The Knights Of Columbus was the dream of Father
Michael McGiveney. The idea for the organization arose
in response to the problems which were plaguing the
Irish immigrants living in the New England area. Father
McGiveney was concerned with the image of the Irish
people as drunkards and the poverty which they were
forced to endure. His vision was to organize the Irish
immigrants to raise their image of themselves by
swearing off liquor and by providing a vehicle to insure
that the widows would have enough money to bury their
husbands upon their deaths.
The first organization meeting was held in the
basement of St. Mary's Church, New Haven, CT. From these
modest beginnings has grown the largest Catholic lay
organization in the world today. Our ranks have grown to
over 1.5 million members meeting in over 10, 000
councils. These 10, 000 local councils are the backbone
of the order.
The order functions on three different levels: The
local council level, and the state and supreme levels in
pyramid fashion. The local level councils are organized
into districts of 4 to 5 councils. The district concept
is intended to provide forums for councils in the
various geographic areas to meet to discuss ideas
particular to their area. The state council represents
the next level in the organizational chart. It is
intended to provide direction to the local councils on
projects and ideas of state wide concern. The supreme
council is the highest level which is intended to
provide organization and guidance, on an international
level, on issues affecting our faith and our society.
With all of the structure and organization, the local
councils remain the most important unit in The Knights
Of Columbus. These councils spring from local parishes
or communities. Members band together out of concern for
their parish or to further the goals and ideals of our
church and our nation in community based councils.
Whatever the motivation for instituting a council the
underlying principals remain the same: God, country, and
family.
From our humble beginnings has grown and insurance
company designed to service the needs of our members
just as our founder originally envisioned. The insurance
company currently has over $17 billion of coverage in
effect and it ranks in the top 100 of the nation's
insurance companies while enjoying one of the highest
ratings of any life company according to A.M. best,
considered by the insurance industry to be the foremost
authority when it comes to rating insurance companies.
The members of The Knights contribute annually over
27 million man hours of volunteer work in their
communities while contributing in excess of $80 million
to charitable and benevolent causes.
As a state, we provide educational assistance to the
children of our members in the form of scholarships and
loans. We contribute to the PA association of retarded
citizens, giving over $200,000 to the organization last
year alone.
On a local level we, at De La Salle council 590,
sponsor a string band which plays for nursing homes and
other worthwhile organizations and events, regardless of
the organization's religious affiliations. We provide
food for the needy of our community at Thanksgiving and
Christmas and provide mush needed financial support to
The Deborah Heart And Lung Hospital.
In short, we are extremely proud of our contributions
to our church, our community and our nation. We have
accomplished a great deal but there is still more that
needs to be done, witness our fight to protect the
rights of the unborn and the handicapped. We vow to
continue our fight in the hope that one day all of the
citizens of this great nation will be treated with the
dignity and respect that is guaranteed by our
constitution. As in every struggle, however, we need
help. New members bring new ideas and enthusiasm. If you
are a Catholic man over 18 years of age who can identify
with any of the programs I have touched upon today or
would like to help is in our unending struggle we
welcome you and we offer you, in return, an opportunity
to feel good about yourself. Pride in one's self and his
community can not be bought. It can only be earned. We
offer you that opportunity.
Click Here To Find Out About De La Salle Council No. 590
Click Here To Learn About Christopher Columbus
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[The Knights of Columbus]
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Knights of Columbus