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FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions about the
Knights of Columbus.
What is the Knights
of Columbus?
The Knights of Columbus is an
international Catholic lay society, best described as a Catholic family
fraternal service organization. Begun over a century ago as a men's fraternal
benefit society, it has evolved into a service organization with a strong
family orientation. The Knights of Columbus is present in the United States, Canada,
the Philippines, Mexico,
and several other countries. Its many programs and activities benefit members
and their families, while aiding the Catholic Church and the community at
large.
When and why did the
Knights of Columbus
begin?
On October 2, 1881, Father Michael J.
McGivney, 29-year-old assistant pastor at St. Mary's Church in New Haven, Conn.,
brought together a group of laymen with whom he discussed his dream for a
Catholic fraternal benefit society. It not only would assist widows and
orphans of deceased members through its life insurance program, but also
would boost members' sense of pride in their Catholic religion, then
frequently challenged in the anti-Catholic climate of 19th-century America.
Father McGivney and his associates met several more times over the next
several months to continue planning, and the new organization -- the Knights
of Columbus -- was formally launched in early February, 1882. After 113 years
the Knights of Columbus numbers over 1.5 million members whose concern for
others has produced an outpouring of personal service and financial
assistance to religious and community programs where the Order's 10,000 units
are present. In 1994 Knights contributed more than $100 million and gave well
over 48 million hours in volunteer service to good causes of all kinds. (Both
figures were new record highs for the K of C, and the total charitable giving
marked the first time that contributions had gone over the $100 million
mark.) The 10-year cumulative totals are $867,912,749 in contributions and
339,579,891 hours of volunteer service.
Why the name?
The founders chose Christopher
Columbus as patron of the new organization to emphasize Catholic contributions
to the exploration and evangelization of the Americas. Calling the members
'Knights' signified a commitment to high ideals of religious devotion and
service to others.
How is the
membership distributed and organized?
About 1.7 million of the more than
2.5 million Knights of Columbus are in the United
States, with the rest in Canada,
the Philippines, Mexico, and several Central American and Caribbean countries. In terms of level of membership,
all members have reached at least the 'First Degree' and most are 'Third
Degree' members. For those who wish to participate, there also is a Fourth
Degree, whose members make a special commitment to the virtue of patriotism.
(Members of Fourth Degree Honor Guards in their colorful regalia of plumed
hats and capes are a distinctive feature of many major Catholic ceremonies.)
While only men are members of the K of C, in countless cases the families of
members are active in its programs as well. The Knights of Columbus is
organized into local units called councils. (The local unit of the Fourth
Degree is called an assembly.) Councils vary greatly in size, from a few
dozen members to hundreds. Many operate within individual parishes, while
others draw members from several neighboring parishes. These local units are
grouped at the state level under a state council. The international governing
body, the Supreme Council, has its headquarters in New Haven. The chief executive officer of
the Knights of Columbus is called the Supreme Knight. The present Supreme
Knight is Virgil C. Dechant. The Knights of Columbus also has a youth
organization, the Columbian Squires, whose local units are called circles. (K
of C councils in many places also sponsor Scout troops.)
What do the Knights
of Columbus
do?
While the fundamental religious,
civic, and humanitarian purposes of the organization, described above, are
the same everywhere, their concrete, programmatic expressions vary
substantially from community to community. A typical Knights of Columbus
council has a year-round program of religious, service, and social activities
tailored to local circumstances and the interests of members and their
families. Some councils have their own clubhouses, others don't. In all cases
councils seek to respond to local Church and civic needs. The activities of a
typical council might include such things as distributing food to the needy,
conducting sports programs for youth, running a low-cost housing program,
hosting a fundraiser for a family with heavy medical bills, painting
classrooms in the parish school, and so on. In recent years, support of
programs for the mentally retarded has been a priority for many councils.
(The Knights contributed one million dollars and provided 6,000 volunteers
for the 1995 international Special Olympics, held in New Haven in July.)
Knights of Columbus
are also active in promoting and supporting vocations to the priesthood and
religious life, and provide assistance for the higher education of young
people through scholarship and student loan programs. In sum, the K of C is a
leader in the volunteer movement in the United States and other countries
where it exists.
Is it true that the
Knights paid for renovating the facade of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome?
Correct. With financial assistance
from the Knights, the facade of St. Peter's was repaired in a 20-month
project completed in 1987. The organization also has funded other restoration
work in the Basilica, most recently including repairs to the roof of its
Blessed Sacrament Chapel. That is only part of the story of the Order's
support of the Pope and the Holy See. In 1981 the Knights established a $10
million trust fund -- the Vicarius Christi (Vicar of Christ) Fund -- whose
proceeds go annually to the Holy Father for his personal charities. The Fund
was increased to $20 million in 1988. To date, the Knights up to now have
given well over $20 million to Pope John Paul II from this source. For 20
years the K of C has paid uplink costs of satellite telecasts that carry
papal ceremonies like the Christmas Eve Midnight Mass to viewers in the United States
and many other countries. (These are the most widely watched religious TV
programs in the world.) It also has paid for the purchase of equipment used
by the Vatican Television Center,
and has given financial assistance to other offices and agencies of the Holy
See. The organization's special relationship with the Holy Father and the
Holy See can be seen in the fact that the Knights of Columbus was invited by
the Vatican to join the Diocese of Brooklyn, N.Y., in co-hosting the Mass
that Pope John Paul II will celebrate on the morning of October 6, 1995, at
Aqueduct Raceway in Queens, N.Y., during his October 4-8 visit to the United
States. It is a singular honor for a Catholic lay organization to be invited
to play this role.
Do the Knights of Columbus have a position
on abortion and the right to life?
The Knights of Columbus regards
abortion as a grave moral evil that does incalculable social harm. It holds
that the unborn deserve the full protection of the law. It therefore
considers the U.S. Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing
abortion a tragic mistake, and has consistently supported peaceful,
nonviolent measures to correct Roe v. Wade. The Knights of Columbus was among
the organizations filing pro-life amicus curiae briefs in abortion related
cases decided by the Supreme Court in 1989, 1990, 1991, and 1992. The K of C
also filed an amicus brief in the 1990 Cruzan case involving the so called
"right to die." Since 1973 the Knights of Columbus has printed and
distributed free of charge millions of items of pro-life educational
literature. It provides financial assistance to the pro-life programs of the U.S.,
Canadian and Mexican bishops. Thousands of Knights take part in the annual
March for Life in Washington,
D.C., each January. The
organization also has assisted groups that seek to help women experiencing
pregnancy-related problems. With regard to some current issues in the
pro-life struggle, the Knights of Columbus is strongly opposed to the so
called Freedom of Choice Act and to the inclusion of abortion coverage in any
national health care program. It strongly supports the Hyde Amendment
restricting federal funding of abortion as well as similar legislative
proposals to restrict the performance or the funding of abortions. Other
areas of concern to the Knights of Columbus Catholic education, family life,
pornography and violence in the media -- these are among the issues that
engage the K of C's attention and have done so for years. The organization supports
a constitutional amendment making it possible to legislate against the
desecration of the American flag. It also supports proposals for parental
choice in education, provided the option of 'choice' extends to Catholic
schools. Over the past four decades, the Knights' Catholic Information
Service has distributed millions of pieces of literature about the Catholic
Church to people replying to ads in mass-circulation publications. Besides
seeking to promote vocations to the priesthood and religious life, the K of C
has several different programs that offer financial assistance to seminarians
and religious in formation. The Knights' prize-winning monthly magazine, Columbia, is the largest Catholic periodical in the United States.
The K of C also supports the John Paul II Institute for Studies of Marriage
and Family Life, a graduate-level theology school in Washington, D.C.,
for priests, religious, and lay persons.
How do men join the
Knights of Columbus?
A man applying for membership must be
a practicing Catholic, at least 18 years of age, in union with the Holy See.
Those interested in applying should contact a local Knights of Columbus
council. Qualified members can purchase Knights of Columbus insurance if they
wish to do so, and about a third of the members do, but this is not required.
The amount of Knights of Columbus insurance in force is over $28 billion.
Where can I get more
information?
The international headquarters of the
Knights of Columbus are located at 1 Columbus
Plaza, New Haven, CT 06510
(203/772 2130). The Public Information Office of the Knights of Columbus is
located at 401 Michigan Avenue,
N.E., Washington, D.C. 20017
(phone: 202/269-6080).
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