Concordant with several other Catholic societies – namely the Knights of Honor, the Knights of St. Joseph, the Knights of the Cross, and the Catholic Knights of America – the Knights of Columbus call their members "knights."
This title is not an official accolade, but rather a symbol of fraternalism, unity, charity, and righteousness. It is this creed of service and brotherhood, combined with a fierce loyalty to the Roman Catholic Church, which gives the Knights of Columbus their place in history – beginning 124 years ago.
Establishing of the Knights of Columbus
In 1881, on the second of October, a group of men gathered in the small basement of St. Mary’s Church in New Haven, Connecticut. The men attended this meeting at the behest of their 29-year-old parish priest, Father Michael J. McGivney, to discuss the formation of a society to ensure Catholics treatment during illness and to ensure a proper burial at death.
Officially established on March 29, 1882, the young order adopted the name "Knights of Columbus." They chose to name themselves this both as a patriotic gesture and as ironic commentary. Pointing out that while the Anglo-Saxon Protestants of the nation praised Christopher Columbus – an Italian; hired by Catholic Spain – as the discoverer of America, they simultaneously ostracized and abused immigrating Catholics.
Their founder, Father McGivney, explained the new order’s goals in a letter to the Catholic pastors of Connecticut: "Our object is to unite the men of our faith throughout the Diocese of Hartford, that we may gain strength to aid each other in time of sickness, to provide for a decent burial, and to render pecuniary assistance to the families of deceased members."
Expanding the Knights of Columbus
The Knights of Columbus expanded rapidly from New Haven into the remaining parishes of Connecticut. Within 3 years, there were nearly 500 members in Connecticut's five councils, and many Catholic parishes from neighboring states were requesting information.
Within 25 years, they were "located in every state, in most of the provinces of Canada, in Mexico, and in the Philippines and were prepared to enter Puerto Rica and Cuba." (Kauffman, 1) Today, it is the world's largest Catholic fraternal society, with "more than 13,000 councils and 1.7 million members throughout the United States, Canada, the Philippines, Mexico, Poland, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Panama, the Bahamas, the Virgin Islands, Cuba, Guatemala, Guam and Saipan."
Sources:
Brinkley, Douglas and Julie M. Fenster. Parish Priest: Father Michael McGivney and American Catholicism. (William Morrow Publishers, 2006).
Kauffman, Christopher J. Patriotism and Fraternalism in the Knights of Columbus: A History of the Fourth Degree. (New York: The Crossroad Publishing Company, 2001).
Knights of Columbus Official Website.
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