Grand Knight – Knolly Burnham
Thanks to Father Michael J. McGivney, assistant pastor of St. Mary’s Church in New Haven and some of his parishioners, the Connecticut state Legislature on March 29, 1882, officially chartered the Knights of Columbus as a fraternal benefit society. The Order is still true to its founding principles of charity, unity and fraternity.
The Knights was formed to provide financial aid to members and their families. Mutual aid and assistance are offered to sick, disabled and needy members and their families. Social and intellectual friendship is promoted among members and their families through educational, charitable, religious, social welfare, war relief and public relief works.
This history of the Order shows how the foresight of Father Michael McGivney, whose cause for sainthood is being investigated by the Vatican, brought about what has become the world’s foremost Catholic fraternal benefit society. The Order has helped families obtain economic security and stability through its life insurance, annuity and long-term programs, and has contributed time and energy worldwide to service in communities.
Today more than 1.6 million dues-paying members belong to some 11,600 councils through the United States, Canada, Mexico, the Philippines and the Caribbean. Including wives and children of members, the Knights of Columbus extended family totals nearly six million people. Last year alone they contributed more than $110.6 million to charitable causes and more than 55 million volunteer hours of community service. Our charitable partnerships with Special Olympics, the Global Wheelchair Mission and Habitat for Humanity to our own Food for Families and Coats for Kids projects and other local charities, the opportunity to work together with fellow Knights and their families is virtually endless. Knights sponsor programs to feed the hungry, aid the elderly, shelter those who are homeless, guide young people, assist individuals with mental & physical handicaps and much more.
If you are interested in becoming a member of the Knights of Columbus, we are always looking for new members, Catholic men who are 18 years and older.