History
Thanks to the efforts of Father Michael J. McGivney, assistant pastor of St. Mary’s Church in New Haven and some of his parishioners, the Connecticut state legislature on March 29, 1882, officially chartered the Knights of Columbus as a fraternal benefit society. The Order is still true to its founding principles of charity, unity and fraternity.
The Knights of Columbus was formed to render financial aid to members and their families. Mutual aid and assistance are offered to sick, disabled and needy members and their families. Social and intellectual fellowship is promoted among members and their families through educational, charitable, religious, social welfare, war relief and public relief works.
The history of the Order shows how the foresight of Father Michael J. McGivney, whose cause for sainthood is being investigated by the Vatican, brought about what has become the world's foremost Catholic fraternal benefit society. The Order has helped families obtain economic security and stability through its life insurance, annuity and long-term care programs, and has contributed time and energy worldwide to service in communities.
The Knights of Columbus has grown from several members in one council to more than 14,000 councils and 1.8 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.
Thanks to the efforts of Father Michael J. McGivney, assistant pastor of St. Mary’s Church in New Haven and some of his parishioners, the Connecticut state legislature on March 29, 1882, officially chartered the Knights of Columbus as a fraternal benefit society. The Order is still true to its founding principles of charity, unity and fraternity.
The Knights of Columbus was formed to render financial aid to members and their families. Mutual aid and assistance are offered to sick, disabled and needy members and their families. Social and intellectual fellowship is promoted among members and their families through educational, charitable, religious, social welfare, war relief and public relief works.
The history of the Order shows how the foresight of Father Michael J. McGivney, whose cause for sainthood is being investigated by the Vatican, brought about what has become the world's foremost Catholic fraternal benefit society. The Order has helped families obtain economic security and stability through its life insurance, annuity and long-term care programs, and has contributed time and energy worldwide to service in communities.
The Knights of Columbus has grown from several members in one council to more than 14,000 councils and 1.8 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.
4th Degree
1882-1899: The Founding
Late-19th century Connecticut was marked by the growing prevalence of fraternal benefit societies, hostility toward Catholic immigrants and dangerous working conditions in factories that left many families fatherless. Recognizing a vital, practical need in his community, Father Michael J. McGivney, the 29-year-old assistant pastor of St. Mary’s Church in New Haven, Conn., gathered a group of men at his parish on Oct. 2, 1881. He proposed establishing a lay organization, the goal of which would be to prevent Catholic men from entering secret societies whose membership was antithetical to Church teaching, to unite men of Catholic faith and to provide for the families of deceased members.
As a symbol that allegiance to their country did not conflict with allegiance to their faith, the organization’s members took as their patron Christopher Columbus — recognized as a Catholic and celebrated as the discoverer of America. Thanks to Father McGivney’s persistence, the Knights of Columbus elected officers in February 1882 and officially assumed corporate status on March 29.
In addition to the Order’s stated benefits, Catholic men were drawn to the Knights because of its emphasis on serving one’s Church, community and family with virtue. Writing in The Columbiad in 1898, a year before he was elected supreme knight, Edward L. Hearn wrote that a Knight should live according to the virtues of loyalty, charity, courtesy and modesty, as well as “self-denial and careful respect for the feelings of others.” Fraternity and patriotism were added to the Knights’ founding principles of charity and unity in 1885 and 1900, respectively.
1882: The Knights of Columbus is born on Feb. 6, 1882, when the first members choose Columbus as their patron. Imediately after the Order’s March 29 incorporation, Father McGivney sends the first diocesan-wide appeal for new members to his fellow priests.
1886: By the end of his four-year tenure as supreme knight, James T. Mullen personally presides at the institution of 22 of the first 38 councils. John J. Phelan is elected to succeed him and is the first supreme knight to sense the Order’s destiny as a national society.
1890: Father McGivney dies Aug. 14, 1890. His funeral Mass is celebrated in Thomaston, Conn., four days later.
1892: 6,000 Knights march in the New Haven Columbus Day parade to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Columbus’ discovery of the New World.
1895: The Vatican’s first acknowledgment of the Knights comes when Archbishop Francesco Satolli, apostolic delegate to the United States, writes a letter extolling the “merits of this splendid Catholic organization” and giving the Order his apostolic blessing.
1900-1910: Early Growth
Along with the addition of “patriotism” to the Knights’ principles came the first Fourth Degree exemplification.
1900: The first exemplification of the Fourth Degree takes place on Feb. 22, 1900, in New York City; 1,100 Knights receive the degree. The following May, another 750 Knights take the degree in Boston.
By the beginning of the 20th century, the fledgling Order was growing dramatically. Councils had been chartered throughout the United States and Canada, and international expansion continued to Mexico and the Philippines in 1905, along with Cuba and Panama in 1909.
The Knights also turned their attention to college campuses, and in more ways than one. In 1904, more than 10,000 Knights and their families attended ceremonies at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., in which the Order presented the school with a grant for more than $55,000. The funds, used to establish a K of C chair of American history, began a long history of support for CUA. In addition, students at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana soon organized their own K of C council. Chartered in 1910, Notre Dame Council 1477 was the Order’s first college council, launching a subset of the Knights that today includes councils at 244 schools worldwide.
1911-1918: “Everybody Welcome, Everything Free”
As membership in the Knights of Columbus grew, the Order became increasingly known as a force for public good. Following the dedication ceremony for the Christopher Columbus Memorial Fountain in Washington, D.C., in 1912, a reporter for The Washington Star noted that the large number of Knights in attendance “marked anew the important position of the Knights of Columbus as an order in the social fabric of the United States.”
In response to growing anti-Catholic hostility and the rise of socialism, two Knights, David Goldstein and Peter W. Collins, embarked on an extensive, 27,000-mile lecture tour throughout North America in 1914. Later that same year, the Order established the K of C Commission on Religious Prejudice. The commission’s work concluded in 1917, when the United States entered World War I.
During the Great War, the Order provided rest and recreational facilities and social services to Allied servicemen of all faiths. K of C Huts throughout the United States and Europe provided religious services, supplies and recreation under the motto, “Everybody Welcome, Everything Free.”
Everybody meant everybody. Whatever your race or creed, you were welcome at K of C facilities. In fact, the Order was praised by a contemporary African American historian of World War I, because “unlike the other social welfare organizations operating in the war, it never drew the color line.”
As a result of the Order’s wartime work, which earned high praise from Pope Benedict XV, nearly 400,000 men joined the Knights between 1917 and 1923.
1912: With support from the Knights, the Christopher Columbus Memorial Fountain is dedicated in Washington, D.C. Some 20,000 Knights attend the
ceremonies, which are overseen by President William H. Taft.
1917: When the United States enters World War I, Supreme Knight Flaherty writes President Woodrow Wilson telling him that the Order plans to establish centers to provide for the troops’ “recreational and spiritual comfort.” The Knights’ services, he says, will be offered “regardless of creed.”
By the summer of 1917, the Order opens service centers, or “K of C Huts,” in training camps and behind the lines of battle. The Knights and
independent fund drives raise nearly $30 million to finance the huts.
1919-1929: In Search of Liberty
After the Great War, the Order continued its charitable work, offering education and employment services to returning servicemen. In less than two
years, the Knights of Columbus Bureau of Employment placed some 100,000 people in jobs. The Order’s presence in Europe continued as well. In August 1920, when a delegation of 235 Knights made a pilgrimage to Rome, Pope Benedict XV invited them to build several recreation centers for Roman youth. In response, the Knights constructed five playgrounds throughout the city. The architect, Count Enrico Galeazzi, went on to serve as the Knights’ representative in Rome for more than six decades.
Throughout the 1920s, the Order’s anti-defamation work also continued on several fronts. When the Ku Klux Klan and other “nativist” and anti-Catholic
groups launched campaigns to make students attend public schools, Church leaders enlisted the Knights’ support. The K of C Historical Commission, meanwhile, worked to overcome racial prejudice in American society, publishing books on the contributions of Black-, Jewish-, and German-Americans.
1920: Two years after launching educational, vocational and employment programs for World War I veterans, more than 50,000 students are enrolled in K of C-sponsored evening school programs across the United States and Canada. The Order also launches a correspondence school.
1925: The Knights’ Rome youth work stimulates interest in similar projects in North America, and the Columbian Squires program is established. Brother Barnabas McDonald consults with the Knights on the creation of the Squires. The institution of the first Squires circle takes place at the Supreme Council meeting in Duluth, Minn.
1926: Supreme Knight Flaherty, Deputy Supreme Knight Martin H. Carmody and other officers meet with President Calvin Coolidge about the persecution of the Catholic Church in Mexico. The Order launches a $1 million educational campaign to influence American public opinion on the need for a strong stand against the Mexican government’s attacks on the Church. It takes more than 10 years for the tensions to ease.
1930-1940: Helping Our Neighbors
The Great Depression initially had a detrimental effect on the Order’s membership and finances, but it also led to a renewed sense of volunteer service. The success of an extensive membership campaign in 1935, titled Mobilization for Catholic Action, led to the establishment of the Order’s Service Department, which subsequently launched a “Five-Point Program of Progress.” The program encouraged councils to play a more active role in the life of the local parish and community, and included five categories: Catholic activity, council activity, fraternal protection, publicity and maintenance of manpower.
Also in the early 1930s, violent persecution resurfaced in Mexico, prompting the Order’s leadership to strongly urge the U.S. government to take action.
Tensions in Mexico eventually eased in 1937, but the threat of atheistic communism was growing in Europe. In response, the Knights organized
anti-communist rallies in early 1937. When Pope Pius XI’s encyclical on the subject, Divini Redemptoris, was released in March of that year, the
Order printed and distributed a million copies. The Knights also sponsored a new lecture tour and expanded its anti-communism program to include a Crusade for Social Justice. “Injustice to man is the seed of communistic growth,” Supreme Knight Martin Carmody said. “With Truth and Charity as your weapons, go forth as a Crusade.”
1935: On July 8, 1935, Supreme Knight Martin Carmody and other K of C officials meet with President Franklin D. Roosevelt about the ongoing situation in Mexico.
1936: Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli, Vatican secretary of state, visits the Knights of Columbus headquarters in New Haven; in 1939, Cardinal Pacelli becomes Pope Pius XII.
1939: In response to Pope Pius XII’s petition for prayers for peace, the Knights of Columbus sponsors an international prayer for peace program on
Armistice Day 1939 and a radio prayer for peace broadcast on May 19, 1940.
1941-1950: War & Peace
By the time Pearl Harbor was attacked and the United States entered World War II in 1941, a K of C welfare program for servicemen had been well established by Canadian Knights, built and modeled on the Knights’ World War I work. In the United States, the Order’s outreach to soldiers was conducted through the National Catholic Community Service organization, which itself modeled many of its programs on the Knights’ war efforts.
At the Supreme Convention in 1944, the Order established a $1 million trust fund for the children of members who died or became disabled in World War II. Following the end of the war in 1945, the Order turned its attention to the growing threats of communism and fascism. To combat these dangers, the Knights launched in 1946 the Crusade for the Preservation and Promotion of American Ideals, which published books and pamphlets to educate the public on “the perils of communism.”
Meanwhile, the postwar years saw a membership boom for the Order in the Philippines. Jesuit Father George J. Willmann envisioned the Knights as the
premiere lay society in the Philippines and set about establishing new councils and recruiting new members. He appealed to the Supreme Council in 1947 for permission to establish three new councils there and served as the country’s first district deputy. By the time Supreme Knight Luke E. Hart visited Manila in 1955, the Order had expanded to include 50 Filipino councils.
1944: The Order creates a $1 million trust fund for the education of children of members who lost their lives in or as a result of World War II. This evolves into the current scholarship fund for use at Catholic colleges and universities in the United States and Canada.
1945: John E. Swift is elected supreme knight. Among his first initiatives is to authorize funding for full-page advertisements in 12 major U.S. newspapers and five Canadian papers highlighting the dangers of communism. The ad offers a free copy of Msgr. Fulton J. Sheen’s pamphlet, “Communism, the Opium of the People.”
1946: The Order launches its Crusade for the Preservation and Promotion of American Ideals. Educational pamphlets on communism and the dangers of secularism are published and distributed. By August 1948, there are more than 1,300 K of C discussion groups.
Late-19th century Connecticut was marked by the growing prevalence of fraternal benefit societies, hostility toward Catholic immigrants and dangerous working conditions in factories that left many families fatherless. Recognizing a vital, practical need in his community, Father Michael J. McGivney, the 29-year-old assistant pastor of St. Mary’s Church in New Haven, Conn., gathered a group of men at his parish on Oct. 2, 1881. He proposed establishing a lay organization, the goal of which would be to prevent Catholic men from entering secret societies whose membership was antithetical to Church teaching, to unite men of Catholic faith and to provide for the families of deceased members.
As a symbol that allegiance to their country did not conflict with allegiance to their faith, the organization’s members took as their patron Christopher Columbus — recognized as a Catholic and celebrated as the discoverer of America. Thanks to Father McGivney’s persistence, the Knights of Columbus elected officers in February 1882 and officially assumed corporate status on March 29.
In addition to the Order’s stated benefits, Catholic men were drawn to the Knights because of its emphasis on serving one’s Church, community and family with virtue. Writing in The Columbiad in 1898, a year before he was elected supreme knight, Edward L. Hearn wrote that a Knight should live according to the virtues of loyalty, charity, courtesy and modesty, as well as “self-denial and careful respect for the feelings of others.” Fraternity and patriotism were added to the Knights’ founding principles of charity and unity in 1885 and 1900, respectively.
1882: The Knights of Columbus is born on Feb. 6, 1882, when the first members choose Columbus as their patron. Imediately after the Order’s March 29 incorporation, Father McGivney sends the first diocesan-wide appeal for new members to his fellow priests.
1886: By the end of his four-year tenure as supreme knight, James T. Mullen personally presides at the institution of 22 of the first 38 councils. John J. Phelan is elected to succeed him and is the first supreme knight to sense the Order’s destiny as a national society.
1890: Father McGivney dies Aug. 14, 1890. His funeral Mass is celebrated in Thomaston, Conn., four days later.
1892: 6,000 Knights march in the New Haven Columbus Day parade to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Columbus’ discovery of the New World.
1895: The Vatican’s first acknowledgment of the Knights comes when Archbishop Francesco Satolli, apostolic delegate to the United States, writes a letter extolling the “merits of this splendid Catholic organization” and giving the Order his apostolic blessing.
1900-1910: Early Growth
Along with the addition of “patriotism” to the Knights’ principles came the first Fourth Degree exemplification.
1900: The first exemplification of the Fourth Degree takes place on Feb. 22, 1900, in New York City; 1,100 Knights receive the degree. The following May, another 750 Knights take the degree in Boston.
By the beginning of the 20th century, the fledgling Order was growing dramatically. Councils had been chartered throughout the United States and Canada, and international expansion continued to Mexico and the Philippines in 1905, along with Cuba and Panama in 1909.
The Knights also turned their attention to college campuses, and in more ways than one. In 1904, more than 10,000 Knights and their families attended ceremonies at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., in which the Order presented the school with a grant for more than $55,000. The funds, used to establish a K of C chair of American history, began a long history of support for CUA. In addition, students at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana soon organized their own K of C council. Chartered in 1910, Notre Dame Council 1477 was the Order’s first college council, launching a subset of the Knights that today includes councils at 244 schools worldwide.
1911-1918: “Everybody Welcome, Everything Free”
As membership in the Knights of Columbus grew, the Order became increasingly known as a force for public good. Following the dedication ceremony for the Christopher Columbus Memorial Fountain in Washington, D.C., in 1912, a reporter for The Washington Star noted that the large number of Knights in attendance “marked anew the important position of the Knights of Columbus as an order in the social fabric of the United States.”
In response to growing anti-Catholic hostility and the rise of socialism, two Knights, David Goldstein and Peter W. Collins, embarked on an extensive, 27,000-mile lecture tour throughout North America in 1914. Later that same year, the Order established the K of C Commission on Religious Prejudice. The commission’s work concluded in 1917, when the United States entered World War I.
During the Great War, the Order provided rest and recreational facilities and social services to Allied servicemen of all faiths. K of C Huts throughout the United States and Europe provided religious services, supplies and recreation under the motto, “Everybody Welcome, Everything Free.”
Everybody meant everybody. Whatever your race or creed, you were welcome at K of C facilities. In fact, the Order was praised by a contemporary African American historian of World War I, because “unlike the other social welfare organizations operating in the war, it never drew the color line.”
As a result of the Order’s wartime work, which earned high praise from Pope Benedict XV, nearly 400,000 men joined the Knights between 1917 and 1923.
1912: With support from the Knights, the Christopher Columbus Memorial Fountain is dedicated in Washington, D.C. Some 20,000 Knights attend the
ceremonies, which are overseen by President William H. Taft.
1917: When the United States enters World War I, Supreme Knight Flaherty writes President Woodrow Wilson telling him that the Order plans to establish centers to provide for the troops’ “recreational and spiritual comfort.” The Knights’ services, he says, will be offered “regardless of creed.”
By the summer of 1917, the Order opens service centers, or “K of C Huts,” in training camps and behind the lines of battle. The Knights and
independent fund drives raise nearly $30 million to finance the huts.
1919-1929: In Search of Liberty
After the Great War, the Order continued its charitable work, offering education and employment services to returning servicemen. In less than two
years, the Knights of Columbus Bureau of Employment placed some 100,000 people in jobs. The Order’s presence in Europe continued as well. In August 1920, when a delegation of 235 Knights made a pilgrimage to Rome, Pope Benedict XV invited them to build several recreation centers for Roman youth. In response, the Knights constructed five playgrounds throughout the city. The architect, Count Enrico Galeazzi, went on to serve as the Knights’ representative in Rome for more than six decades.
Throughout the 1920s, the Order’s anti-defamation work also continued on several fronts. When the Ku Klux Klan and other “nativist” and anti-Catholic
groups launched campaigns to make students attend public schools, Church leaders enlisted the Knights’ support. The K of C Historical Commission, meanwhile, worked to overcome racial prejudice in American society, publishing books on the contributions of Black-, Jewish-, and German-Americans.
1920: Two years after launching educational, vocational and employment programs for World War I veterans, more than 50,000 students are enrolled in K of C-sponsored evening school programs across the United States and Canada. The Order also launches a correspondence school.
1925: The Knights’ Rome youth work stimulates interest in similar projects in North America, and the Columbian Squires program is established. Brother Barnabas McDonald consults with the Knights on the creation of the Squires. The institution of the first Squires circle takes place at the Supreme Council meeting in Duluth, Minn.
1926: Supreme Knight Flaherty, Deputy Supreme Knight Martin H. Carmody and other officers meet with President Calvin Coolidge about the persecution of the Catholic Church in Mexico. The Order launches a $1 million educational campaign to influence American public opinion on the need for a strong stand against the Mexican government’s attacks on the Church. It takes more than 10 years for the tensions to ease.
1930-1940: Helping Our Neighbors
The Great Depression initially had a detrimental effect on the Order’s membership and finances, but it also led to a renewed sense of volunteer service. The success of an extensive membership campaign in 1935, titled Mobilization for Catholic Action, led to the establishment of the Order’s Service Department, which subsequently launched a “Five-Point Program of Progress.” The program encouraged councils to play a more active role in the life of the local parish and community, and included five categories: Catholic activity, council activity, fraternal protection, publicity and maintenance of manpower.
Also in the early 1930s, violent persecution resurfaced in Mexico, prompting the Order’s leadership to strongly urge the U.S. government to take action.
Tensions in Mexico eventually eased in 1937, but the threat of atheistic communism was growing in Europe. In response, the Knights organized
anti-communist rallies in early 1937. When Pope Pius XI’s encyclical on the subject, Divini Redemptoris, was released in March of that year, the
Order printed and distributed a million copies. The Knights also sponsored a new lecture tour and expanded its anti-communism program to include a Crusade for Social Justice. “Injustice to man is the seed of communistic growth,” Supreme Knight Martin Carmody said. “With Truth and Charity as your weapons, go forth as a Crusade.”
1935: On July 8, 1935, Supreme Knight Martin Carmody and other K of C officials meet with President Franklin D. Roosevelt about the ongoing situation in Mexico.
1936: Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli, Vatican secretary of state, visits the Knights of Columbus headquarters in New Haven; in 1939, Cardinal Pacelli becomes Pope Pius XII.
1939: In response to Pope Pius XII’s petition for prayers for peace, the Knights of Columbus sponsors an international prayer for peace program on
Armistice Day 1939 and a radio prayer for peace broadcast on May 19, 1940.
1941-1950: War & Peace
By the time Pearl Harbor was attacked and the United States entered World War II in 1941, a K of C welfare program for servicemen had been well established by Canadian Knights, built and modeled on the Knights’ World War I work. In the United States, the Order’s outreach to soldiers was conducted through the National Catholic Community Service organization, which itself modeled many of its programs on the Knights’ war efforts.
At the Supreme Convention in 1944, the Order established a $1 million trust fund for the children of members who died or became disabled in World War II. Following the end of the war in 1945, the Order turned its attention to the growing threats of communism and fascism. To combat these dangers, the Knights launched in 1946 the Crusade for the Preservation and Promotion of American Ideals, which published books and pamphlets to educate the public on “the perils of communism.”
Meanwhile, the postwar years saw a membership boom for the Order in the Philippines. Jesuit Father George J. Willmann envisioned the Knights as the
premiere lay society in the Philippines and set about establishing new councils and recruiting new members. He appealed to the Supreme Council in 1947 for permission to establish three new councils there and served as the country’s first district deputy. By the time Supreme Knight Luke E. Hart visited Manila in 1955, the Order had expanded to include 50 Filipino councils.
1944: The Order creates a $1 million trust fund for the education of children of members who lost their lives in or as a result of World War II. This evolves into the current scholarship fund for use at Catholic colleges and universities in the United States and Canada.
1945: John E. Swift is elected supreme knight. Among his first initiatives is to authorize funding for full-page advertisements in 12 major U.S. newspapers and five Canadian papers highlighting the dangers of communism. The ad offers a free copy of Msgr. Fulton J. Sheen’s pamphlet, “Communism, the Opium of the People.”
1946: The Order launches its Crusade for the Preservation and Promotion of American Ideals. Educational pamphlets on communism and the dangers of secularism are published and distributed. By August 1948, there are more than 1,300 K of C discussion groups.
1951-1960: “One Nation Under God”
The Knights of Columbus initiated a campaign in 1951 to lobby for the public adoption of the phrase “under God” in the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance. The Order’s Board of Directors had amended the pledge’s recitation at Fourth Degree assembly meetings and encouraged congressional representatives to adopt the same language nationwide. One year after Supreme Knight Hart took office in 1953, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a law that officially added the words “under God” to the pledge.
In the following years, the Knights made significant contributions to the Catholic Church in America. In 1953, a Catholic advertising program launched by Knights in Missouri was officially adopted by the Order as the Religious Information Bureau. Through the bureau, which later became known as the Catholic Information Service when its operations moved to New Haven in 1969, the Knights printed and disseminated brochures and pamphlets about the Catholic faith. The program also included a correspondence course in which subscribers could learn about or clarify their knowledge of Church teachings.
Finally, the close of the 1950s saw the completion of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. The Order contributed $1 million toward the completion of the church’s bell tower, known as the Knights’ Tower, and more than 1,000 Knights formed an honor guard for the shrine’s dedication.
1951: The Order votes to fund the microfilming of irreplaceable documents from the Vatican Library, some dating to the pre-Christian era. The library at St. Louis University is named as the repository for the microfilm. By the 1956 opening of the Knights of Columbus Vatican Film Library at St. Louis University, 9.5 million
manuscript pages have been microfilmed and made available for scholars.
1954: On June 14, 1954, Flag Day, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs a law that adds the words “under God” to the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance, completing an effort that Knights began three years earlier.
1959: On Nov. 20, 1959, the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., is dedicated with more than 1,000 Knights forming the honor guard. Knights contributed $1 million, via a $1.25 per-capita assessment over five years, for construction of the 329-foot bell tower.
1961-1978: Into the Mainstream
The early 1960s marked a period of transformation and upheaval for the Church and society, as the Second Vatican Council convened and the civil rights movement emerged in full force. On Oct. 11, 1961, Supreme Knight Hart visits President John F. Kennedy — the first Catholic president — in the White House. Kennedy, a Fourth Degree Knight, reportedly greets Hart by saying, “Hello, Chief.”
1965: At the Supreme Council meetings of 1965 and 1966, Supreme Knight McDevitt addresses how the Knights will respond to the Second Vatican Council and its call for renewal and reform within the Church and its organizations.
1969: The present Supreme Council headquarters is completed. Its four 320-foot towers symbolize the Knights’ four principles of charity, unity, fraternity and patriotism.
1975: The Order agrees to fund “uplink” transmissions for major worldwide satellite telecasts from the Vatican; the program continues to this day with audiences estimated in the billions for Midnight Mass from St. Peter’s Basilica.
1978: Beginning this year, each new First Degree Knight receives a rosary blessed by the supreme chaplain, a practice that continues to this day.
1978: Pope John Paul I receives Supreme Knight Dechant and other K of C representatives in the pontiff’s first private audience after his election.
The Knights of Columbus initiated a campaign in 1951 to lobby for the public adoption of the phrase “under God” in the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance. The Order’s Board of Directors had amended the pledge’s recitation at Fourth Degree assembly meetings and encouraged congressional representatives to adopt the same language nationwide. One year after Supreme Knight Hart took office in 1953, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a law that officially added the words “under God” to the pledge.
In the following years, the Knights made significant contributions to the Catholic Church in America. In 1953, a Catholic advertising program launched by Knights in Missouri was officially adopted by the Order as the Religious Information Bureau. Through the bureau, which later became known as the Catholic Information Service when its operations moved to New Haven in 1969, the Knights printed and disseminated brochures and pamphlets about the Catholic faith. The program also included a correspondence course in which subscribers could learn about or clarify their knowledge of Church teachings.
Finally, the close of the 1950s saw the completion of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. The Order contributed $1 million toward the completion of the church’s bell tower, known as the Knights’ Tower, and more than 1,000 Knights formed an honor guard for the shrine’s dedication.
1951: The Order votes to fund the microfilming of irreplaceable documents from the Vatican Library, some dating to the pre-Christian era. The library at St. Louis University is named as the repository for the microfilm. By the 1956 opening of the Knights of Columbus Vatican Film Library at St. Louis University, 9.5 million
manuscript pages have been microfilmed and made available for scholars.
1954: On June 14, 1954, Flag Day, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs a law that adds the words “under God” to the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance, completing an effort that Knights began three years earlier.
1959: On Nov. 20, 1959, the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., is dedicated with more than 1,000 Knights forming the honor guard. Knights contributed $1 million, via a $1.25 per-capita assessment over five years, for construction of the 329-foot bell tower.
1961-1978: Into the Mainstream
The early 1960s marked a period of transformation and upheaval for the Church and society, as the Second Vatican Council convened and the civil rights movement emerged in full force. On Oct. 11, 1961, Supreme Knight Hart visits President John F. Kennedy — the first Catholic president — in the White House. Kennedy, a Fourth Degree Knight, reportedly greets Hart by saying, “Hello, Chief.”
1965: At the Supreme Council meetings of 1965 and 1966, Supreme Knight McDevitt addresses how the Knights will respond to the Second Vatican Council and its call for renewal and reform within the Church and its organizations.
1969: The present Supreme Council headquarters is completed. Its four 320-foot towers symbolize the Knights’ four principles of charity, unity, fraternity and patriotism.
1975: The Order agrees to fund “uplink” transmissions for major worldwide satellite telecasts from the Vatican; the program continues to this day with audiences estimated in the billions for Midnight Mass from St. Peter’s Basilica.
1978: Beginning this year, each new First Degree Knight receives a rosary blessed by the supreme chaplain, a practice that continues to this day.
1978: Pope John Paul I receives Supreme Knight Dechant and other K of C representatives in the pontiff’s first private audience after his election.
1979-1999: One Christian Family
In his 1981 apostolic exhortation On the Role of the Christian Family in the Modern World, Pope John Paul II wrote, “The future of humanity passes by way of the family” (Familiaris Consortio, 86). The pope’s emphasis on the central importance of the family for the health of the Church and society reinforced the Knights’ mission. Likewise, when John Paul II published an apostolic exhortation on the role of the laity in 1988 and an encyclical on the Gospel of Life in 1995, the Order urged Catholics everywhere to embrace these teachings and even published study guides to accompany the documents.
During John Paul II’s pontificate, the Knights also strengthened their ties to the universal Church through increased support of the Vatican. In 1981, the Order established the Vicarius Christi Fund, annual earnings of which are presented to the pope for his personal charities. The Knights then underwrote a series of major restorations at St. Peter’s Basilica in anticipation of the Jubilee Year.
In Evangelium Vitae, the pope called the Church “a people of life and for life,” a description that the Knights sought to live up to through personal witness and efforts to build a pro-life culture. The Order also furthered the work of re-evangelization within the Church through several initiatives in Catholic education: support of Catholic schools, scholarship funds for Catholic seminaries and universities, and the establishment of a North American campus of the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family.
In addition to celebrating the fifth centenary of the evangelization of the New World, the Order also honored contemporary models of holiness. Supreme Knight Virgil C. Dechant presented Mother Teresa with the inaugural Gaudium et Spes Award in 1992, and the Archdiocese of Hartford officially opened the cause for Father McGivney’s canonization, with the Knights’ support, in 1997.
1979: In cooperation with the U.S. bishops, the Order underwrites the filming of Pope John Paul II’s first pastoral visit to the United States. The Knights also establish a $1 million Father Michael J. McGivney Fund for New Initiatives in Catholic Education to be administered by the National Catholic Educational Association. Annual proceeds are used to this day to finance programs that advance Catholic schools.
1981: The Order establishes the Vicarius Christi Fund, with annual earnings used for the pope’s personal charities. The initial fund of $10 million is increased to $20 million in 1988.
1981: The Order begins a four-year restoration of St. Mary’s Church, the birthplace of the Knights. The renovations include work on the organ, floors, pews, ceilings, statues and more. The project is capped by the placement of a 179-foot steeple atop the church.
1982: The Knights of Columbus celebrates its centennial. President Ronald Reagan attends the Order’s 100th annual convention. Also in attendance is Cardinal Agostino Casaroli, who is sent by Pope John Paul II as the pope’s personal envoy.
1982: The Order establishes several funds to help finance studies for priests and seminarians in Rome at pontifical colleges. These funds have been increased over the years to support seminarians and priests from the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Philippines.
1984: In recognition of the Order’s volunteer service, President Ronald Reagan awards the Knights a President’s Volunteer Action Award at White House ceremonies.
1985: The Order agrees to underwrite the restoration of the 65,000-square-foot facade of St. Peter’s Basilica, the first time it has been cleaned in more than 350 years. Several subsequent projects have taken place at St. Peter’s, including the restoration of chapels and of the Holy Year Door.
1988: Mother Teresa visits the Supreme Council office. The Order agrees to print copies of her Constitutions of the Missionaries of Charity, prayer cards and other religious items, a project that continues to this day.
1992: The Knights celebrates the fifth centenary of evangelization the Americas. Replicas of the Cross of the New World presented to Pope John Paul II in his pastoral visit to Santo Domingo in 1984 are distributed by the Knights and used in dioceses throughout the Order in prayer services highlighting the theme of evangelization.
1992: Mother Teresa is presented with the Order’s first Gaudium et Spes Award at the 110th Supreme Convention in New York. The “Joy and Hope” award acknowledges her contributions o the Church and the world.
1997: The Archdiocese of Hartford officially opens the cause for canonization of Father Michael J. McGivney with support from the Knights of Columbus. The Father McGivney Guild is established to promote the cause.
In his 1981 apostolic exhortation On the Role of the Christian Family in the Modern World, Pope John Paul II wrote, “The future of humanity passes by way of the family” (Familiaris Consortio, 86). The pope’s emphasis on the central importance of the family for the health of the Church and society reinforced the Knights’ mission. Likewise, when John Paul II published an apostolic exhortation on the role of the laity in 1988 and an encyclical on the Gospel of Life in 1995, the Order urged Catholics everywhere to embrace these teachings and even published study guides to accompany the documents.
During John Paul II’s pontificate, the Knights also strengthened their ties to the universal Church through increased support of the Vatican. In 1981, the Order established the Vicarius Christi Fund, annual earnings of which are presented to the pope for his personal charities. The Knights then underwrote a series of major restorations at St. Peter’s Basilica in anticipation of the Jubilee Year.
In Evangelium Vitae, the pope called the Church “a people of life and for life,” a description that the Knights sought to live up to through personal witness and efforts to build a pro-life culture. The Order also furthered the work of re-evangelization within the Church through several initiatives in Catholic education: support of Catholic schools, scholarship funds for Catholic seminaries and universities, and the establishment of a North American campus of the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family.
In addition to celebrating the fifth centenary of the evangelization of the New World, the Order also honored contemporary models of holiness. Supreme Knight Virgil C. Dechant presented Mother Teresa with the inaugural Gaudium et Spes Award in 1992, and the Archdiocese of Hartford officially opened the cause for Father McGivney’s canonization, with the Knights’ support, in 1997.
1979: In cooperation with the U.S. bishops, the Order underwrites the filming of Pope John Paul II’s first pastoral visit to the United States. The Knights also establish a $1 million Father Michael J. McGivney Fund for New Initiatives in Catholic Education to be administered by the National Catholic Educational Association. Annual proceeds are used to this day to finance programs that advance Catholic schools.
1981: The Order establishes the Vicarius Christi Fund, with annual earnings used for the pope’s personal charities. The initial fund of $10 million is increased to $20 million in 1988.
1981: The Order begins a four-year restoration of St. Mary’s Church, the birthplace of the Knights. The renovations include work on the organ, floors, pews, ceilings, statues and more. The project is capped by the placement of a 179-foot steeple atop the church.
1982: The Knights of Columbus celebrates its centennial. President Ronald Reagan attends the Order’s 100th annual convention. Also in attendance is Cardinal Agostino Casaroli, who is sent by Pope John Paul II as the pope’s personal envoy.
1982: The Order establishes several funds to help finance studies for priests and seminarians in Rome at pontifical colleges. These funds have been increased over the years to support seminarians and priests from the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Philippines.
1984: In recognition of the Order’s volunteer service, President Ronald Reagan awards the Knights a President’s Volunteer Action Award at White House ceremonies.
1985: The Order agrees to underwrite the restoration of the 65,000-square-foot facade of St. Peter’s Basilica, the first time it has been cleaned in more than 350 years. Several subsequent projects have taken place at St. Peter’s, including the restoration of chapels and of the Holy Year Door.
1988: Mother Teresa visits the Supreme Council office. The Order agrees to print copies of her Constitutions of the Missionaries of Charity, prayer cards and other religious items, a project that continues to this day.
1992: The Knights celebrates the fifth centenary of evangelization the Americas. Replicas of the Cross of the New World presented to Pope John Paul II in his pastoral visit to Santo Domingo in 1984 are distributed by the Knights and used in dioceses throughout the Order in prayer services highlighting the theme of evangelization.
1992: Mother Teresa is presented with the Order’s first Gaudium et Spes Award at the 110th Supreme Convention in New York. The “Joy and Hope” award acknowledges her contributions o the Church and the world.
1997: The Archdiocese of Hartford officially opens the cause for canonization of Father Michael J. McGivney with support from the Knights of Columbus. The Father McGivney Guild is established to promote the cause.
2000-Present: The New Millennium
On May 21, 2000, Pope John Paul II canonized 25 martyrs of Mexico, including six members of the Knights of Columbus. Less than one year later, Carl A. Anderson was installed as the 13th supreme knight in Mexico City and dedicated the Order and his administration to Mary under her title Our Lady of Guadalupe. As Patroness of the Americas and Star of the New Evangelization, Our Lady has inspired the Order’s efforts, just as she inspired the steadfast faith of the Knights of Columbus martyrs.
In the past decade, the Order has continued to build upon its rich tradition of charitable work and spiritual formation. Various new charitable initiatives, as well as ongoing partnerships with organizations such as Special Olympics, have given Knights countless opportunities to practice what John Paul II called “a charity which evangelizes.” Organizing increased outreach to pregnancy resource centers, providing greater spiritual support for men and women in the military and playing a significant role in World Youth Days are just some of the many ways that the Order has worked in recent years to promote a true culture of life.
Pope Benedict XVI, in his first encyclical, Deus Caritas Est, wrote that a Christian must have “a heart which sees” — that is, which “sees where love is needed and acts accordingly.” For Knights, this often means recognizing where people are most in need and responding with material or volunteer support. After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the Order delivered immediate assistance to the families of fallen first responders. And when natural disasters struck, such as Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the Haitian earthquake in 2011, Knights similarly responded with immediate aid.
Finally, just as they responded to the forces of secularism and prejudice in the past, Knights have stood by their bishops and have witnessed to the importance of religion and religious liberty for society. As the cause for canonization of Venerable Michael McGivney moves forward, so too do his Knights, seeking to build a civilization of love.
2000: Pope John Paul II canonizes six Mexican priest-members of the Knights of Columbus who were martyred during the era of Church persecution there in the early 20th century. The following year, John Paul II beatifies Blessed Carlos Rodríguez, a layman from Puerto Rico. Three additional members from Mexico have since been beatified, and one canonized.
2001: The Knights of Columbus Museum opens in New Haven. In addition to a permanent exhibit on the Order's history, the museum has featured numerous temporary exhibits and priceless works of art, such as Michelangelo's 16-foot wooden study model for the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica.
2001: In response to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the Knights on Sept. 12 establishes its $1 million Heroes Fund. Checks for $3,000 are presented to the families of all full-time professional law enforcement, firefighters and emergency medical personnel who lost their lives at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Forty-five Knights were killed on 9/11.
2002: The Order establishes a $2 million Pacem in Terris Fund to promote peace and education initiatives in the Holy Land and provide support for the Christian community there.
2003: 100,000 copies of a pocket-sized prayer book, Armed With the Faith, are printed by the Order and the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, and sent to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, along with 10,000 rosaries.
2005: The Knights send 2,000 wheelchairs to land-mine victims and people with disabilities in Afghanistan and elsewhere. Through its partnership with the Global Wheelchair Mission, Knights have since distributed nearly 25,000 wheelchairs around the world.
2006: In its first international expansion in almost a century, the Order charters its first councils in Poland, beginning with John Paul II Council 14000 in Krakow.
2006: In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in the U.S. Gulf, Knights donate more than $10 million and 100,000 volunteer hours to help rebuild Catholic churches and schools.
2007: The Knights of Columbus Incarnation Dome, a 3,780-square-foot mosaic depicting mysteries of Christ’s life, is constructed at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.
2007: Represented by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, the Knights and K of C families are defendant-intervenors in a case challenging the words “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance. Court decisions in 2009 and 2010 uphold the words’ constitutionality.
2008: On March 16, 2008, Pope Benedict XVI approves a decree of heroic virtue for Father Michael J. McGivney, declaring him “Venerable.”
2008: The Order is present throughout Pope Benedict XVI’s pastoral visit to the United States. A K of C-commissioned plaque commemorates the pope’s Mass at Yankee Stadium. It accompanies two similar plaques, which commemorate Masses that Pope John Paul II and Pope Paul VI celebrated there.
2009: The Knights of Columbus Ultrasound Initiative launches Jan. 22, 2009. To date, more than 250 ultrasound machines have been purchased for pro-life pregnancy centers using matching funds from the Order’s Culture of Life Fund, established in 2008.
2009: The Order hosts a “Neighbors Helping Neighbors” summit on volunteerism in New York and designates 2009 as the Year of the Volunteer. The Knights of Columbus Coats for Kids program launches; to date, the initiative has provided more than 45,000 winter coats to children throughout the United States and Canada.
2009: Giovanni Alemanno, the mayor of Rome, presents Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson with “Lupa Capitolina” award for the Order’s 90 years of service to the Eternal City. The following year, the city hosts an exhibit about the 90-year relationship at the Capitoline Museum.
2010: Following the devastating Jan. 12 earthquake in Haiti, the Order provides immediate assistance to Catholic Relief Services, establishes a relief fund and purchases 1,000 wheelchairs for Haitians suffering disabilities. In partnership with Project Medishare, the Knights’ “Healing Haiti’s Children” program provides prosthetics and two years of physical therapy for children who lost limbs in the earthquake.
2011: To address the severe shortage of military chaplains, the Knights established a new scholarship program for the Military Archdiocese’s Co-Sponsored Seminarian program.
2011: The Order establishes a Shrine of Blessed John Paul II in Washington, D.C., at the site of the former John Paul II Cultural Center. Supreme Knight Anderson announces the initiative will include permanent exhibits celebrating the life and teachings of the late pope and the 500-year Catholic heritage of North America.
2012: The Guadalupe Celebration, the largest religious event in that city in a generation, was sponsored by the Knights of Columbus, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles under Archbishop Jose Gomez, and the Institute for Guadalupan Studies in Mexico City, on Aug. 5 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
2012: The Knights of Columbus shipped aid and funds to those in need in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, with more than $500,000 in funds donated.
2013: Knights and their families and guests gathered at “America’s Catholic Church” in Washington, D.C., to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Knights Tower Carillon and to re-consecrate the Order to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
2013: A new K of C initiative provided funding for Boston Marathon bombing victims, helping amputees acquire prosthetic devices not covered by insurance.
2013: Following the destruction caused by Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, Knights of Columbus in the Visayas jurisdiction delivered food, water and other necessities during a relief operation and also establish a livelihood project to help those left jobless after the storm.
2014: The Knights of Columbus Christian Refugee Relief initiative stands at more than $2 million in public donations and Order-raised funds, which are distributed to support humanitarian assistance to refugees fleeing persecution in Iraq and the surrounding areas.
2014: The Knights of Columbus donates an ultrasound machine to a Baltimore pregnancy center, making it the: 500th such gift by the Order.
2015: The Guadium et Spes Award, the Order’s highest honor, was presented to Cardinal Francis George, the 11th recipient of the award since its establishment in 1992.
2015: The Knights of Columbus provided $400,000 to the Ukrainian-rite and Latin-rite Catholic communities of Ukraine. The funds were used for humanitarian relief, including projects that fed and aided homeless children and refugees living on the streets of the capital city of Kyiv.
2015: The Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors announced the creation of four faith-based investment solutions specifically designed to meet the needs of Catholic institutions.
2015: In July, the Knights of Columbus began the Christians at Risk national campaign that raises funds and fosters awareness of the persecution of religious minorities in the Middle East.
2015: Supreme Knight Carl Anderson presented charters for St. Andrew Kim Daegun Council 16000 and St. Paul Chong Hasang Council 16178 in Seoul, South Korea, on April 18. Named for 19th-century Korean martyrs, these are the first councils instituted in Korea outside a military base and the first on the mainland of Asia.
2015: The Order funded the delivery of one month’s supply of food to more than 13,500 Iraqi Christians as part of its multimillion dollar initiative to aid displaced Christian families and other persecuted religious communities in the Middle East.
2015: The Knights of Columbus surpassed $100 billion of life insurance in force, highlighting the fraternal benefit society’s mission to protect Catholic families.
2016: The Knights of Columbus applauded the U.S. State Department’s March 17 declaration that Christians and other religious minorities in the Middle East face genocide at the hands of ISIS. The Knights was credited for its effort in pressing for this declaration, particularly through the: preparation of a 300-page report containing information regarding the dangerous, genocidal conditions in the Middle East.
2016: The Order’s highest honor, the Guadium et Spes Award, was presented to the Little Sisters of the Poor for their witness to the Gospel and their defense of religious liberty. The community was the 12th recipient of the award since its establishment in 1992.
2016: Ukraine, the Order’s newest territory, has nearly 600 members in 13 councils. The Knights of Columbus also takes root in France and Lithuania.
2017: The Knights of Columbus contributes nearly $2 million to various aid programs in the Middle East that have received little to no funding from the U.S. government or international community since ISIS began its genocidal campaign against the region’s religious minorities in 2014.
2019: The Ultrasound Initiative reaches over 1000 machines donated to pregnancy centers.
2019: School shooting hero Kendrick Castillo is posthumously made a Knight at the Supreme Convention in Minneapolis, Minn.
2019: Work finishes on McGivney House, a 140-unit apartment building for Chaldean and Syriac Christian families in Iraq. This came about thanks to more than $1 million in donations from Knights.
2019: The Knights of Columbus Safe Environment Program expands with a new video for parents titled Protecting Our Children: A Family’s Response to Sexual Abuse. The video offers concrete steps parents can take to keep their children safe.
2019: The Shrine of Ars, France, entrusts to the Knights of Columbus the major relic of the incorrupt heart of St. Jean Vianney for a pilgrimage across the United States. In total, the relic traveled more than 35,000 miles and was available for more than 1,200 hours of public veneration in 99 dioceses, allowing more than 250,000 pilgrims to spend time in prayer and venerate the relic.
2019: The Order starts a new initiative supporting Native Americans and First Nations peoples including working with the Diocese of Gallup, N.M., and the Southwest Indian Foundation to break ground on a new St. Kateri Tekakwitha Shrine.
2019: The Order launches the Knights of Columbus Charitable Fund, allowing donors to make potentially tax-deductible contributions that are safe, secure and confidential — and in line with Catholic values.
2019: Following a series of devastating earthquakes in Puerto Rico, Knights of Columbus lead efforts in coming to the aid of people on the island severely impacted by disaster.
2020: On New Years Day the first combined, public exemplification takes place at St. Mary’s Church.
2020: On Feb. 16, Past Supreme Knight Virgil Dechant passes away. He was the Order’s longest-serving supreme knight, holding the office from 1977 to 2000.During that time there was tremendous growth in the Order’s membership as well as in its assets and insurance business. In addition, he forged a close relationship with the Vatican.
2020: Leave No Neighbor Behind initiative begins focusing on blood drives and food donations to assist those people adversely affected by the pandemic begins.
2020: Knights help US dioceses weather the financial impact of the pandemic through establishing a $100 million fund in late March to offer up to a $1 million secured line of credit per diocese.
2020: First online exemplification conducted on April 16 drawing more than 13,000 participants.
2020: The Supreme Council donates $100,000 to the Vatican’s Bambino Gesù pediatric hospital for a high-intensity treatment room for infants and newborns with COVID-19 infections. The unit is named for the Knights’ founder, Father Michael McGivney.
2020: On April 7 the Supreme Council announces an initial donation of more than $1 million to food banks in more than 20 major cities throughout the United States and Canada.
2020: May 27, Pope Francis announces that Father McGivney is to be beatified.
2020: Supreme Convention held virtually for the first time from New Haven Aug. 4-5.
2020: Beatification of Blessed Michael McGivney takes place on October 31. Events are held in celebration of this from Oct. 30 -- Nov. 1.
2020: The Knights of Columbus Museum in New Haven, Conn., is reestablished as the Blessed Michael McGivney Pilgrimage Center.
2021: Knights observe the year of St. Joseph
2021: February 28/March 1 – Supreme Knight Carl Anderson retires, and Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly takes office.
2021: Knights provide support for Pope Francis’ visit to Iraq.
2021: Knights of Columbus supplies oxygen for Covid 19 patients in remote regions of Brazil and Peru.
2021: Filippino Knights join Jubilee celebrations marking 500 years of Christianity in the Philippines.
2021: California and Korea Knights celebrate pro-life milestones: 100th ultrasound in Calif., and the first in South Korea.
2021: Knights release a follow up to the Leave No Neighbor Behind program to help communities, parishes and councils recover from the Covid pandemic.
2021: Supreme Knight Kelly and new supreme officers installed at the State Deputy Organizational Meeting in New Haven in June.
2021: Columbia celebrates 100 years of publishing.
2021: August 13, Knights celebrate the first feast day of Blessed Michael McGivney
2021: St. Joseph Pilgrim Icon program launched.
2021: KoCAA Investment Advisor Representative Program New program launches with over 100 investment advisor representatives across 33 states overseeing approximately $28 million in assets. Shortly afterwards, KOFCAA Hits one billion dollars in mutual funds assets
2022: Knights join Pope Francis for a Day of Prayer for Peace in Ukraine on Jan. 26., and a Holy Hour was held at St. Mary’s Church.
2022: 1,500 Ultrasound Machine dedicated on Jan. 19.
2022: In reaction to the Russian invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, the Knights of Columbus commits $1 million in immediate aid to Ukrainian relief and launches the Ukraine Solidarity Fund®. By mid-March the total contributions reach over $6.5 million, with 100% going to assist internally displaced persons and refugees. To date the fund has raised more than $21 million.
2022: Polish Knights establish K of C Mercy Centers to assist Ukraine refugees. K of C Charity Convoys bring relief supplies to communities throughout Ukraine.
2022: In April, Pope Francis meets with Supreme Knight Kelly and discusses the Order’s work in Ukraine. As the meeting ended, Pope Francis gestured with both hands, and encouraged the supreme knight, saying: “Go on! Go on!”
2022: Immediately following the meeting with the pope, Supreme Knight Kelly visits Poland and Ukraine meeting with Knights of Columbus and Church leaders as well as refugees and displaced person and joining Knights there in the distribution of care packages.
2022: The Knights of Columbus announces the ASAP (Aid and Support After Pregnancy) program. ASAP encourages councils to support pregnancy resource centers and maternity homes by boosting their donations 20%. At the end of its first year (June 2023) the program exceeded its goal of $5 million by $1 million.
2022: Eucharistic Revival in the United States launches with K of C support.
2022: Knights support Pope Francis’ pilgrimage to Canada
2022: During the 140th Supreme Convention held in Nashville the first Blessed Michael McGivney Medal is presented to a Knights of Columbus chaplain, Father Matthew Keller, for outstanding service and dedication.
2022: Mother Teresa: No Greater Love, a feature-length documentary produced by the Knights of Columbus, premieres at the Vatican. Later, on October 3-4, the film is released in theaters throughout the United States earning more than $1.2 million to go toward charity and preserving her legacy. An encore presentation is held in U.S. theaters, and debuts in Canada and the United Kingdom followed.
2022: In honor of the 10th anniversary of the canonization of St. Kateri Tekakwitha on Oct. 21, the Knights of Columbus and the Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions host a special Mass at the Saint John Paul II National Shrine in Washington, D.C.
2022: In December, Supreme Knight Kelly again visits Ukraine and Poland and presents Poland President Andrzej Duda with the Order’s Caritas Award in recognition of his country’s charitable efforts on behalf of the people of Ukraine. He moves onto Ukraine meeting with both Roman Catholic Church and the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church leaders, along with visiting parishes, convent and seminaries that have opened their doors to refugees and displaced persons.
2023: Supreme Knight Kelly and Supreme Chaplain Archbishop Lori, joined by other Supreme Officers, travel to Rome in early January to honor and pray for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, whose requiem Mass was celebrated at the Vatican on Jan. 5.
2023: More than 4,000 young people and other pro-life advocates fill the D.C. Entertainment and Sports Arena before the March for Life on Jan. 20 for Life Fest, an event co-sponsored by the Sisters of Life and the Knights of Columbus.
2023: Knights join 50th annual March for Life in Washington, the first since the overturn of Roe v. Wade.
2023: Supreme Knight Kelly reconsecrates the Order to Our Lady of Guadalupe at the basilica named in her honor in Mexico City, Feb. 3, during a pilgrimage there by the Board of Directors.
2023: A first class relic of Blessed Michael McGivney visits Texas in early March, traveling almost 900 miles through three dioceses and drawing thousands to venerate the Knights of Columbus founder.
2023: Knights of Columbus in Poland assemble 10,000 Easter care packages for families in Ukraine displaced by war.
2023: Cor, the new initiative focused on prayer, formation and fraternity continues to be adopted by local councils after a pilot program in 21 jurisdictions. The initiative reflects the reality that faith and fraternity are the heart of the Knights of Columbus and is designed for all for Catholic men. It provides much-needed fellowship and very practical aid in helping men be better husbands, fathers and Catholics.
2023: Knights in Ukraine are received into the Fourth Degree for the first time in late May, committing themselves to the Order’s principle of patriotism as their country’s defensive war against Russia entered its 16th month.
2023: Knights of Columbus jurisdiction leaders from throughout North America and around the world assembled in New Haven, Connecticut, in early June for the annual organizational Meeting of State Deputies. For this first time this gathering coincided with a meeting of state chaplains, allowing deputies and chaplains to work and pray together as they looked ahead to the 2023-2024 fraternal year. Following the celebration of Mass at St. Mary’s the meeting participants joined Archbishop Lori as he carried the Eucharist in procession along Hillhouse Avenue.
2023: In early June, the Archdiocese of Hartford announces that the eight Catholic churches in New Haven including the Order’s birthplace, St. Mary’s Church, would merge July 1 to form Blessed Michael McGivney Parish.
2023: The Knights introduces its first-ever Bible Study designed specifically for Catholic men. Called “Men of the Word” this Bible Study will bring Scripture alive and it has the power to transform our lives.
2023: Eight students of the Knights of Columbus College Councils Advisory Board join hundreds of thousands of young people from around the world at World Youth Day, Aug. 1-6, for prayer, liturgy, catechesis and fellowship.
2023: During the 141st Supreme Convention, Mother Agnes Mary Donovan, who recently retired as superior general of the Sisters of Life, receives the Knight of Columbus’ Gaudium et Spes Award – the Order highest award.
2023: For 75 years, the Order’s Catholic Information Service has been quietly spreading the teachings of the Church and transforming lives.
2023: Knights of Columbus rapidly respond to the wildfire that razed the town of Lahaina, Hawaii, on Aug. 8. Within 48 hours, Knights from several councils in Oahu were loading a boat with emergency supplies and navigating toward Maui’s west coast.
2023: Into the Breach: The Mission of the Family, a new K of C video series that seeks to illuminate the truth and beauty of the Church’s teachings on marriage and family and inspire Catholics to live them in the modern world launches.
2023: For the third consecutive year, Forbes magazine has ranked Knights of Columbus Insurance among the best providers in the United States.
2023: Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly celebrates a major milestone of 1 million coats distributed through the Order’s Coats for Kids program with the distribution of nearly 1,000 new coats to children in five Denver Catholic schools Nov. 6. Since Coats for Kids launched in 2009, Knights have coats to children in 49 U.S. states and all 10 Canadian provinces.
2023: A new statue of Blessed Michael McGivney, by artist Chas Fagan, was unveiled and dedicated at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 8, 2023 the patronal feast of the basilica and of the United States.
2024: Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly announced Jan. 11 at a Vatican press conference, that the Knights of Columbus will fund a yearlong restoration of Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s iconic baldacchino above the high altar of St. Peter’s Basilica. Experts with the Fabbrica di San Pietro — the institution responsible for maintaining the basilica — plan to complete work on the 10-story bronze, marble and gilded wood structure in time for the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope.
On May 21, 2000, Pope John Paul II canonized 25 martyrs of Mexico, including six members of the Knights of Columbus. Less than one year later, Carl A. Anderson was installed as the 13th supreme knight in Mexico City and dedicated the Order and his administration to Mary under her title Our Lady of Guadalupe. As Patroness of the Americas and Star of the New Evangelization, Our Lady has inspired the Order’s efforts, just as she inspired the steadfast faith of the Knights of Columbus martyrs.
In the past decade, the Order has continued to build upon its rich tradition of charitable work and spiritual formation. Various new charitable initiatives, as well as ongoing partnerships with organizations such as Special Olympics, have given Knights countless opportunities to practice what John Paul II called “a charity which evangelizes.” Organizing increased outreach to pregnancy resource centers, providing greater spiritual support for men and women in the military and playing a significant role in World Youth Days are just some of the many ways that the Order has worked in recent years to promote a true culture of life.
Pope Benedict XVI, in his first encyclical, Deus Caritas Est, wrote that a Christian must have “a heart which sees” — that is, which “sees where love is needed and acts accordingly.” For Knights, this often means recognizing where people are most in need and responding with material or volunteer support. After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the Order delivered immediate assistance to the families of fallen first responders. And when natural disasters struck, such as Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the Haitian earthquake in 2011, Knights similarly responded with immediate aid.
Finally, just as they responded to the forces of secularism and prejudice in the past, Knights have stood by their bishops and have witnessed to the importance of religion and religious liberty for society. As the cause for canonization of Venerable Michael McGivney moves forward, so too do his Knights, seeking to build a civilization of love.
2000: Pope John Paul II canonizes six Mexican priest-members of the Knights of Columbus who were martyred during the era of Church persecution there in the early 20th century. The following year, John Paul II beatifies Blessed Carlos Rodríguez, a layman from Puerto Rico. Three additional members from Mexico have since been beatified, and one canonized.
2001: The Knights of Columbus Museum opens in New Haven. In addition to a permanent exhibit on the Order's history, the museum has featured numerous temporary exhibits and priceless works of art, such as Michelangelo's 16-foot wooden study model for the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica.
2001: In response to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the Knights on Sept. 12 establishes its $1 million Heroes Fund. Checks for $3,000 are presented to the families of all full-time professional law enforcement, firefighters and emergency medical personnel who lost their lives at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Forty-five Knights were killed on 9/11.
2002: The Order establishes a $2 million Pacem in Terris Fund to promote peace and education initiatives in the Holy Land and provide support for the Christian community there.
2003: 100,000 copies of a pocket-sized prayer book, Armed With the Faith, are printed by the Order and the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, and sent to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, along with 10,000 rosaries.
2005: The Knights send 2,000 wheelchairs to land-mine victims and people with disabilities in Afghanistan and elsewhere. Through its partnership with the Global Wheelchair Mission, Knights have since distributed nearly 25,000 wheelchairs around the world.
2006: In its first international expansion in almost a century, the Order charters its first councils in Poland, beginning with John Paul II Council 14000 in Krakow.
2006: In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in the U.S. Gulf, Knights donate more than $10 million and 100,000 volunteer hours to help rebuild Catholic churches and schools.
2007: The Knights of Columbus Incarnation Dome, a 3,780-square-foot mosaic depicting mysteries of Christ’s life, is constructed at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.
2007: Represented by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, the Knights and K of C families are defendant-intervenors in a case challenging the words “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance. Court decisions in 2009 and 2010 uphold the words’ constitutionality.
2008: On March 16, 2008, Pope Benedict XVI approves a decree of heroic virtue for Father Michael J. McGivney, declaring him “Venerable.”
2008: The Order is present throughout Pope Benedict XVI’s pastoral visit to the United States. A K of C-commissioned plaque commemorates the pope’s Mass at Yankee Stadium. It accompanies two similar plaques, which commemorate Masses that Pope John Paul II and Pope Paul VI celebrated there.
2009: The Knights of Columbus Ultrasound Initiative launches Jan. 22, 2009. To date, more than 250 ultrasound machines have been purchased for pro-life pregnancy centers using matching funds from the Order’s Culture of Life Fund, established in 2008.
2009: The Order hosts a “Neighbors Helping Neighbors” summit on volunteerism in New York and designates 2009 as the Year of the Volunteer. The Knights of Columbus Coats for Kids program launches; to date, the initiative has provided more than 45,000 winter coats to children throughout the United States and Canada.
2009: Giovanni Alemanno, the mayor of Rome, presents Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson with “Lupa Capitolina” award for the Order’s 90 years of service to the Eternal City. The following year, the city hosts an exhibit about the 90-year relationship at the Capitoline Museum.
2010: Following the devastating Jan. 12 earthquake in Haiti, the Order provides immediate assistance to Catholic Relief Services, establishes a relief fund and purchases 1,000 wheelchairs for Haitians suffering disabilities. In partnership with Project Medishare, the Knights’ “Healing Haiti’s Children” program provides prosthetics and two years of physical therapy for children who lost limbs in the earthquake.
2011: To address the severe shortage of military chaplains, the Knights established a new scholarship program for the Military Archdiocese’s Co-Sponsored Seminarian program.
2011: The Order establishes a Shrine of Blessed John Paul II in Washington, D.C., at the site of the former John Paul II Cultural Center. Supreme Knight Anderson announces the initiative will include permanent exhibits celebrating the life and teachings of the late pope and the 500-year Catholic heritage of North America.
2012: The Guadalupe Celebration, the largest religious event in that city in a generation, was sponsored by the Knights of Columbus, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles under Archbishop Jose Gomez, and the Institute for Guadalupan Studies in Mexico City, on Aug. 5 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
2012: The Knights of Columbus shipped aid and funds to those in need in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, with more than $500,000 in funds donated.
2013: Knights and their families and guests gathered at “America’s Catholic Church” in Washington, D.C., to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Knights Tower Carillon and to re-consecrate the Order to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
2013: A new K of C initiative provided funding for Boston Marathon bombing victims, helping amputees acquire prosthetic devices not covered by insurance.
2013: Following the destruction caused by Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, Knights of Columbus in the Visayas jurisdiction delivered food, water and other necessities during a relief operation and also establish a livelihood project to help those left jobless after the storm.
2014: The Knights of Columbus Christian Refugee Relief initiative stands at more than $2 million in public donations and Order-raised funds, which are distributed to support humanitarian assistance to refugees fleeing persecution in Iraq and the surrounding areas.
2014: The Knights of Columbus donates an ultrasound machine to a Baltimore pregnancy center, making it the: 500th such gift by the Order.
2015: The Guadium et Spes Award, the Order’s highest honor, was presented to Cardinal Francis George, the 11th recipient of the award since its establishment in 1992.
2015: The Knights of Columbus provided $400,000 to the Ukrainian-rite and Latin-rite Catholic communities of Ukraine. The funds were used for humanitarian relief, including projects that fed and aided homeless children and refugees living on the streets of the capital city of Kyiv.
2015: The Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors announced the creation of four faith-based investment solutions specifically designed to meet the needs of Catholic institutions.
2015: In July, the Knights of Columbus began the Christians at Risk national campaign that raises funds and fosters awareness of the persecution of religious minorities in the Middle East.
2015: Supreme Knight Carl Anderson presented charters for St. Andrew Kim Daegun Council 16000 and St. Paul Chong Hasang Council 16178 in Seoul, South Korea, on April 18. Named for 19th-century Korean martyrs, these are the first councils instituted in Korea outside a military base and the first on the mainland of Asia.
2015: The Order funded the delivery of one month’s supply of food to more than 13,500 Iraqi Christians as part of its multimillion dollar initiative to aid displaced Christian families and other persecuted religious communities in the Middle East.
2015: The Knights of Columbus surpassed $100 billion of life insurance in force, highlighting the fraternal benefit society’s mission to protect Catholic families.
2016: The Knights of Columbus applauded the U.S. State Department’s March 17 declaration that Christians and other religious minorities in the Middle East face genocide at the hands of ISIS. The Knights was credited for its effort in pressing for this declaration, particularly through the: preparation of a 300-page report containing information regarding the dangerous, genocidal conditions in the Middle East.
2016: The Order’s highest honor, the Guadium et Spes Award, was presented to the Little Sisters of the Poor for their witness to the Gospel and their defense of religious liberty. The community was the 12th recipient of the award since its establishment in 1992.
2016: Ukraine, the Order’s newest territory, has nearly 600 members in 13 councils. The Knights of Columbus also takes root in France and Lithuania.
2017: The Knights of Columbus contributes nearly $2 million to various aid programs in the Middle East that have received little to no funding from the U.S. government or international community since ISIS began its genocidal campaign against the region’s religious minorities in 2014.
2019: The Ultrasound Initiative reaches over 1000 machines donated to pregnancy centers.
2019: School shooting hero Kendrick Castillo is posthumously made a Knight at the Supreme Convention in Minneapolis, Minn.
2019: Work finishes on McGivney House, a 140-unit apartment building for Chaldean and Syriac Christian families in Iraq. This came about thanks to more than $1 million in donations from Knights.
2019: The Knights of Columbus Safe Environment Program expands with a new video for parents titled Protecting Our Children: A Family’s Response to Sexual Abuse. The video offers concrete steps parents can take to keep their children safe.
2019: The Shrine of Ars, France, entrusts to the Knights of Columbus the major relic of the incorrupt heart of St. Jean Vianney for a pilgrimage across the United States. In total, the relic traveled more than 35,000 miles and was available for more than 1,200 hours of public veneration in 99 dioceses, allowing more than 250,000 pilgrims to spend time in prayer and venerate the relic.
2019: The Order starts a new initiative supporting Native Americans and First Nations peoples including working with the Diocese of Gallup, N.M., and the Southwest Indian Foundation to break ground on a new St. Kateri Tekakwitha Shrine.
2019: The Order launches the Knights of Columbus Charitable Fund, allowing donors to make potentially tax-deductible contributions that are safe, secure and confidential — and in line with Catholic values.
2019: Following a series of devastating earthquakes in Puerto Rico, Knights of Columbus lead efforts in coming to the aid of people on the island severely impacted by disaster.
2020: On New Years Day the first combined, public exemplification takes place at St. Mary’s Church.
2020: On Feb. 16, Past Supreme Knight Virgil Dechant passes away. He was the Order’s longest-serving supreme knight, holding the office from 1977 to 2000.During that time there was tremendous growth in the Order’s membership as well as in its assets and insurance business. In addition, he forged a close relationship with the Vatican.
2020: Leave No Neighbor Behind initiative begins focusing on blood drives and food donations to assist those people adversely affected by the pandemic begins.
2020: Knights help US dioceses weather the financial impact of the pandemic through establishing a $100 million fund in late March to offer up to a $1 million secured line of credit per diocese.
2020: First online exemplification conducted on April 16 drawing more than 13,000 participants.
2020: The Supreme Council donates $100,000 to the Vatican’s Bambino Gesù pediatric hospital for a high-intensity treatment room for infants and newborns with COVID-19 infections. The unit is named for the Knights’ founder, Father Michael McGivney.
2020: On April 7 the Supreme Council announces an initial donation of more than $1 million to food banks in more than 20 major cities throughout the United States and Canada.
2020: May 27, Pope Francis announces that Father McGivney is to be beatified.
2020: Supreme Convention held virtually for the first time from New Haven Aug. 4-5.
2020: Beatification of Blessed Michael McGivney takes place on October 31. Events are held in celebration of this from Oct. 30 -- Nov. 1.
2020: The Knights of Columbus Museum in New Haven, Conn., is reestablished as the Blessed Michael McGivney Pilgrimage Center.
2021: Knights observe the year of St. Joseph
2021: February 28/March 1 – Supreme Knight Carl Anderson retires, and Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly takes office.
2021: Knights provide support for Pope Francis’ visit to Iraq.
2021: Knights of Columbus supplies oxygen for Covid 19 patients in remote regions of Brazil and Peru.
2021: Filippino Knights join Jubilee celebrations marking 500 years of Christianity in the Philippines.
2021: California and Korea Knights celebrate pro-life milestones: 100th ultrasound in Calif., and the first in South Korea.
2021: Knights release a follow up to the Leave No Neighbor Behind program to help communities, parishes and councils recover from the Covid pandemic.
2021: Supreme Knight Kelly and new supreme officers installed at the State Deputy Organizational Meeting in New Haven in June.
2021: Columbia celebrates 100 years of publishing.
2021: August 13, Knights celebrate the first feast day of Blessed Michael McGivney
2021: St. Joseph Pilgrim Icon program launched.
2021: KoCAA Investment Advisor Representative Program New program launches with over 100 investment advisor representatives across 33 states overseeing approximately $28 million in assets. Shortly afterwards, KOFCAA Hits one billion dollars in mutual funds assets
2022: Knights join Pope Francis for a Day of Prayer for Peace in Ukraine on Jan. 26., and a Holy Hour was held at St. Mary’s Church.
2022: 1,500 Ultrasound Machine dedicated on Jan. 19.
2022: In reaction to the Russian invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, the Knights of Columbus commits $1 million in immediate aid to Ukrainian relief and launches the Ukraine Solidarity Fund®. By mid-March the total contributions reach over $6.5 million, with 100% going to assist internally displaced persons and refugees. To date the fund has raised more than $21 million.
2022: Polish Knights establish K of C Mercy Centers to assist Ukraine refugees. K of C Charity Convoys bring relief supplies to communities throughout Ukraine.
2022: In April, Pope Francis meets with Supreme Knight Kelly and discusses the Order’s work in Ukraine. As the meeting ended, Pope Francis gestured with both hands, and encouraged the supreme knight, saying: “Go on! Go on!”
2022: Immediately following the meeting with the pope, Supreme Knight Kelly visits Poland and Ukraine meeting with Knights of Columbus and Church leaders as well as refugees and displaced person and joining Knights there in the distribution of care packages.
2022: The Knights of Columbus announces the ASAP (Aid and Support After Pregnancy) program. ASAP encourages councils to support pregnancy resource centers and maternity homes by boosting their donations 20%. At the end of its first year (June 2023) the program exceeded its goal of $5 million by $1 million.
2022: Eucharistic Revival in the United States launches with K of C support.
2022: Knights support Pope Francis’ pilgrimage to Canada
2022: During the 140th Supreme Convention held in Nashville the first Blessed Michael McGivney Medal is presented to a Knights of Columbus chaplain, Father Matthew Keller, for outstanding service and dedication.
2022: Mother Teresa: No Greater Love, a feature-length documentary produced by the Knights of Columbus, premieres at the Vatican. Later, on October 3-4, the film is released in theaters throughout the United States earning more than $1.2 million to go toward charity and preserving her legacy. An encore presentation is held in U.S. theaters, and debuts in Canada and the United Kingdom followed.
2022: In honor of the 10th anniversary of the canonization of St. Kateri Tekakwitha on Oct. 21, the Knights of Columbus and the Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions host a special Mass at the Saint John Paul II National Shrine in Washington, D.C.
2022: In December, Supreme Knight Kelly again visits Ukraine and Poland and presents Poland President Andrzej Duda with the Order’s Caritas Award in recognition of his country’s charitable efforts on behalf of the people of Ukraine. He moves onto Ukraine meeting with both Roman Catholic Church and the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church leaders, along with visiting parishes, convent and seminaries that have opened their doors to refugees and displaced persons.
2023: Supreme Knight Kelly and Supreme Chaplain Archbishop Lori, joined by other Supreme Officers, travel to Rome in early January to honor and pray for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, whose requiem Mass was celebrated at the Vatican on Jan. 5.
2023: More than 4,000 young people and other pro-life advocates fill the D.C. Entertainment and Sports Arena before the March for Life on Jan. 20 for Life Fest, an event co-sponsored by the Sisters of Life and the Knights of Columbus.
2023: Knights join 50th annual March for Life in Washington, the first since the overturn of Roe v. Wade.
2023: Supreme Knight Kelly reconsecrates the Order to Our Lady of Guadalupe at the basilica named in her honor in Mexico City, Feb. 3, during a pilgrimage there by the Board of Directors.
2023: A first class relic of Blessed Michael McGivney visits Texas in early March, traveling almost 900 miles through three dioceses and drawing thousands to venerate the Knights of Columbus founder.
2023: Knights of Columbus in Poland assemble 10,000 Easter care packages for families in Ukraine displaced by war.
2023: Cor, the new initiative focused on prayer, formation and fraternity continues to be adopted by local councils after a pilot program in 21 jurisdictions. The initiative reflects the reality that faith and fraternity are the heart of the Knights of Columbus and is designed for all for Catholic men. It provides much-needed fellowship and very practical aid in helping men be better husbands, fathers and Catholics.
2023: Knights in Ukraine are received into the Fourth Degree for the first time in late May, committing themselves to the Order’s principle of patriotism as their country’s defensive war against Russia entered its 16th month.
2023: Knights of Columbus jurisdiction leaders from throughout North America and around the world assembled in New Haven, Connecticut, in early June for the annual organizational Meeting of State Deputies. For this first time this gathering coincided with a meeting of state chaplains, allowing deputies and chaplains to work and pray together as they looked ahead to the 2023-2024 fraternal year. Following the celebration of Mass at St. Mary’s the meeting participants joined Archbishop Lori as he carried the Eucharist in procession along Hillhouse Avenue.
2023: In early June, the Archdiocese of Hartford announces that the eight Catholic churches in New Haven including the Order’s birthplace, St. Mary’s Church, would merge July 1 to form Blessed Michael McGivney Parish.
2023: The Knights introduces its first-ever Bible Study designed specifically for Catholic men. Called “Men of the Word” this Bible Study will bring Scripture alive and it has the power to transform our lives.
2023: Eight students of the Knights of Columbus College Councils Advisory Board join hundreds of thousands of young people from around the world at World Youth Day, Aug. 1-6, for prayer, liturgy, catechesis and fellowship.
2023: During the 141st Supreme Convention, Mother Agnes Mary Donovan, who recently retired as superior general of the Sisters of Life, receives the Knight of Columbus’ Gaudium et Spes Award – the Order highest award.
2023: For 75 years, the Order’s Catholic Information Service has been quietly spreading the teachings of the Church and transforming lives.
2023: Knights of Columbus rapidly respond to the wildfire that razed the town of Lahaina, Hawaii, on Aug. 8. Within 48 hours, Knights from several councils in Oahu were loading a boat with emergency supplies and navigating toward Maui’s west coast.
2023: Into the Breach: The Mission of the Family, a new K of C video series that seeks to illuminate the truth and beauty of the Church’s teachings on marriage and family and inspire Catholics to live them in the modern world launches.
2023: For the third consecutive year, Forbes magazine has ranked Knights of Columbus Insurance among the best providers in the United States.
2023: Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly celebrates a major milestone of 1 million coats distributed through the Order’s Coats for Kids program with the distribution of nearly 1,000 new coats to children in five Denver Catholic schools Nov. 6. Since Coats for Kids launched in 2009, Knights have coats to children in 49 U.S. states and all 10 Canadian provinces.
2023: A new statue of Blessed Michael McGivney, by artist Chas Fagan, was unveiled and dedicated at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 8, 2023 the patronal feast of the basilica and of the United States.
2024: Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly announced Jan. 11 at a Vatican press conference, that the Knights of Columbus will fund a yearlong restoration of Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s iconic baldacchino above the high altar of St. Peter’s Basilica. Experts with the Fabbrica di San Pietro — the institution responsible for maintaining the basilica — plan to complete work on the 10-story bronze, marble and gilded wood structure in time for the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope.
