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Knight
History
Father Michael J. McGivney
Founded by Father Michael J.
McGivney, curate at St. Mary's parish in New Haven,
Connecticut, the Knights of Columbus
was chartered on March 29, 1882, in the State of Connecticut.
As the priest explained to a small
group of men at a meeting in the basement of St. Mary's Church in October
1881, his purpose in calling them together was manifold: to help Catholic men
remain steadfast in their faith through mutual encouragement: to promote
closer ties of fraternity among them: and to set up an elementary system of
insurance so that the widows and children of members in the group who might
die would not find themselves in dire financial straits.
The founder and first officers of the
fledgling organization chose the name "Knights of Columbus"
because they felt that, as a Catholic group, it should relate to Christopher Columbus,
the Catholic discoverer of America.
This would emphasize that it was Catholic who discovered, explored, and
colonized the North American continent. At the same time "Knights"
would signify that the membership embodied knightly ideals of spirituality
and service to Church, country and fellowman.
By the end of 1897 the Order was
thoroughly rooted in New England, along the upper Atlantic seaboard and into Canada.
Within the next eight years it branched out from Quebec
to California and from Florida
to Washington.
From such promising beginnings Father
McGivney's original group has blossomed into an international society of more
than 1.5 million Catholic men, plus their families, in more than 10,000
councils who have dedicated themselves to the ideals of Columbianism: Charity,
Unity, Fraternity, and Patriotism.
Today members of the Order are found
in the United States, Canada, Mexico,
the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Guatemala,
Panama, Cuba, Guam, the Virgin Islands, the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas. They belong to many
races and speak many different languages. They are diverse, yet they are one.
Their diversity spells creativity; their unity spells strength.
The Knights' creativity is manifested
in numerous programs and projects directed to the benefit of their fellowman.
Their strength assures that these programs are operated effectively and
brought to positive conclusions.
Since assuming leadership of the
Order in January 1977, Supreme Knight Virgil C. Dechant has embarked on a series
of significant projects designed to strengthen Columbianism, the Church, the
family and each individual knight.
One of his first moves was to place
his stewardship under the patronage and protection of Our Lady, and he
formalized this dedication during a pilgrimage to the National Shrine of the
Immaculate Conception in Washington,
D.C. soon after he took office.
As a further concrete sign of his devotion to the Blessed Virgin under her
title, "Our Lady of the Rosary," he implemented a plan to present a
special "Knights of Columbus
Rosary" to each new member enrolled in the society. These have been
distributed at the rate of 10,000 per month since the program began. The
"Pilgrim Virgin-Marian Hour of Prayer" programs undertaken every
two years have attracted millions of participants to prayer services
sponsored by councils in honor of Our Lady under several of her titles.
His other initiatives have gone far
toward strengthening the Order as it confronts the increasing secularism of
our modern age. He has renewed the Knights' pledge of loyalty and fidelity to
the magisterium and to the hierarchy of the Church in the countries where the
Order exists. He also has renewed the society's commitment to the pro-life
activities of the U.S.
and Canadian bishops. The Order has donated more than $7 million to the U.S.
bishops' Pro-Life education and public information campaign to date.
Among other thrusts, the Supreme
Knight formulated a program to maintain the involvement of the widows and
children of deceased members in the activities of the Order. A resolution
passed at the 95th annual meeting of the Supreme Council in August 1977 calls
for the establishment of a committee in every unit of the Order which shall
be responsible for keeping contact with widows and dependent children of
deceased members. These children will remain eligible for all educational
benefits, such as student loans and all the society's fellowships and trusts.
Upon receipt of notice that a member
has died, the Supreme Knight sends a letter of condolence to the widow or
next of kin, informing them first of all that their loved one has been
enrolled in a Mass offered at St. Mary's Church, birthplace of the Order, one
every day throughout the year. Upon request, the widow's name is added to the
list for COLUMBIA
magazine. State and local councils are encouraged to do the same for their
publications. They are also called on to extend to widows and their families
any scholarship or loan programs they may conduct.
A renewed emphasis on family life seeks
to involve the member's wife and children in his commitment to the life of
Catholic knighthood. Their support for his promise to be a staunch Catholic
layman is essential if it is to be effective and long-lasting. The Order's
Service Program has been revised to permit more participation by the wives
and children of members and also to enable greater identification on their
part with the Order. The wives now can wear the Order's emblem in the form of
jewelry and children can wear it in badge form.
A family activities director is an
important part of the "Surge with Serve" program. His
responsibility is to assure that a number of activities and projects is
directed specifically to the family and that families are encouraged to take
part in them.
A major sign of the Order's active
concern for the future of the Church and the spread of the Gospel is the
establishment of the Supreme Council Vocations Program, now operating in all
jurisdictions and already showing promise of success in helping turn around
the decline in the number of candidates to the priestly and religious life.
One of Father McGivney's initial
objectives in founding the Order, that of providing security for the widows
and children of deceased members, has succeeded beyond his wildest dreams. The
Knights of Columbus
insurance program offers its certificate holders a versatile portfolio of
protection - all done "for Brother Knights by Brother Knights."
The Knights of Columbus have a long and enviable tradition
of aid to Catholic education. As early as 1904 the Order endowed a chair in
American history at the Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C. and
later provided an endowment of $500,000 for graduate fellowships there which
still reaps benefits today. A $2 million endowment established at the 1989
Supreme Council meeting to mark the bicentennial of the Catholic hierarchy in
the United States also
benefits The Catholic
University through its
annual earnings - to date, some $675,000. The million-dollar "Father
Michael J. McGivney Memorial Fund for New Initiatives in Catholic
Education" established in 1980 is devoted to fostering improvements
through research and development.
"Don't keep the Faith--spread
it!" long has been a guiding principle of the Knights of Columbus. More than $1
million is budgeted annually by the Order for various projects of the
Catholic Advertising Program. The Knights of Columbus
funded the construction of the campanile or Knights' Tower at the Basilica of
the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.
The bells for the tower were donated by the Order as well. In keeping with
the commitment to Our Lady's Shrine, the Order established the "Luke E.
Hart Memorial Fund" in 1979 in the amount of $500,000. Earnings are used
to promote Marian devotion and to preserve the beauty of the basilica in
perpetuity.
And it was the leadership of the
Knights which finally succeeded in having the words "under God"
inserted in the Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag
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