Michael Knowles, Catholic author, political commentator, and Daily Wire host, highlighted the accomplishments throughout the 250-year journey of Catholicism in the United States during his keynote address at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast.
About 1,500 guests, including about a dozen Catholic U.S. lawmakers, attended the 21st annual breakfast held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., on March 19.
U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, a Protestant, and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, a Catholic, both Republicans from Louisiana, also spoke. Former apostolic nuncio Cardinal Christophe Pierre addressed attendees via video, and Pope Leo XIV and President Donald Trump provided written messages.
Michael Knowles, Catholic author, political commentator, and Daily Wire host, addresses the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C., on March 19, 2026. | Credit: Tessa Gervasini/EWTN News
Claire Lai, daughter of imprisoned pro-democracy advocate Jimmy Lai, took the stage at the event, receiving a standing ovation. She provided an update on her father and discussed the work U.S. officials have done to win his release from prison after Lai was found guilty of violations of China’s national security laws.
Knowles spoke about Catholicism at the founding of the United States in the context of the upcoming celebration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. He noted that Catholics faced forms of discrimination early on but argued the country was well suited for Catholicism to flourish.
“Here we find ourselves, a quarter millennium later, a people and a place so improbably and perfectly suited for each other that not only can a Catholic become president, but an American can even be the pope,” Knowles said.
Knowles noted that many states had laws that restricted Catholics from holding office, and the anti-Catholic Know-Nothing Party had a strong foothold in certain parts of the country, but Catholics since have achieved representation in Congress, among recent White Houses, and in the Supreme Court.
“If you count vice presidents and first ladies, we have now had baptized Catholics in the White House for 17 consecutive years,” he said. “What a surprise it must be to the ardent Calvinists who settled our country that America would come not only to tolerate Catholics, not only to appreciate the contributions of Catholics, but even to elect them.”
Pope sends greetings
Pope Leo XIV addressed the breakfast through a letter delivered by Archbishop Emeritus Joseph Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas, in which the Holy Father offered his “cordial greetings and good wishes” to all those gathered.
“You have gathered for fellowship as well as to pray for the United States,” Leo wrote. “The tradition of interceding for one’s own nation goes back to biblical times,” he added, citing the writings of St. Paul.
Pierre also highlighted the importance of prayer for the country, especially “at a time when we are witnessing grave tensions and violence in different parts of the world.”
Vince Haley, a Catholic and director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, delivered the message from Trump that referenced the president’s statement issued March 19. “Today, I’m also proud to be the first president to honor the feast of St. Joseph, in recognition of one of the greatest saints to ever live,” Trump wrote.
Scalise recalled when he was shot in 2017 and spoke about the importance of his Catholic faith and the need to “understand the power of prayer.”
“I turned to prayer,” Scalise said. “I started praying and put that burden in God’s hands; the weight of the world was lifted.”
Though he knew death was possible, and he prayed that he would not die, Scalise said he knew that “if this was the day and this was the plan, then it was up to me to just get right with God.”
“Prayer is such a powerful thing because it’s a direct conversation with God, and God is listening,” he said.
Republican U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson addresses the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C., on March 19, 2026. | Credit: EWTN News/Screenshot
Johnson, who was recently criticized by Santa Fe, New Mexico, Archbishop John C. Wester for putting forth a biblical defense of Trump’s mass deportation efforts, said during the 250th anniversary of the country, it’s important to “reflect on the essential role that faith plays and has always played” and said the nation is “sustained by prayer.”
“It is in the DNA of our nation and who we are,” he said.
Tessa Gervasini contributed to this story.
