page_title: History of the Knights of Columbus
section_title: Founding
hierarchical_section_title: History of the Knights of Columbus / Early history / Founding
caption_attribution_description: English: New Haven St. Mary's This church at 5 Hillhouse Avenue was dedicated in 1874. It was designed by the eminent architect James Murphy of Providence, Rhode Island.--Davidt8 (talk) 01:37, 29 January 2011 (UTC)
context_page_description: The history of the Knights of Columbus begins with its founding in 1882 by Father Michael J. McGivney at St. Mary's Parish in New Haven, Connecticut. The Knights of Columbus was initially a mutual benefit society for a membership of practicing male Catholics. Today, it advocates for Catholic causes and provides a range of philanthropic and support services to Catholic institutions worldwide. It is also one of the world's largest insurance companies and operates the shrine to Pope John Paul II in Washington, D.C.
  The order was designed to foster members' pride in both their Catholic and American heritages and to establish standards of behavior for Catholic gentlemen. It expanded beyond Connecticut and the United States to establish its first international councils by 1905. The organization provided relief to soldiers in wars throughout the 20th century and fought anti-Catholic and racial prejudice. Its substantial membership and financial resources have enabled it to exercise considerable influence within the Catholic church and to promote Catholic views in social and political discourse.
context_section_description: Michael J. McGivney, an Irish–American Catholic priest, founded the Knights of Columbus in New Haven, Connecticut. He gathered a group of men from St. Mary's Parish for an organizational meeting on October 2, 1881. It was incorporated on March 29, 1882. McGivney had originally conceived of the name "Sons of Columbus". James T. Mullen, who later led the organization, coined the name "Knights of Columbus", which expressed the ritualistic nature of the new organization and drew from positive historical associations.
  The Order was intended to be a mutual benefit society. 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. He wanted to provide insurance to care for the widows and orphans left behind. In his own life, he temporarily had to suspend his seminary studies to care for his family after his father died.
  Because of religious and ethnic discrimination, Roman Catholics in the late 19th century were regularly excluded from labor unions, popular fraternal organizations, and other organized groups that provided such social services. Papal encyclicals issued by the Holy See also prohibited Catholics from participating as lodge members within Freemasonry. McGivney intended to create an alternative organization. He also believed that Catholicism and fraternalism were compatible and wanted to found a society to encourage men to be proud of their American–Catholic heritage.
  Fraternal organizations, which combined social aspects and ritual, were especially flourishing during the latter third of the nineteenth century, the so-called "Golden Age of Fraternalism. New Haven's Irish Catholic men of the era could have joined one of many other organizations, and Catholics of other ethnicities had additional options.
  McGivney traveled to Boston to examine the Massachusetts Catholic Order of Foresters and to Brooklyn, New York to learn about the recently established Catholic Benevolent League, both of which offered insurance benefits. He found the latter to be lacking the excitement he thought was needed if his organization were to compete with the secret societies of the day. He explored establishing a New Haven Court of the Foresters, but the group's charter in Massachusetts limited them to operating within that Commonwealth. McGivney's committee of St. Mary's parishioners decided to form a new club.
caption: St. Mary's Church
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