Who are the Knights?

 

The Knights of Columbus was founded in 1882 by the Venerable Fr. Michael J. McGivney with a group of men from the St. Mary's Parish in New Haven, Connecticut, United States; and is the world's largest Roman Catholic fraternal service organization. It is named in honor of Christopher Columbus.

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From the moment of our founding in 1882, charity has been the first principle of the Knights of Columbus. We are Catholic men of faith and men of charitable action.  In 2015, the Knights of Columbus set a national record in charitable giving for the 17th consecutive year. Our charitable donations increased from 2014 by more than $1.5 million to a new total exceeding $175 million. In addition, we achieved our highest level of charitable service in 2015, volunteering more than 73.5 million hours of service. The number of service hours contributed by Knights rose in 2015 by more than a million over the previous year’s total.

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Locally, The Monsignor Bryan O Walsh Council 13369, at St John Neumann, was founded in 2003 with 33 charter members; many of whom are still actively involved. Currently, we are approaching 200 members.

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"We are answering Pope Francis’ call to go to the peripheries,” Supreme Knight Carl Anderson said. “We can reach half way around the globe to help those in need and we can reach to our neighbor next door. And we do that every day. That makes us witnesses to the faith."
 

If you’d like to be a part of a dynamic ministry and an international organization of nearly 2 million Catholic Men  whose principal work involves helping others in need, we'd like to meet you and invite you to join us.