Grand Superintendent Letter 7
Sir Knights & Cousins,
This St. Mullins Day letter is going to be a bit longer as I have a lot of people to thank and some personal news to share. St. Mullins Day is of course the feast day of St. Moling Luachra, 7th century Bishop of Ferns, and one of the four great prophets of Erin, and I’d like to start my letter discussing St. Moling’s Holy Well. Just up the road from his monastery, this spring-fed well continuously pours water into a small baptismal chapel and from there into a millrace and then on into the River Barrow. His holy well has long been a site of pilgrimage, where pilgrims would pray, drink or bathe in the waters of the well and process through the millrace in hope of receiving healing for ailments of the head or elsewhere in the body. The 1349 Annals of Friar Clyn explains how pilgrims of all social classes would immerse themselves in the water of this well for protection against a severe outbreak of the Black Death, reports of healing received through its waters spread the well’s reputation both far and wide.
This desire for healing is all too familiar. For those unaware, on the Monday morning of the 200th Annual Communication of the Grand Lodge of Michigan I was taken away in an ambulance with severe kidney pain, and to no one’s surprise, was diagnosed with a kidney stone. However, imaging revealed that in addition to this kidney stone was a lesion and upon my return home and further diagnostics I learned that this lesion was in fact a cancerous kidney tumor.
Four years ago, my wife and I made a pilgrimage to St. Moling’s Holy Well and drank from it, and with my recent cancer diagnosis, perhaps the claims of its protection are overstated? Perhaps not. It’s no treat to learn you have cancer, but it was caught very early and so far as I’ve been told, a little surgery will fix me right up. Perhaps the most frightening thing has been learning that this cancer is traditionally asymptomatic right up until it’s incredibly dangerous. Had I not had this kidney stone there is no way it would have been found so early. So, whether it was by means of the holy well or not, I undoubtedly feel the Lord’s protection over my life.
The night prior, I had just been talking with Sir Knight Cousin Skylar about how God can bring good out of terrible circumstances, even when we do not understand his purposes at the time. Little did we know that a clear example would be awaiting me the next morning.
Despite my short hospital stay I returned to the Annual Communication where the Knight Masons of Michigan, alongside the Grand Commandery of Michigan, would participate in an honor guard for Sir Knight Cousin, Michael S. Roberts and his incoming officers as he was installed as Most Worshipful Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Michigan. This was a first for Michigan Knight Masons and resulted in the largest honor guard in many years.
Speaking of events with large turnout, our Michigan Knight Masons Statewide Assembly & Trinity Sunday Observance welcomed candidates from across the state and had a full house supporting them. There were a lot of options for Masonic activities that day and we were honored that so many Cousins decided to spend their time with us. Our degreework keeps getting better, and the food at Acapulco Mexican Grill for our Batallón de San Patricio lunch that followed remains stellar.
One of the events announced at the Statewide was our upcoming Detroit Tigers Irish Heritage Night. This is set for Tuesday, September 22, 2026. Each ticket includes one Mezzanine Ticket seated alongside your fellow Knight Masons and other UIS groups, one 2026 Tigers Irish Jersey (while supplies last), and a $5 Donation to the United Irish Societies. I have been promised that the issues of last year are resolved and prior to the game we will parade around the field representing our organizations and have pictures of our organizations up on the new scoreboard. Families are welcome to join us, and it should be a great day of fellowship and an opportunity to interact with the broader Irish fraternal community. Please order your tickets on our website at km-mi.org/trinity/store by August 22.
I would also like to thank everyone who donated to the fundraiser to support Sir Knight Cousin Mike Cheney. I delivered the check from our combined contributions to the Detroit Shrine at the Spaghetti Lunch fundraiser they held for him, and there you could really see the kind of support Masons are capable of when one of their own is in need.
On Saturday, November 7, 2026 at 9:00am at the Munising Masonic Temple, Knight Masons will be gathering to found a brand-new Michigan Council. So, if you’re willing to brave the November weather we’d be more than happy to have you there as we establish Michigan’s 4th Council of Knight Masons.
In other Knight Masons news, I wanted to mention that if you have your national ID number you can now update your own record at masonic-web.com/mms/memberbio. If you do not have your membership number please reach out to your Scribe or me, and we can get that for you. In addition we are exploring the possibility of moving to a Michigan only permanent dues card system similar to that of Chapter and Council, and if implemented those will include your national number as well.
The Knightly News, the official publication of the Grand Council Knight Masons of the U.S.A. has returned to print, and you can find the first issue of 2026 at km-mi.org/knightly-news. We will be submitting numerous articles and all subsequent issues should appear on that page as they are released.
Lastly, we have secured a new supplier for Knight Masons regalia including swords so if you are missing anything or need a different size, we can now order that for you. Just reach out to me, and provide your measurements.
While my current health challenges may make travel difficult, I still plan to visit everyone if possible and I look forward to seeing your smiling faces at the Grand York Rite 2026 Session.
Ne cede malis,
Brandon Mullins, PEC, KCZ
V.E. Grand Superintendent of Michigan
Grand Council of Knight Masons, USA
