during each session. “We reference scriptures, and we have a copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church on hand at all times, and we often have a priest we can consult at the meetings,” he said. “Sometimes we may come away with more questions than answers, but that’s ok. God wants us to wrestle with certain topics and consider hard questions.” Langlois said Cor reaches participants where they are. “I’m a cradle Catholic who strayed from the Church for a long time. God had other plans for me,” he said. “Now, I can’t imagine missing Mass or not going to confession or not trying to be a better person. But we’re all at different places in our journey. Someone new may have no idea where they are on their faith journey. And someone who is older may have been taught the catechism in a much different way than we’re taught it today. Everybody agrees – even if we approach it from different places, and no matter what disagreements we have during discussions, we all walk away with something to think about.” Langlois said he looks forward to getting to know Knights and Catholics in the four dioceses in which he’ll be working. “I’m excited to see where it all goes,” he said. |
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