Knights of Columbus hold Memorial Day Mass after National Park Service reverses decision to allow the

Late last week, the National Park Service (NPS), facing a lawsuit, reversed course and allowed the Knights of Columbus to hold a traditional Memorial Day Mass at Poplar Grove National Cemetery in Virginia.

The NPS decision came almost immediately after the Knights of Columbus filed suit in federal court.

Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, who filed a brief in support of the Knights' complaint, issued a statement Thursday responding to the NPS decision.

"I am pleased that the St. Petersburg Knights of Columbus has been granted permission to observe Memorial Day and gather to pray and mourn for fallen service members," said Attorney General Mijares.

"The First Amendment very clearly authorizes religious and non-religious groups to hold such gatherings on state property," Mijares said. "It's shameful and un-American that they were denied at all."

The NPS initially denied the Knights of Columbus' request to hold its annual Memorial Day Mass because it would be an impermissible "demonstration" under the current interpretation of the agency's rules, which have been in place for nearly four decades.

The Knights of Columbus argued in their lawsuit that the denial of the permit violated both the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the Free Exercise Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

The Religious Freedom Restoration Act, passed by Congress in 1993, "prohibits any agency, department, or officer of the United States or of any State (government) from substantially restricting the exercise of religion by any person" unless it "furthers a compelling governmental interest" and "is the least restrictive means of furthering [that interest]."

According to the Knights of Columbus, the NPS's refusal to grant them a permit would be a violation of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the Free Exercise Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

The Religious Freedom Restoration Act, passed by Congress in 1993, "prohibits any agency, department, or officer of the United States or of any State (government) from substantially restricting the exercise of religion by any person" unless it "furthers a compelling governmental interest" and "is the least restrictive means of furthering [that interest]."

[RELATED: Knights of Columbus sues National Park Service after being denied permission to hold Memorial Day Mass ]

"For more than half a century, the Knights have expressed their patriotism to the United States and their appreciation and reverence for our nation's veterans by holding their annual Memorial Day Mass at Poplar Grove National Cemetery in Petersburg, Virginia," the Knights of Columbus' complaint states.

"That suddenly changed last year, in 2023, when the NPS abruptly withdrew permission for the Knights to continue their long-standing tradition of holding their annual Memorial Day Mass on the grounds of the National Cemetery," the group said.

Although the celebration has been allowed for decades, the NPS is relying on a new 2022 memorandum from the director of the National Park Service that the Knights' celebration will henceforth be classified as a prohibited "demonstration" under NPS regulations because it is a "religious service," they continue.

Consequently, the Knights of Columbus obtained permission to hold a Mass "outside the cemetery on a patch of grass near the parking lot, which they designated as a 'First Amendment zone.'"

The organization goes on to explain that in the sixty-plus years that the Knights of Columbus has been holding this Mass, the NPS has never once objected to the service, despite the fact that the rules in question have been in place since 1986.

Representing the Knights of Columbus in the case are McGuireWoods, an international law firm, and First Liberty Institute, a legal organization dedicated to protecting religious liberties.

"The Knights are very pleased that they will be able to follow their religious beliefs and preserve this honorable tradition. We appreciate the tremendous support of Governor Jankin and Attorney General Mijares in this case," First Liberty Senior Counsel Roger Byron said in a statement Friday.

"We are grateful to the NPS for allowing the Knights to hold their service this Memorial Day," said John Moran of McGuireWoods, an international law firm that also was to represent the Knights of Columbus.

After the NPS agreed to grant the Knights of Columbus a permit to hold a Memorial Day Mass, the lawsuit against the agency was dismissed.

Images were originally published on Facebook by the Knights of Columbus Council 694 in Petersburg, Virginia