The Knights of Columbus is a Catholic, family, fraternal, service organization. We dedicate our time and resources to a number
of local charities in our community.
If you are a practical Catholic gentleman, at least 18 years of age, you can become a member of the Knights of Columbus.
Today's young man has many commitments. From his duty to his family to his obligation to his workplace, there are constant
calls on his time.
Being a member of the Knights is not as time consuming as some people may think. When men are asked to join the Order, we
are only asking for 24 hours of their time each year in the following manner:
12 hours a year reading the weekly church bulletin, the state and local council newsletters and the monthly Supreme Council
magazine Columbia.
. 2 hours a year volunteering at a council event of their interest.
. 2 hours a year attending two council prayer services with their family.
. 2 hours a year on a council sponsored family project or event.
. 2 hours a year attending one council meeting. If it is a good one, they will attend more.
. 4 hours a year attending a council social function with their family.
There are 8,760 hours in a year. By giving the Knights of Columbus 24 of those hours (less than 0.3 percent), a man can be
a better Catholic, a better father, a better husband and a better person.
A Knights of Columbus council can work wonders; in fact, with its many programs, it can help change the community, town, city
or neighbourhood in which you live. However, programs need people taking the initial idea, modifying them to suit specific
situations and local needs, then implementing the programs in a way that works.
Our community offers limitless opportunity for action that can be seen, felt and Judged for its true worth; fight poverty,
aid individuals in distress, plant a tree, sponsor a blood pressure screening, support law enforcement, campaign for every
baby's right to life, help the aged. No matter what we choose, get involved!
Join now and make a difference in our Church and our community!
These two articles and organizational Chart featured here are excerpts from the official Knights of Columbus website. They
define exactly the nature and purpose of my joining the order. I believe publishing them in their original form will justify
its purpose and expose potential recruits to the nature of our fellowship and hopefully join us in our endeavours.
The Strong Right Arm of the Church
The Knights of Columbus was founded in 1882 by a 29-year-old parish priest, Father Michael J. McGivney, in the basement of
St. Mary's Church in New Haven, Connecticut. Today, more than a century later, the Knights of Columbus has become the largest
lay organization in the Catholic Church.
The Order has been called "the strong right arm of the Church," and has been praised by popes, presidents and other world
leaders, for support of the Church, programs of evangelization and Catholic education, civic involvement and aid to those
in need. As recently as 1992, Mother Teresa of Calcutta praised the Knights in a speech on the occasion of her reception of
the first Knights of Columbus Gaudium et Spes Award.
Thanks to the inspired work of Father McGivney as well as that of millions of other Knights over the past century the Knights
of Columbus now stands at its pinnacle of membership, benefits and service. Currently, there are over 1.6 million Knights
of Columbus more than ever before in our Order's history. Together with their families, the Knights are nearly 6 million strong.
In addition, from the first local council in New Haven, the Order has grown to more than 12,000 councils in the United States,
Canada, Mexico, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Panama, the Virgin Islands, Guatemala, Guam and
Saipan. Each year, the Order continues this strong growth.
CHARITY, UNITY, FRATERNITY, AND PATRIOTISM
Knights of Columbus are Catholic gentlemen committed to the exemplification of charity, unity, fraternity, patriotism, and
defense of the priesthood. The Order is consecrated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Order is unequivocal in its loyalty to
the Pope, the Vicar of Christ on earth. It is firmly committed to the protection of human life, from conception to natural
death, and to the preservation and defense of the family. It was on these bedrock principles that the Order was founded over
a century ago and remains true to them today.
If you want to join this great organization of Catholic men, it is likely that there is a local council near you. There you
will find brother Knights working to fulfill the central mission of the Order: Striving in charitable works; serving the Church
and unified in following its teachings; supporting brother Knights in their temporal and spiritual needs; acting for the good
of their country; and giving aid to widows, orphans, the sick and the poor. This is Father McGivney's dream, echoing across
the century, and living today in the hearts of his brothers and all of those they touch.
