Knights of Columbus

American Catholic priest Michael J. McGivney founded the Knights of Columbus at St. Mary's Church in 1882 as a mutual benefit society for Catholic immigrants in New Haven, Connecticut.[21][22] [23][24] As a parish priest in an immigrant community, McGivney saw what could happen to a family when the main income earner died. This was before most government support programs were established.[24] Because of religious and ethnic discrimination, Catholics in the late 19th century were regularly excluded from labor unions, popular fraternal organizations, and other organized groups that provided such social services.[25]

Although its first councils were all in Connecticut, the Order spread throughout New England and the United States in subsequent years.[26] As the order expanded outside of Connecticut, structural changes in the late 1880s and 1890s were instituted to give the Knights a federalist system with local, state, and national levels of government.[27] This allowed them to coordinate activities across states and localities.[28]

Poster showing a man in Knights of Columbus uniform gesturing toward soldiers in battle

During World War I, the Knights established soldiers' welfare centers in the U.S. and abroad.[29] After the war, the Knights participated in education, occupational training, and employment programs for veterans.[30]

The Oregon Compulsory Education Act of 1922 would have disallowed parochial schools, including Catholic schools, in that state.[31][32][33] The Knights of Columbus challenged the law in court,[34] and, in a landmark 1925 ruling (Pierce v. Society of Sisters), the U.S. Supreme Court struck it down.[35]

To combat the animus targeted at racial and religious minorities, including Catholics, the Order formed a historical commission which published a series of books on their contributions, among other activities.[36][37] The "Knights of Columbus Racial Contributions Series" of books included three titles: The Gift of Black Folk, by W. E. B. Du Bois, The Jews in the Making of America by George Cohen, and The Germans in the Making of America by Frederick Schrader.[36][37]

Meanwhile, though the membership system at the time did not explicitly exclude African Americans, as few as one negative vote (and later, four or five) against a prospective candidate (no matter the size of the council) was enough to deny someone entry. This occurred in a racist manner often enough, especially in the Deep South, that the Josephites helped found the Knights of Peter Claver in 1909 for African Americans. The KoC national leadership later amended their policies so that rejections required a majority of council members.[38][39][40]

Around 1915, during the nadir of American race relations, the Ku Klux Klan began promoting a conspiracy theory claiming that Fourth Degree Knights swore an oath to exterminate Freemasons and Protestants.[41][42][43][44][45] The Knights of Columbus vehemently denied the existence of any such oath, calling the rumors libel.[6] In 1923, the Knights of Columbus offered $25,000 to any person with proof that the fake oath attributed to the fourth degree membership was part of any authentic ceremony.[46] The Knights began suing distributors for libel in an effort to stop this,[47] and the KKK ended its publication of the false oath.[48]

Knights of Columbus headquarters

According to church historian Massimo Faggioli, the Knights of Columbus are today "'an extreme version' of a post-Vatican II phenomenon, the rise of discrete lay groups that have become centers of power themselves."[9]

As the Order and its charitable works grew, so did its prominence within the Church.[49] Pope John Paul I's first audience with a layman was with Supreme Knight Dechant, and Pope John Paul II met with Supreme Knight Virgil Dechant three days after his installation.[49] During the pope's 1979 visit to the United States, the Supreme Officers and Board were the only lay organization to receive an audience.[50]

President Richard Nixon addressed the Supreme Convention in 1971.[51] President Ronald Reagan spoke in 1982[52] and 1986[53] and George W. Bush spoke in 2004.[53] George H. W. Bush spoke as vice president in 1984 and then again as president in 1992.[53] President Bill Clinton sent a videotaped message to the 111th Supreme Convention saying the Order's "contributions to the Catholic Church and to your communities merit our applause."[53]

Faggioli believes the scope of the Knights' philanthropy can "create influence through money, especially in important places like Rome or Washington, D.C."[9]

The original insurance system devised by McGivney gave a deceased Knight's widow a $1,000 death benefit. Each member was assessed $1 upon a death, and when the number of Knights grew beyond 1,000, the assessment decreased according to the rate of increase.[99] Each member, regardless of age, was assessed equally. As a result, younger, healthier members could expect to pay more over the course of their lifetimes than those men who joined when they were older.[100] There was also a Sick Benefit Deposit for members who fell ill and could not work. Each sick Knight was entitled to draw up to $5 a week for 13 weeks (roughly equivalent to $155 in 2022 dollars). If he remained sick after that, the council to which he belonged determined the sum of money given to him.[101]

The need for a reserve fund for times of epidemic was seen from the earliest days, but it was rejected several times before finally being established in 1892.[102] It had $12,000 in assets in 1896.[98] By 1897, the method of funding the program changed. Each member was assessed five cents a month for 100 months, so that he would contribute $5.[97]

Since its first loan to St. Rose Church in Meriden, Connecticut, in the late 1890s, the Knights of Columbus have made loans to parishes, dioceses, and other Catholic institutions.[103] By 1954, over $300 million had been loaned and the program "never lost one cent of principal or interest."[103]

In the post–World War II era, the interest rates on long-term bonds dipped below levels at which the order's insurance program could sustain itself, and Supreme Knight Hart moved the order into a more aggressive program of investing in real estate.[104] Under his leadership, the order established a lease-back investment program in which the order would buy a piece of property and then lease it back to the original owner "upon terms generally that would bring to our Order a net rental equal to the normal mortgage interest rate."[104] Between 1952 and 1962, 18 pieces of land were purchased for a total of $29 million.[103] Late in 1953 the order purchased the land beneath Yankee Stadium for $2.5 million.[103][105] In 1971, the City of New York took the land by eminent domain.[106]

Between 1952 and 1962, 18 pieces of land were purchased as part of the lease-back program for a total of $29 million. During this time, the amount of money invested in common stock also increased.[103]

The order offers a modern, professional insurance operation with more than $114 billion of life insurance policies in force and $26 billion in assets as of June 2021,[107] This places the Order on the Fortune 1000 list[111] and it is large enough to rank 49th on the A. M. Best list of all life insurance companies in North America.[119]

Products include permanent and term life insurance, as well as annuities, long term care insurance, and disability insurance.[114][117][112] The insurance program is not a separate business offered by the order to others, but is exclusively for the benefit of members and their families. All agents are members of the order.[125]

The order's insurance program is the most highly rated program in North America. For more than 40 consecutive years, the order has received A. M. Best's highest rating, A++.[14][126][114][109][lower-alpha 2]

The order maintains a two-prong investment strategy: a company must first be a sound investment before stock in it is purchased, and secondly the company's activities must not conflict with Catholic social teaching.[12][112] The guidelines include protecting human life, promoting human dignity, reducing arms production, pursuing economic justice, protecting the environment, and encouraging corporate responsibility.[lower-alpha 3][12] As of 2017, it had been named a “World's Most Ethical Company” by Ethisphere Institute for five consecutive years.[111] Citing the awards they have won, the order calls themselves "champions of ethical investing."[9]

In 2017, over $965 million was awarded in benefits.[111] Since the founding of the order, $3.5 billion in death benefits have been paid.[130] Additionally, the insurance program has a low 3.5 percent lapse rate of the 1.9 million members and their families who are insured.[114]

Its insurance operation invests in loans to various churches, schools, and other Catholic institutions.[131][132] As of 2008, over $500 million had been loaned through the ChurchLoan program.[131] At the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Order established a $100 million fund to provide short-term loans to help dioceses weather the economic storm.[132] Each diocese was eligible to obtain a $1 million secured line of credit.[132]

The Knights of Columbus presented a check to The Catholic University of America on the steps of the university's McMahon Hall in 1904 to establish a Chair of American History.

Since its earliest days, the Knights of Columbus has been a "Catholic anti-defamation society."[133] In 1914, it established a Commission on Religious Prejudices.[133] As part of the effort, the order distributed pamphlets, and lecturers toured the country speaking on how Catholics could love and be loyal to America.[134]

The creation of the 4th Degree, with its emphasis on patriotism, performed an anti-defamation function as well as asserting claims to Americanism.[135][136] In response to a defamatory "bogus oath" circulated by the KKK,[137] in 1914 the Knights set up a framework for a lecture series and educational programs to combat anti-Catholic sentiment.[138]

The Knights have been urged to take a prominent role in the new evangelization.[139] The CIS published a series on the new evangelization in 2011,[140] and donations to other Catholic mass communication services represent one of the Knights' major expenditures.[141] The Knights have also established councils in both secular and Catholic universities.[142]

The cross from the façade of St. Peter's Basilica now resides in the Knights' museum.[165]

On March 10, 2001, the order opened a museum in New Haven dedicated to their history.[166][79] The 77,000 square foot building cost US$10 million to renovate.[166] It holds mosaics on loan from the Vatican and gifts from Popes, the membership application from John F. Kennedy, and a number of other items related to the history of the Knights.[166] Near the entrance is the cross held by Jesus Christ on the facade of St. Peter's Basilica[166] before undergoing a Knights-financed renovation.[165][166]

In 2015, the order launched Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors, a money management firm which invests money in accordance with Catholic social teaching.[12][112] The firm uses the Socially Responsible Investment Guidelines published by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops to guide their investment decisions.[12][112] The guidelines include protecting human life, promoting human dignity, reducing arms production, pursuing economic justice, protecting the environment, and encouraging corporate responsibility.[lower-alpha 4][12]

In addition to the wholly owned subsidiary, it also purchased 20% of Boston Advisors, a boutique investment management firm, managing assets for institutional and high-net-worth investors.[12][167] Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors manages the fixed-income strategies for their funds while Boston Advisors sub-advises on the equity strategies.[12][167] Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors also offers model portfolio, outsourced CIO services, a bank loan strategy, and other alternative investment strategies.[12] In 2019, the Knights purchased the institutional management business of Boston Advisors.[167]

The order owns and operates the Saint John Paul II National Shrine in Washington D.C.[9] In 2011, the Order purchased the 130,000-square-foot John Paul II Cultural Center.[168][169][9] The mission as a cultural center ended in 2009[170] and the Knights rebranded it as a shrine to Pope John Paul II.[168][169] Soon after the pope was canonized, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops named the building a national shrine.[170]

Each year 64,000 pilgrims visit the shrine, which features video content, interactive displays, and personal effects from John Paul.[170] There is also a first class relic of the pope's blood on display for veneration.[170] It also serves as a base for the Order in Washington, D.C.[171]

Many councils also have women's auxiliaries. At the turn of the 20th century, two were formed by local councils, each taking the name Daughters of Isabella.[191][192] They expanded and issued charters to other circles but never merged. The newer organization renamed itself the Catholic Daughters of the Americas in 1921, and both have structures independent of the Knights of Columbus.[193][194] Other groups are known as the Columbiettes.[191] In the Philippines, the ladies' auxiliary is known as the Daughters of Mary Immaculate.[195]

A proposal in 1896 to establish councils for women did not pass and was never proposed again.[98]

The Knights' official junior organization is the Columbian Squires. According to its founder Barnabas McDonald, "The supreme purpose of the Columbian Squires is character building."[196]

It was founded in 1925 in Duluth, Minnesota, by Barnabas McDonald.[197][198][199] The formation of new Squire Circles in the United States and Canada is discouraged, as the Order desires to move youth activities from exclusive clubs into the local parish youth groups.[199]