That energizing question moves 1.6 million Knights throughout the world into action. It is the starting point for action programs that make a difference in the lives of the people in their parishes and communities every day. Knights develop and carry out these programs – specific to the abilities of their local council and the needs of their Church, community, council, families and young people with commitment to achieving real results.
      The Knights of Columbus began in the basement of St. Mary’s Church in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1882, when Father Michael J. McGivney called together a small group of pioneering Catholic laymen and founded a society designed to provide financial assistance for the widows and orphans of its members. Father McGivney’s original idea grew quickly into an organization of Catholic men and their families dedicated to promoting the concepts of charity, unity, fraternity, and patriotism.