Knights Of Columbus
The Vision of Father McGivney
Founded by Father Michael J. McGivney, curate at St. Mary's parish in
As the priest explained to a small group of men at a meeting in the basement of St. Mary's Church in October 1881, his purpose in calling them together was manifold: to help Catholic men remain steadfast in their faith through mutual encouragement; to promote closer ties of fraternity among them; and to set up an elementary system of insurance so that the widows and children of members in the group who might die would not find themselves in dire financial straits.
The founder and first officers of the fledgling organization chose the name “Knights of
Columbus” because they felt that, as a Catholic group, it should relate to Christopher Columbus, the Catholic discoverer of
By
the end of 1897, the Order was thoroughly rooted in
From such promising beginnings, Father
McGivney's original group has blossomed into an international society of more than 1.7 million Catholic men plus their families, in
nearly 14,000 councils who have dedicated themselves to the ideals of Columbianism: Charity, Unity, Fraternity and Patriotism. Cumulative
figures show that during the past decade, the Knights of Columbus has donated nearly $1.25 billion to charity, and provided in excess
of 593 million hours of volunteer service in support of charitable causes
Today members of the Order are found in the