Virgil C. Dechant (September 24, 1930 – February 15, 2020) was the twelfth Supreme Knight of the

Knights of Columbus The Knights of Columbus (K of C) is a global Catholic Church, Catholic Fraternal and service organizations, fraternal service order founded by Michael J. McGivney, Blessed Michael J. McGivney. Membership is limited to practicing Catholic men. ...

, a position he held from January 21, 1977, to September 30, 2000.

Biography

Dechant was born September 24, 1930, in Antonino,

Ellis County, Kansas Ellis County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat and most populous city is Hays. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 28,934. The county was named for George Ellis, a first lieutenant of the Twelfth ...

, and lived in

Leawood, Kansas Leawood () is a city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States, and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 33,902. History 19th century After the 1803 Louisiana Purchase, the are ...

. His ancestors were German-Russians from the Mariental region. He and his wife Ann L. Dechant had four children and 12 grandchildren. Prior to joining the

in 1967 in the role of Supreme Secretary, Dechant worked as a farmer and a farm equipment salesperson. He also owned a car dealership. Dechant served as the vice president of the

Vatican Bank Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...

, a Gentleman of His Holiness, and a Councillor on the State Council for

Vatican City Vatican City, officially the Vatican City State (; ), is a Landlocked country, landlocked sovereign state and city-state; it is enclaved within Rome, the capital city of Italy and Bishop of Rome, seat of the Catholic Church. It became inde ...

. He had the honor of escorting President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

to the funeral of Pope

John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

. Dechant stepped down as Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus on September 30, 2000, at the age of seventy after serving the longest term ever by a Supreme Knight. He was succeeded by

Carl A. Anderson Carl Albert Anderson (born February 27, 1951) is an American lawyer who served as the thirteenth Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus from October 2000 until his retirement in February 2021. Anderson is the vice president of the Washi ...

. Dechant died on February 15, 2020, at the age of 89.

Distinctions

Knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

Grand Cross Grand Cross is the highest class in many orders, and manifested in its insignia. Exceptionally, the highest class may be referred to as Grand Cordon or equivalent. In other cases, there may exist a rank even higher than Grand Cross, e.g. Gran ...

of the

Order of Pope Pius IX The Order of Pope Pius IX (), also referred as the Pian Order (, ), is a papal order of knighthood originally founded by Pope Pius IV in 1560. It is the highest honor currently conferred by the Holy See (two higher honors, the Supreme Order of C ...

* Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of St. Gregory the Great The Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great (; ) was established on 1 September 1831, by Pope Gregory XVI, seven months after his election as Pope. The order is one of the five Papal order of knighthood, orders of knighthood of th ...

* Knight of Magistral Grace of the

Sovereign Military Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, and commonly known as the Order of Malta or the Knights of Malta, is a Catholic lay religious ...

* Knight of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem * Cross of Merit with Gold Star of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem *

National Right to Life The National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) is the oldest and largest national anti-abortion organization in the United States with affiliates in all 50 states and more than 3,000 local chapters nationwide. Since the 1980s, NRLC has influenc ...

award along with Senator

Jesse Helms Jesse Alexander Helms Jr. (October 18, 1921 – July 4, 2008) was an American politician. A leader in the Conservatism in the United States, conservative movement, he served as a senator from North Carolina from 1973 to 2003. As chairman of the ...

(1998) * Gaudium and Spes Medal of the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dechant, Virgil 1930 births 2020 deaths People from Ellis County, Kansas People from Kansas City, Kansas American bankers Roman Catholic activists Papal chamberlains Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Pope Pius IX Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Gregory the Great Papal gentlemen Supreme Knights of the Knights of Columbus Members of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre People from Leawood, Kansas Catholics from Kansas American people of German-Russian descent