These Men They Call Knights
Welcome to the Knights of Columbus! By joining our council you will become part of the largest Catholic fraternal organization in the world, which was founded by a handful of men at St. Mary’s Church in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1882. You will be counted among the nearly two million members in a dozen countries on three continents.
Our common bond is our devotion to the Catholic faith and our brotherhood in Christ. We have joined together to help on another become better Catholics, better husbands, better fathers, better providers for the financial protection of our families and better citizens of the countries in which we live. And we place special emphasis on charity, the first principle of the Order, and the subject of the degree ceremony in which you’ll participate. A new Degree Ceremony has been updated in 2020 to encompass all 3 Degrees at one time, and is now open to family, friends and the invited public. This new Ceremony saves much time on the Knight’s behalf and when completed you’ll be a 3rd Degree Knight.
Once you’ve taken your Degrees, it’s important that you become active in your council if if the time you’re able to give is limited. It’s also important that you acquire and understanding and appreciate of Knighthood in the fullest sense by advancing thru the highest degree (the 4th), taking to heart all the lessons that these degrees teach us.
For members of the Knights of Columbus, our degree ceremonies remain highly relevant, because they play a key role in establishing a common culture among Knights as Catholic gentlemen. Each of our degree ceremonies explores our shared commitment to charity, unity, and fraternity. The fourth degree emphasizes patriotism.
a charity that evangelizes
Becoming a Knight opens many opportunities to you from helping to support your parish and giving back to your community, to growing in your faith and having exclusive access to our top-rated insurance program.
As you will learn through the degrees, charity is the first principle of the Knights of Columbus. Knights are men -like you- who get things done. We volunteer our time to serve our parishes and our communities, and we’ve been successful at this. By working together, Knights of Columbus were able to collectively donate more than $80 million and 348 million hours to worth causes over the past five years.
Volunteer opportunities abound in the Knights of Columbus. For example, a council grew more than 14,000 pounds of fresh food in a K of C garden for donation to a food pantry, a jurisdiction in one year raised and donated $37,000 to Special Olympics and provided volunteers at 56 Special Olympics events, and a third council built a ramp which gave a 9-year-old boy who uses a wheelchair the gift of mobility. Our council sometimes has projects like these that you can become a part of.
Along with projects that are unique to local communities, Knights of Columbus councils also participate in Orderwide initiatives such as:
- “Coats for Kids” which provides warm winter coats to children who may be without warm clothes
- “Food for Families” which provides food to those facing tough economic conditions by restocking local food pantries
- Partnerships with the Global Wheelchair Mission to purchase and deliver wheelchairs to those in need across the globe
- Collaborations with Habitat for Humanity to provide volunteers and monetary donations that help supply shelter to families in need
- Joint efforts with Special Olympics and other organizations to support people with intellectual disabilities
- Participation in youth-oriented activities such as the Free Throw Championship, Soccer Challenge and various essay and poster contests.
- … and so much, much, MUCH more.
In addition to serving the community, Knights are also the “men of action” in their parish. Ever since the first Knights joined with Blessed Father Michael J McGivney to found the Knights of Columbus in 1882, we have maintained a tradition of support for our bishops and priests. The question every council asks of its pastor is: “What can we do to help?” Knights serve as volunteers in parish ministries, help with special projects and sponsor parish events — in short, we do anything we can to help our parish priests carry out their ministry. We also provide support to seminarians, sponsor retreats, and assist with virtually anything else that’s needed to help our parish communities. Even so far as to sponsor The Catholic Channel on SiriusXM satellite radio (channel 129).
Now is the perfect time for you to pick a program area that interests you, and let your council leaders know you’re interested in helping out and become a member. You’ll soon find that giving of yourself in a worthy cause, hand in hand with your brother Knights, is rewarding in ways you may never have imagined.
Along with the volunteer opportunities that our council provides, there is also the occasion for you and your family to grow in your faith. Councils like ours often attend Mass and pray the rosary together, as well as sponsors corporate communions. Orderwide, councils regularly participate in prayer initiatives and in the Marian prayer program. Also, the Knights of Columbus offers a variety of publications and devotional materials through its Catholic Information Service.
Finally, as a Knight, you and your family have exclusive access to our top-quality insurance products. In fact, no insurer in North America is more highly rated than the Knights of Columbus. As an organization founded to protect the well-being of Catholic families, we have continued to take that mission seriously for more than 130 years.
Generations of Catholics have counted on the Knights of Columbus for their financial stability. In an increasingly turbulent world, you can trust the Knights of Columbus to affordably and securely protect the financial future of your loved ones. Should you choose to purchase life insurance or annuities from the Knights, you’ll also have the peace of mind that your funds will be secure and invested in accordance with Catholic Doctrine. To learn more about the insurance products offered by the Knights of Columbus, make some time to visit us at kofc.org/insurance and then contact your local Knights of Columbus insurance agent.