Fr. Michael McGivney founded the first Council of the Knights in 1882 in Connecticut. Today there are 15,000 councils worldwide doing charitable works. An hour-long docudrama on Father Michael McGivney that aired nationwide on public television is now available for purchase on DVD. Learn more about the founder of the Knights of Columbus as his cause for sainthood moves forward at the Vatican.
Recruitment of Members
The John A. Keogh Council 2108, of the Knights of Columbus, is seeking new members to continue their charitable works. Please join our council if you are a practical Catholic male over 18. Are you interested in serving your parish and the community; are you supportive of our priests; do you love the Catholic faith and wish to defend it in these troubling times? If the answer is yes, then the local Rev. John A. Keogh Council of the Knights of Columbus is waiting to warmly welcome you into its ranks.
Contact John F. Larkin at [email protected] or call (914) 629-7798.
About the Knights
The Knights of Columbus, the world’s largest lay Catholic organization, was founded by Father Michael J. McGivney at St. Mary’s Church in New Haven, CT on March 29, 1882. In forming the organization, Father McGivney hoped to help Catholic men remain steadfast in their faith through mutual encouragement while establishing 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.
Today, the Knights of Columbus is an international Catholic organization with 1.8 million members dedicated to working for the Catholic Church, their communities, and society at large. As one of the most highly rated insurance companies in North America, the K of C has more than $65 billion of life insurance in force and consistently earns the industry’s highest independent rankings for fiscal management and ethical business practices.
The K of C has not only remained true to its founding principles of charity, unity and fraternity, but also included patriotism as a fourth principle by which its members are to be defined. The organization is renowned for its dedicated support of both church and country. Its affiliates, known as councils, are largely parish-based and provide regular support to their local church and community.
The Order’s charitable efforts and contributions of the councils are significant. In 2011, for example, the Knights donated more than $158 million (exceeding the previous year’s total by approximately $3.4 million) and 70 million hours of volunteer service to charitable causes. At the local level, Knights are involved in a large number of service projects that range from programs with well-known groups like Habitat for Humanity and Special Olympics to smaller-scale initiatives that have a large impact on the community, like building wheelchair ramps, organizing blood drives, collecting and delivering food for the needy, and service to the poor at local soup kitchens. Among the largest contributions was $515,000 for the Order’s Coats for Kids initiative, as well as $1,593,000 from the Supreme Council and $5,950,073 from state and local units to support those studying for the priesthood and religious life.
The local Rev. John A. Keogh Council is active in many of these larger initiatives along with various smaller-scale initiatives on the local level. The more men involved with the Council on a local level, the more charitable works can be accomplished.
Its charitable work includes substantial support for the Catholic Church in Rome. The K of C funded the restoration of the façade of St. Peter’s Basilica during the 1980’s, and annually underwrites the cost of satellite TV broadcasts of liturgical celebrations from Vatican City, including the Christmas Midnight Mass. The organization has also established a $20 million endowment called the Vicarius Christi Fund. The annual proceeds are provided to the Pope in support of his charitable initiatives.
The organization has a long history of speaking out on important social issues and continues to be in the forefront today, especially on the sanctity of all human life and the defense of religious freedom at home and abroad.