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The '''Knights of Columbus''' is a [[Roman Catholic]] [[fraternal organization]] founded by Father Michael J. McGivney. It provided an alternative to other fraternal organizations, such as [[Freemasonry]], which were closed to Catholics.

The '''Knights of Columbus''' is a [[Catholic]] [[fraternal organization]] that provides insurance and social services to (as of 2007) approximately 1.7 million members and their families. There is active membership in the following nations and territories: Bahamas, Canada, Dominican Republic, Guam, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Phillipines, Poland, Puerto Rico, Saipan, United States, and the Virgin Islands.<ref>http://www.kofc.org/un/eb/en/about/index.html</ref>

 

 

The Knights of Columbus was founded October 2, 1881 when the Parish Priest of the St. Mary's Catholic Church, Father Michael J. McGivney and several other Catholics met together to discus the current state of Catholics. At this time, Catholics were a minority and often treated as second-class citizens. Most Catholics were given menial jobs and did not have much money. When something happened to the man of the household, often the rest of the family would fall into destitution because of the loss of money and support. The idea of support for the survivors and a kind of insurance to help the widow came together as the Knights were formed. Initially, when a member died, each of the other members would contribute one dollar toward the "beneficiary" up to $1,000 (a large sum of money for the time). On  March 29, 1882, the Knights of Columbus officially came to pass when the fraternity became officially incorporated. The formation of the Knights of Columbus also had a beneficial side effect for the members. Because it was forbidden in Catholic dogma for Catholics to part of other fraternities (e.g., the [[Freemasons]]. note: Freemasons did not object to Catholics joining their ranks), it provided a viable alternative.<ref>http://www.kofc.org/un/eb/en/about/history/index.html</ref>

 

 

[[category:Catholic]]

[[category:Catholic]]