National Park Service reverses course, grants permit for Memorial Day Mass inside cemetery
A lawsuit was filed
National Park Service has granted the permit for the Knights of Columbus to host a Memorial Day Mass inside a national cemetery, according to a May 23 news release from legal organization First Liberty.“The Knights are thrilled that they will be able to exercise their religious beliefs and keep this honorable tradition alive,” First Liberty Senior Counsel Roger Byron stated in the news release. “We appreciate the tremendous support of Governor Youngkin and Attorney General Miyares in this case.”
The Knights have hosted a Memorial Day Mass inside Poplar Grove National Cemetery in Petersburg, Virginia, every year since the 1960s.
National Park Service under the Biden administration halted this tradition in 2023, when it denied the Knights the permit to host the Mass within the cemetery, citing a policy change that prohibited “demonstrations,” which included non-committal religious services, inside the cemetery.
The Knights and the Park Service reached an agreement and the lawsuit was dropped.
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