These Men They Call Knights-1

7/27/2019 These Men They Call Knights-1

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Knights of C olumbus highly va lue their voc a tion to be pa rt o f the

eva ngeliza tion effort of the C hurch.

The Vision of Father McGivney

Led by the quiet, unassuming curate of St. Mary s Parish inNew Haven, Conn., a small group of men established the

Knights of C olumbus in the c hurch ba sement ea rly in the s pring

of 1882. The pries t, Fa ther Micha el J . McG ivney, sa w c lea rly tha t

bo th Ca tholic s a nd the C hurch fa ced serious prob lems in the la s t

half of the nineteenth century such as anti-Catholicism and

ethnic prejudice; under-employment; la ck of so c ia l s ta nding a nd

ea rly los s of the b rea dw inner.

To res olve those prob lems Father McG ivney c onc eived the

idea of an organization of Catholic men who would band

together:

To a id one a nother in times of s icknes s or dea th, by mea ns

of a s imple insura nce pla n, so tha t their w ives a nd children

w ould not fac e a bjec t poverty.

To s treng then thems elves a nd ea ch other in the Fa ith. To s treng then fa milies a nd family life.

To be a s trong pilla r of support for their pries ts a nd

bishops.

To b e o f se rvice to Church a nd community by c oming to

the a id of those mo s t in need in soc iety.

They ca lled thems elves Knights of C olumbus Knights to

emphasize chivalrys ideals of charity and support for Church

a nd sta te, and C olumbus a s a reminder tha t Ca tholic s ha d b een

the backbone and bulwark of America s growth and greatness

from the very beginning.

The S ta te of C onnec ticut offic ia lly c ha rtered the Order on

March 29, 1882. Its founder, Father McGivney, and those first

Knights dreamed of the day when there would be a council in

every parish in Connecticut. Little could they know that theirsmall group would grow into a global organization of more than

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nearly 400 scholarships have been given to seminarians in

theolog y s tud ies . Of these, a lmos t 200 have been o rda ined s ince

these prog ra ms b ega n.

Strengthening family life is another major aim of the Order.

Knights conduct a wide variety of activities and efforts toenhance a nd s treng then fa mily life in a ccorda nce w ith the s oc ia l

tea ching of the Church. This inc ludes everything from the

Family of the Month program that recognizes outstanding

families on the local council level to funding the North American

Ca mpus of the P ontific a l J ohn P a ul II Ins titute for S tudies on

Ma rria ge a nd Family a t The C a tholic University o f America in

Wa shing ton, D.C . The ins titute is a pa rt of the La teran University

in Rome a nd it offers g ra duate level de grees to thos e w ho w ill be

involved with family ministry in the Church.

The Order is a lso know n a s one of the w orld s strongest

proponents of the sanctity of human life from conception until

natural death. Even before the Roe v. Wadedecision which

leg a lized a bo rtion o n d ema nd in the United S ta tes , the Knights

of Columbus ha s been in the vanguard of the pro-life movement.

In addition to its own pro-life initiatives, the Order offers bothassistance and financial support on an on-going basis to the

pro-life programs of the bishops conferences in the countries

where the Knights of Columbus exists.

In the la tes t of ma ny efforts to res tore a sense o f the s a nctity

of huma n life in the w orld , S upreme Knight C a rl A. Anderson ha s

established March 25, the Feast of the Annunciation, as the

Knights of Columbus Day of the Unborn. On this day state andlocal councils across the globe are encouraged to organize

spec ia l Ma sses a nd s ervices . They pra y tha t the Culture o f Dea th

that now darkens our world will become a Culture of Life

celeb ra ting the d ignity a nd va lue of every human being from the

moment of c onc eption until na tura l dea th.

Who May be a Member?

Membership in the Knights of Columbus is open to anypra c tica l C a tholic ma n in union w ith the Holy S ee w ho is not les s

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S ta te Trea surer

S tate Advoca te

S ta te Wa rden

In addition to these officers, each jurisdiction has a numberof directors and committee chairmen who are responsible for

various State Council programs and for specific areas such as

membership g row th.

District deputies are appointed and assigned to be the only

representative of the supreme knight and the state deputy to a

designated group of local, usually five in number.

Local Council The b a s ic unit of the Knights of C olumbus is

the loc a l counc il. At monthly meetings counc il members hea r the

proposals of various committees, decide which activities,

prog ra ms a nd c ha ritab le c a uses the council w ill pursue a nd how

the c ounc il w ill a lloc a te its funds . They a lso vo te o n a pplica tions

for memb ership a nd hea r the repo rts of key c ouncil officers a nd

direc tors . To be a council officer, a Knight mus t be a Third

Degree member of the Order. Council officers are:

Grand Knight

C hapla in (the chapla in is a ppointed a nd mus t be a pries t)

Deputy Grand Knight

Chancellor

Fina ncia l S ec reta ry (a ppointed)

Recorder

Trea surer

Advocate

Lec turer (a ppo inted )

Warden

Ins ide/Outs ide G uards Trus tees (three in number)

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The Patriotic DegreeUntil 1900 the principles of the Order were charity, unity and

fra ternity. On Feb . 22 of tha t yea r pa triotism w a s a dded w ith the

first exemplification of the Fourth Degree. Sometimes called the

P a triot ic Deg ree , it is open to Third Deg ree Knights in goo dstanding who have been members of the Order for at least one

year.

The prima ry purpose o f the P a triot ic Deg ree is to fos ter the

spirit of patriotism by promoting responsible citizenship, loyalty

to country a nd the love of G od .

The b a s ic unit o f the Fourth Deg ree is ca lled a n a s semb ly. It

serves one or more local councils. Fourth Degree members are

referred to as Sir Knights, and they may choose to join the

assembly s color corps , which serves a s a n honor guard a t civic

and religious functions. Color corps members are readily

identifiable by their regalia (uniforms) consisting of tuxedo,

plumed c hapea u, ca pe, sw ord a nd w hite gloves.

Columbian SquiresThe Orders official youth organization is known as theColumbian Squires. Membership is open to boys between the

a ges of 10 a nd 18. The ba s ic S q uires unit is ca lled a c irc le.

Squires circles must be sponsored by a local council or

assembly. A highly organized and structured international

organization, Columbian Squires aims to develop leadership

qualities as well as a strong sense of civic and religious

responsibility in Catholic young men.

Benefits of MembershipWriting to pastors throughout Connecticut to encourage

them to start councils in their parishes, Father McGivney

explained in part:

Secondly our object is to unite men of our faith throughout

the Dioc es e o f Ha rtford that w e ma y thereby g a in streng th to a ideach other in time of sickness; to provide for decent burial; and

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to render pecuniary assistance to the families of deceased

members.

Tha t is w hy a prima ry fea ture o f the Knights of C olumbus w a s

the insurance program. Membership in the Order was open to

men betw een the a ges of 18 and 50 who pa id dues on a s liding

scale from $3.25 to $11.25 per year depending on age. In

a ddition, upon the dea th of a member, ea ch member contributed

$1.00.

Thus, the Knights of C olumbus w a s a b le to provide a n ill

memb er the s um of $5.00 per w eek during his s icknes s . Upon a

members death his family was to receive a death benefit of

$1,000 (once the Order reached the 1,000-member mark). With

the rapid expa nsion o f the Knights of C olumbus this rudimenta ry

insurance plan proved inadequate and the system used today

wa s a dopted .

Over the years the Orders insura nce prog ra m ha s joined the

elite ranks of the most highly rated insurance companies in

North America . The Order perennia lly receives the highes t

possible designations from two top rating agencies, AAA

(Extremely S trong ) from S ta nda rd a nd P oors , and A+ + (S uperior)

from A.M. Bes t. The Order is a lso a memb er of IMSA (Insura nce

Marketplace Standards Association) which is reserved only for

those insurers that conduct their bus iness by the highes t ethica l

s ta nda rds . The Knig hts o f C olumbus is the only fra terna l

organization and one of very few insurance and financial

ins titutions to hold a ll three hono rs . The Agenc y Depa rtmentsmotto, Insurance for Brother Knights by Brother Knights, ha s

provided the impetus for thos e high ra tings .

Toda y the Orders 140 general agents and the more than

1,100 field agents provide K of C members and their families

with more than $4 billion in new insurance coverage each year.

The tota l insura nce in force exc eeds $43 billion. La s t yea r, nea rly

$124 million in dea th benefits w ere pa id a nd insura nce memb ersreceived $275 million in dividends on the policies they held.

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The insura nce prog ra m provides a memb er with the mea ns

to protect his assets upon his death for the sake of his family.

Rec ently a new insura nce prod uct, Long Term Ca re, w a s

developed to protect those assets by covering the cost of care

in a nurs ing home, a ss is ted living fac itiy or even a t home .The Knights of C olumbus insura nce prog ra m o ffers ma ny

benefits unava ila b le through o ther insurers. A memb er ma y a lso

purchase coverage for his spouse or his children.

New Member PlanThe Orders New Member Plan is offered on the back of the

membership application (Form 100). It provides the new Knighta nd his spous e ea ch the opportunity to purcha se from $8,156 to

$1,095 of w hole life insura nce, d epend ing on a ge, for a premium

of $50 per yea r. The fa ce a mount of the po licy, set b y the a ge o f

the member or his w ife a t the time of a pplica tion, never va ries .

Member/Spouse Fraternal BenefitUpon the dea th of any memb er or his spouse w ithin 90 da ys

of an injury resulting from an accident (with some restrictions),the Order pa ys a dea th benefit to the heirs of the d ec ea sed.

There is no c ha rge for this coverage, b ut is does req uire tha t

the Knight be a memb er in go od s ta nding , current in his d ues , of

a council in go od s ta nding.

The c overage is provided on a 24-hour per da y ba s is

a nyw here in the w orld a nd w hether on or off the job . A memb ers

spouse reta ins her covera ge a fter a members dea th.

Family Fraternal BenefitThis Family Fra terna l B enefit offers five d is tinc t benefits for

elig ib le memb ers a nd their fa milies . Thes e b ene fits a re

unmatched in the insura nce indus try:

1. A $5,000 life insura nce pla n, a t s ta nda rd ra tes , for a

members uninsurable or rated newborn child providedapplication is made before the child is 61 days old.

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To be e lig ib le for these b enefits , the orpha ns father must

have been in good standing at the time of death, at least one

parent must have been covered under a Knights of Columbus

certificate and the child must be covered under a Knights of

Columbus certificate.

ScholarshipsThe S upreme Council offers s chola rships , b a sed on need,

to memb ers a nd their families . The Matthew s-S w ift prog ra m

offers a full scholarship to a Catholic college to the child of

a member in good standing who is killed or permanently

and totally disabled as a member of the armed forces or

a s the result o f a c rimina l a c t in the line o f duty a s a full-time po lice

officer or fire fighter. Additionally, many state and local

councils also offer scholarships.

Columbia

The Knights of C olumbus ma ga zine, the la rges t c ircula tion

Catholic family magazine in the world, is provided monthly, free

of cha rge, to members in good s ta nding in Eng lish, French a ndSpanish.

RosaryUpon initia tion into the Order ea ch member is pres ented w ith

a Knights o f Co lumbus ros a ry bles sed by the s upreme c hapla in.

Additionally, the Order encourages Marian devotion through its

biennia l P ilg rim Virg in progra m.

Daily Mass RemembranceDecea sed members, the dec ea sed spouses of members a nd

Columbia n S q uires a re rememb ered da ily in Ma ss a t S t. Ma rys

Church in New Haven, b irthpla ce o f the Knights of C olumbus .

Widow benefits

In addition to the benefits offered to spouses of memberssuch as the New Member Plan and the accidental death

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8. You sha ll not bea r false w itness a ga inst your neighbor.

9. You sha ll not co vet your neighbors w ife.

10. You shall not covet your neighbors goods .

The Comma ndments of G od ma y be s ta ted more s imply interms of the G rea test C ommandment:

You shall love the Lord, your God, with your whole heart,

your whole soul, your whole mind and you shall love your

neighbor as yourself.

Sacraments

It is d ifficult to live up to the Comma ndments of G od . To helpus do so, Jesus has given us the Church and the sacraments,

s igns instituted by C hris t to g ive g ra ce. The s even s a cra ments

are:

1. B a ptis m

2. Reconcilia tion

3. Holy Eucharist

4. Confirmation

5. Matrimony

6. Holy Orders

7. The Anointing of the S ick

Of the seven sacraments, Reconciliation, Holy Eucharist,

Ma trimony a nd the Anointing of the S ick may b e rec eived more

tha n once.

GraceThere a re tw o kinds of g ra ce. S a nctifying g ra ce ma kes us

holy a nd plea s ing to G od . Actual g ra ce helps us to d o g ood a nd

avoid evil.

Precepts of the ChurchThe prece pts of the C hurch a re:

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Gifts of the Holy SpiritThe g ifts of the Holy S pirit a re:

Wisdom

Understanding

Counsel

Fortitude

Knowledge

Piety

Fear of the Lord

Appendix B Basic Prayers

The RosaryThe ros a ry is a form of menta l a nd voca l pra yer centered on

the mys teries of events in the lives of J es us a nd Mary.

The J oyful Mys teries a re:

Annunciation

Vis ita tion

B irth of J es us

P res enta tion o f J es us in the Temple

Find ing of J es us in the Temple

The S orrow ful Mysteries a re:

The Agony in the G a rden

Scourging at the Pillar

C row ning w ith Thorns

Carrying of the Cross Crucifixion

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These Men They Call Knights-1