Knights Of Peter Claver, Inc Appoints New Junior Supreme Knight & Junior Supreme Lady
New Orleans, LA, July 25, 2005 - The Junior Knights
and Junior Daughters of the Knights of Peter Claver recently held their 16th
Biennial Junior National Convention in New Orleans at the Hyatt Regency Hotel.
The theme for the Junior National Convention was "Claverism: God's Gift to
Youth". Over 1.300 young people from around the country attended the four day
conference focusing on prayer, worship and spiritual enlightenment.
During the convention, John Coleman,
seventeen, was elected as the National Junior Supreme Knight and
Gabrielle Deculus, sixteen, was elected as the National Junior Supreme
Lady. Both will serve two year terms.
 John
is the son of James and Bertha Coleman of Lake Charles, LA. John's
parents are also active in the Knights of Peter Claver and the Ladies
Auxiliary. John is a senior at Washington Marion Senior High School in
Lake Charles and is a parishioner of Sacred Heart Catholic Church. John
has previously held other offices with the Junior Knights including Past
President of the Louisiana State Delegation of the Junior Knights and as
a Lay Board Member for the State of Louisiana.
 Gabrielle
is the daughter of Louis Deculus, Jr. and Ramona Deculus, who are also
members of the Knights of Peter Claver and the Ladies Auxiliary.
Gabrielle attends Tara High School in Baton Rouge, LA and is a member of
Immaculate Conception Catholic Church. She has been very active in the
Junior Daughters having previously served two terms as First Vice
President for the State of Louisiana Delegation and as the former Junior
Grand Lady for her local Chapter of the Junior Daughters.
John and Gabrielle both expressed what an
honor it is to serve in their respective positions. "I am truly humbled
by the outpouring of support I have received from my fellow Junior
Knights and will do my best to further the mission of the Knights of
Peter Claver", said John Coleman, newly elected Junior Supreme Knight.
The newly elected Junior Supreme Lady, Gabrielle Deculus, said, "I look
forward to serving and representing our noble order as we strive for
'selfless service' as demonstrated by our patron, Saint Peter Claver".
KPC Junior Officers/3
National Counselor for the Junior Daughters
is Lady Elsa R. Phillips and serving as Director General for the Junior
Knights is Brother James A. Coleman. Honorable Arthur C. McFarland,
CEO/Supreme Knight and Mrs. Mary L. Briers, Supreme Lady are the leaders
of the Knights of Peter Claver and Ladies Auxiliary.
Athanase J. Jones, Jr., the Executive
Director for the Knights of Peter Claver, said, "I'm proud of our newly
elected Junior Supreme Officers. They are highly talented and very
capable future leaders. I know they will do well."
About the Knights of Peter Claver
The Knights of Peter Claver, Inc. is the
nation's largest African-American Catholic lay organization. The Order
was founded on Nov. 7, 1909, in Mobile, AL for Black men who had no
significant organizational role in the Catholic Church. The Order is
named after St. Peter Claver, a Jesuit priest from Spain who ministered
to African slaves in Cartegena, Colombia, South America in the 1600s.
Peter Claver is said to have converted over 300,000 slaves to
Catholicism.
The Knights of Peter Claver is a parish
based fraternal order with units in more than 300 predominately African
American parishes in the United States. The Order engages in a variety
of church and community service projects. It also supports charitable
appeals of many national and international organizations such as the
NAACP and the United Negro College Fund, Catholic elementary and
secondary schools and Xavier University in New Orleans. The U.S.
Conference of Catholic Bishops recently renewed a grant to the
organization to continue the National Environmental Health and Justice
Literacy Project, a program designed to educate citizens of poor
communities about environmental health hazards. The Knights of Peter
Claver is a member of the worldwide International Alliance of Catholic
Knights.
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