Six Reasons Why You Should Be a Knight of Columbus

1. As an integral part of the worlds largest and most dynamic Catholic

fraternal organization, you will be united with over 1.6 million Brothers and
their families in 12,000 councils located in the United States, Canada, Mexico,
the Philippines, Central America and the Caribbean.

2. Your personal involvement as a Knight will provide opportunities, in charity

and fraternity, for service to the Church at the local, diocesan and universal
levels; to your communities; and to the less fortunate in our midst.

3. Your active participation in council affairs: spiritual, fraternal, family,

social, civic-oriented, athletic and recreational - will serve as a school of
leadership and enable you to develop qualities that enhance your strengths and
abilities.

4. You will enjoy a sense of "belonging" in an organization that shares your

religious beliefs, brings together like-minded men joined in a common cause, and
offers the opportunity to develop and cement friendships for years to come.

5. Your concerns for your family and for your retirement years can be addressed by
the Order's low-cost insurance program, conducted by Brother Knights for Brother
Knights, assuring your security and peace of mind.

6. You will share in the sense of pride what all Knights feel in knowing that
their Order is second to none in support of Our Holy Father, our Bishops and
Priests; in working for our fellow men, especially those most in need; and in
binding together to preserve traditional values in the face of attacks against the
family and innocent human life.

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Objectives of the Knights of Columbus

Rev. Fr. Michael J. McGivney, a twenty-nine year old Catholic Priest of St.
Mary's Church in New Haven, Connecticut, U.S.A. was deeply concerned with the
plight of his parishioners who suffered discrimination because of their ancestry
or religion. Appalled by the poverty and misery which befell most families when
the breadwinners die, Rev. Fr. McGivney gathered a handful of Catholic laymen in
the basement of his Church on October 2, 1881 to discuss how to best resolve the
problems that beset his flock.

The response was enthusiastic. On March 29, 1882, the Knights of Columbus was
incorporated and obtained legal status in the State of Connecticut, U.S.A. Its
Charter specifies the following purposes:

a) of rendering pecuniary aid to its members, their families and beneficiaries of

members and their families;

b) of rendering mutual aid and assistance to its sick, disabled and needy members
and their families;

c) of promoting social and intellectual intercourse among its members and their
families; and
d) of promoting and conducting educational, charitable, religious social welfare,
war relief and welfare, and public relief work.

Thus, the Order is considered a Catholic, Family, Fraternal, and Service

Organization.

The name "Knights of Columbus" was adopted simply because the organizers strongly
felt that the organization should relate to Christopher Columbus, the Catholic
explorer of the new world, to underscore their pride in America's Catholic
heritage. The name of "Columbus" evokes the aura of Catholicity and affirmed the
discovery of America as a Catholic event and the term "Knights" was adopted to
signify the embodiment of knightly ideals of spirituality and service to Church,
country and fellowmen.

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The Knights of Columbus in the Philippines

As conceived by Rev. Fr. McGivney, the Order was to serve only the Diocese of
Hartford, which embraced all of Connecticut and Rhode Island. Two years later
after Rev. Fr. McGivney died, the Order expanded to New York and Massachusetts,
and twelve years later, there were councils in nearly every major American City
from Maine to California. In due time, the Order expanded outside the U.S.A. to
Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, Puerto Rico, Panama, Cuba, Guam, the Virgin Island, and
the Philippines.

On April 23, 1905, the first council of the Knights of Columbus was established in
the Philippines. This was Council No. 1000 located within the Walled City of
Intramuros. At the time of its inauguration, they had thirty-one charter members,
all of whom were Americans. Emerging as the first Grand Knight was Richard
Campbell.
In October 1918, the Supreme Council finally approved the institution of the
second council in the Philippines, Council No. 1900 located in San Pablo, Laguna.

One of the few but timely and efficacious blessings which the Order in the
Philippines experienced was during the lean years of the 1930s when an American
Jesuit priest came in the person of Rev. Fr. George J. Willmann SJ.

Rev. Fr. Willmann was appointed in 1948 as the first District Deputy in the
Philippines. Then, on March 1, 1954, he was designated as Territorial Deputy. And
in 1962, he was named Philippine Deputy, a position held until his death in 1978.

Upon the demise of Rev. Fr. Willmann, former Senator and Ambassador, Hon. Oscar
Ledesma was appointed Philippine Deputy. He presided over the continued growth of
the Order in the Philippines. When Supreme Knight Virgil C. Dechant visited
Philippines Jurisdiction on its Diamond Jubilee in 1980, there were 40,000
Filipino Knights. Don Oscar was later appointed Supreme Director Emeritus.

Mardonio R. Santos succeeded Ambassador Ledesma as Philippine Deputy in 1983.

Under his leadership, the Knights of Columbus achieved remarkable growth. In
recognition of his dedication, he was elected the first Filipino Supreme Director
and was concurrently as Vice Supreme Master of the Fourth Degree on June 30, 1989.
When Sec. 14, Chapter III of the laws of the Order was amended by a Resolution
approved in the 1988 106th Supreme Council Convention in Vancouver, British
Columbia, the Philippine Jurisdiction was officially divided into three
territorial jurisdictions, the Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao Jurisdictions