Knights of Columbus, History of the Order

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History of the Order

1874 | 1890 | 1900 | 1910 | 1920 | 1930 | 1940 | 1950 | 1960 | 1970 | 1980 | 1990 | 2000

2000: Cardinal James Hickey, Archbishop of Washington receives the "Gaudium et Spes Award" of the Knights of Columbus, the highest award given by the 1.6- million-member Catholic family fraternal service organization. The formal presentation was made on April 1, at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC in conjunction with the Jubilee Year pilgrimage of the Knights of Columbus to the Shrine.; 100th Anniversary of the 4th Degree - Supreme Secretary Carl A. Anderson and Supreme Master Charles A. Foos placed a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C. The ceremony took place on Feb 22, the 100th anniversary of the first Fourth Degree exemplification and served as the official kick-off of the centennial of the Fourth Degree. A 30-member honor guard from assemblies from the District of Columbia and Virginia participated in the wreath-laying ceremony.; Dominican Father Gabriel B. O'Donnell delivered 700 pages of historical information and evidence of popular devotion on Knights of Columbus founder Father Michael J. McGivney to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in Rome on March 13.; Carl A. Anderson is elected the 13th Supreme Knight. Anderson received the 1992 Linacre Award of the National Federation of Catholic Physicians' Guilds. In 1998, Pope John Paul II appointed him to the Pontifical Academy for Life. He is a knight in two Catholic orders of knighthood: the pontifical Order of Saint Gregory the Great; and, the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem, which is under the patronage of the Holy See.; Nestor V. Barber, 10th Supreme Master of the 4th Degree.
2001: More than 400 families of emergency medical technicians, firefighters and police officers each have received $3,000 checks from the Knights of Columbus from a special $1 million Knights of Columbus Heroes Fund established Sept. 12 by Order. The checks were given to the families of all deceased heroes regardless of whether they were Catholics or members of the Knights. The fund was created with $500,000 from the Supreme Council and more than $500,000 raised and donated by local Knights of Columbus units throughout North America and elsewhere. A total of $1,251,000 in Heroes Fund benefits have been disbursed.
2002: Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson and Deputy Supreme Knight Jean Migneault present Auxiliary Bishop Anthony Meagher of Toronto and Cardinal Aloysius Ambrozic of Toronto with a check for $1 million for this summer's World Youth Day. The Knights of Columbus announced a $1 million gift to World Youth Day to fund costs related to developing the venue where the Catholic sacrament of reconciliation will be offered during this summer's meeting of the world's youth with Pope John Paul II.; Knights hold a Eucharistic Congress at the Basilica on the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception on June 22nd and 23rd
2003 - Knightline - Year in Review: The second Knights of Columbus Day of the Unborn Child is observed Orderwide; in New Haven, an hour long program of prayer and Eucharistic Adoration is held at St. Mary's Church and broadcast on EWTN.; The Order makes $1 million donation to the Special Olympics to cover the travel expenses of Team USA, Team Canada and Team Mexico to World Summer Games in Dublin Ireland.; Knights report record charitable donations and hours of service: $130 million raised and donated to charity and 61 million hours of service. Over the past 10 years, Knights raised and donated more than $1 billion and volunteered more than 545 million hours of service.
2004 - Knightline - Year in Review: The new Web site on Father McGivney is launched. You can view the site at www.fathermcgivney.org.; The Supreme Council sends $20,000 in emergency disaster relief to Florida State Council for help in aftermath of hurricanes Frances and Ivan; additional assistance totaling more than $30,000 is sent to the Dominican Republic, Haiti and other affected areas of the Caribbean.; Joseph P. Schultz, 11th Supreme Master of the 4th Degree.
2005 - Knightline - Year in Review: The Philippines celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the Knights of Columbus in their country. There are approximately 205,000 Knights serving in their Church, Community and Country in 1,844 Councils.; His Eminence, Bishop William E. Lori is appointed the 10th Supreme Chaplain of the Order. Bishop Lori joined the Knights of Columbus in 1986. Bishop Daily becomes Supreme Chaplain Emeritus.; The Order has 1,703,307 members in 12,767 councils; The Order donated a total of more than $10 million to the Gulf States relief efforts of which more than $5.4 million of the total was donated by nearly 55,000 individuals and organizations. The Supreme Council matched the donations dollar-for-dollar throughout September and October 2005. Nearly $2 million in direct aid was provided to individuals and charitable organizations in the affected areas, including both monetary grants and gift cards redeemable for clothing, food and medicine, as well as home repair expenses.; More than $750,000 was donated to meet specific educational needs, including tuition scholarships for the displaced and school reconstruction. In addition, portions of the funds from general grants to the Archdiocese of New Orleans, the Diocese of Biloxi and other dioceses are being used to rebuild the Catholic school infrastructure. 100% of the money donated to the Gulf States Hurricane Relief Fund was dedicated to relief in the affected areas. The Supreme Council paid all administrative costs.
2006 - Knightline - Year in Review: In March the Polish members of St. Maximillian Kolbe Council 9612 in Mississauga, Ont., Cardinal Wyszynski Council 9296 in Toronto and Our Lady of Czestochowa Council 9346 in Sterling Heights, Mich, conducted 14 First Degree exemplifications throughout Poland. The locations were the Shrine of the Divine Mercy in Krakow, the Marian Shrine at Ludzmierz, the Institute for Studies on the Family in Warsaw, and at the home of Bishop Stanislaw Stefanek of Lomja.; The Board of Directors of the Knights of Columbus voted Sunday [July 30] to make an immediate $100,000 donation for humanitarian aid to those affected by the current conflict in Lebanon. The Board met in Orlando, Florida, where the 124th annual Knights of Columbus convention begins on Tuesday [Aug. 1]. The $100,000 donation will go to Caritas Lebanon, the Lebanese affiliate of one of the world�s largest humanitarian relief organizations. The Caritas International Confederation is composed of 162 Catholic organizations operating in 200 countries.
2007 - Knightline - Year in Review: In May, Archbishop Henry J. Mansell of Hartford, Conn., joins Supreme Knight Anderson on a trip to Poland. Charters are presented to the members of the first six councils instituted there. A new choral composition dedicated to the Knights is premiered at the Jasna Gora Basilica in Czestochowa.; On December 3rd, The Knights of Columbus argues before the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Apeals to keep the words �under God� in the Pledge of Allegiance.