The Knights of Columbus (KofC) are seeking 8th grade to 12 grade teens willing to express themselves in writing about staying connected to their Catholic Faith and the community. We are holding a Catholic Citizenship Essay Contest. The deadline for submissions is October 29, during the Halloween Party.

This contest encourages today’s youth to be more connected to their community and their faith. The goal of this program is to involve young Catholics in grades 8 to 12 (public, private, parochial or home schools during the current school year) in civic discourse and instill in them religious and life-affirming values.

The essay should be 500-750 words. The topic for this year is:

The office of the papacy was established by Jesus Christ nearly 2,000 years ago when He chose St. Peter to lead His Church on earth. Out of the 267 popes that have led the Catholic Church, who are your three favorite popes and why?

Entrants will be judged on grammar, style, and how clearly they present the theme in a way that showcases creativity, imagination and overall development of the topic. Note, the essays submitted are expected to be original teen thoughts, do not use Artificial Intelligence (AI) generated documents, no ChatGPT, Google AI, or any other version of AI.

If your teen is interested in participating, please print and fill out the attached form. All entries must be typed and printed. DO NOT put the teen's name on the essay. It will only be listed on the entry form.

The teens essay will compete locally at the Council level. For each grade, 8th to 12th, there will be a 1st place, 2nd place, and 3rd place.

Each has the following prize: 

• 1st place  $50 per teen, grade 8th to 12th
• 2nd place $30 per teen, grade 8th to 12th
• 3rd place  $20 per teen, grade 8th to 12th

The winners, by age group, would then compete at our District, then at the Florida State level, and finally at the National level. Last year, we had two OLV teens compete and win at the Florida state level.

For further information, please contact me at [email protected].

God bless,

Mr. Arnie