Thanks to the efforts of 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 render 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 fellowship is promoted among members and their families through educational, charitable, religious, social welfare, war relief and public relief works.
The history of the Order shows how the foresight of Father Michael J. 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 care programs, and has contributed time and energy worldwide to service in communities.
The Knights of Columbus has grown from several members in one council to more than 14,000 councils and 1.8 million members throughout the United States, Canada, the Philippines, Mexico, Poland, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Panama, the Bahamas, the Virgin Islands, Cuba, Guatemala, Guam and Saipan.
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Why Join the Knights of Columbus?
If you’re interested in helping those in need, serving your parish, growing in your faith or having exclusive access to top-rated insurance protection for your family, then the Knights of Columbus is the organization for you.
Becoming a Knight of Columbus can transform your life. As a Knight, you have the opportunity to support your parish, give back to your community, grow in your faith and gain exclusive access to our top-rated insurance program to protect your family.
These are just some of the reasons to become a Knight.
We are a band of brothers, a network of men in communities around the world dedicated to doing good in the service of God and our neighbor.
What we provide
Service
Support the parish with its needs
Help meet the needs of those in the local community
Provide “Coats for Kids” and “Food for Families”
Support programs that benefit people with intellectual disabilities
Aid victims of natural disasters and other catastrophic events, local and worldwide
Donate wheelchairs to people without mobility at home and abroad
Save lives through initiatives such as the “Ultrasound Program”
Charity is the first principle of the Knights of Columbus. Knights are men who get things done. We volunteer our time to serve our parishes and our communities. And by working together, we were able to donate more than $1.4 billion and 664 million volunteer hours to worthy causes in the past decade.
Support
A unique “band of brothers”
Shared values and the support to live out our Catholic faith more fully
The ability for our network to accomplish things together that we could not accomplish alone
Unity and Fraternity are the second and third principles of the Knights of Columbus. The Knights of Columbus was founded so that men could work together to serve their parishes and communities, protect the well being of their Catholic families, and support each other in faith and in many other ways along life’s journey. The Knights of Columbus offers its members the opportunity to grow in their faith through living the example of a charity that evangelizes and personifying what it means to be a Catholic gentleman through the practicing of good works.
Stability
Exclusive access to our top-rated life insurance products, available only to members and their families
Your insurance agent is a Knight dedicated to helping his brother Knights protect their families
As a Knight, you and your family have exclusive access to our top quality insurance products. In fact, no insurer in North America is more highly rated than the Knights of Columbus. As an organization founded to protect the well being of Catholic families, we have continued to take that mission seriously for more than 130 years. Generations of Catholics have counted on the Knights of Columbus, and in an increasingly turbulent world, you can trust the Knights of Columbus to affordably and securely protect the future of your loved ones and to be there when you need us most.
For 130 years the Knights of Columbus has provided all of the opportunities in this brochure and more for its members.
The Knights of Columbus is not just a fraternity in name. It is a brotherhood of Catholic men who each play a part in improving the world around them, one community at a time. They stand together in faith, dedicated to uphold the principles they cherish while lending their support and strength to parish, home and fellow Knight.
From charity for worldwide causes, to helping closer to home with volunteer activities, to a top-rated insurance program that protects those closest to you, the Knights makes the most of its brotherhood.
Make a stand among them, and you can discover how easy it is to make a difference in your life and that of others.
How to Join
Council 11281
Contact Information
Knights of Columbus
Saint John Council 11281
625 11th Avenue North
Naples, FL 34108-1852
Council Officers
| Grand Knight | Edwin Phelps |
| Deputy Grand Knight | Joseph Hemrick |
| Chancellor | Paul Curti |
| Advocate | Fred Grunst |
| Treasurer | Brandon Dougherty |
| Recorder | Michael Woodyard |
| Warden | John (Jack) Liguori |
| Guards | Michael Brady and Peter Marco |
| Three-Year Trustee | William Warvel |
| Two-Year Trustee | Scott Schwarz |
| One-Year Trustee | Gerald (Jerry) Detloff |
Grand Knight Appointments
| Financial Secretary | James Gary Ray |
| Chaplain | Reverend Robert Murphy |
| Spiritual Advisor | Very Reverend John Ludden |
| Lector | Anthony Curtalo |