The Irish standard., 1901-06-22
Pilgrims Listen to an Eloquent Address
on the Duties Of a Loyal
Catholic Knight.
The Necessity for Federation of the
Various Catholic Societies
in This Country.

The knights of Columbus in New
England paid beautiful tribute to
the memory of the founder of their
order, Rev. Nj. IT, McGivncy, by max
ing second annual pilgrimage to his
grave at Waterbury, Conn, on Sunday,
June o. The following brilliant, in
structive and interesting discourse was
delivered on the occasion by Rrv. w.
j. Slocum:
l am glad to meet you today,
knights of Columbus, and in behalf of
the parish once more welcome you and
trust that the visit YOU make this year
to Waterbury will be for the benefit of
your order, for tire benefit of your
church, and for the education of the
community. We were edited by the
visit of the knights last year
AS see you before me today. coming
on this special occasion. it strikes me
that your object is Il double one. You
come to do honor to the memory Of
your founder, to lay Il wreath on his
grave, to show that your affection still
holds for him, who did so much for
YOU and for the community ut large
But beyond that think that your oh
iect looks toward the future, MS well
as the past, and in coming today at
tracting to yourselves public attention,
you have the object in view to solidify
your order and to place it before the
community in Its proper light, an order
of knights who are Catholic and
American.
And OH the Significance Of these
qualifications it would be well for n
short time to consider some things that
are prompted by this visit Of your or
der. Recently we have heard more or
less of a MATTER that is very impor-
tant to you, that is the bringing to-
gether Of your order with the other or
ders recognized in the church, for the
purpose of, as 1t has been called, fcdc-
ration. Not that wish to discuss
that question, but to refer to it and
take this occasion to explain a little
in regard to what would be the mo-
tivcs, or what would be the fundamcn-
tai principles of this federation, pro-
viding such q federation were made
In the first place, knights Of Colum
bus, remember that you are Catholic
That signifies qualification that is
rs broad as the world isclf. You are
component part of the church mill
tant, the church of Christ; you are part
Of that church that extends through
out the world; you are part Of that
church that is old, in the sense that 1t
existed back in the centuries, back to
that day that Christ said, "Go ye forth,
teach all nations" You are O part Of
that church, wHlichis the strongest body
the world has ever known, a body that
not only now, but back in the centl-
rics, has stood for more in strength
and power than any other organization
the world has ever known. Therefore,
taking the name Catholic into consider
alton ana looking around you, how
much significance it has. How much
it brings to you when you see your
order recognized by that church rs a
component part of the church militant,
whose spirit is Jesus Christ, its found
er, who lives in the church today in
his spirit, and, as the spirit moves the
body in which it lives. lives in the
church, moving the church as his body.
Therefore, 1t is to you of great signiti-
canoe to remember that you are a
Catholic order, an order within the
Catholic church.
And as you apply to yourselves also
the term American, how much it sig
nifies to you when you stop and reflect
over the last SO years, and think of the
struggle that your fathers had in this
land as well as in the land they left, to
recall how day by day and year by
year in the times that are gone by, it