March 29: The Strong Right Arm of the Church

Welcome to the American Catholic Daily Reader podcast. Today is March 29th, and our story is The Strong Right Arm of the Church. On the night of October 2, 1881, a group of men gathered at St. Mary's Church in New Haven, Connecticut.

They'd been summoned to the parish by their assistant pastor, Father, now blessed, Michael J. McGivney, to discuss the formation of a new fraternal organization for Catholic men. After observing the struggles of his immigrant parishioners, McGivney wanted to create a mutual benefit society, where members' dues helped fund insurance benefits for Catholic widows and orphans.

He also wanted to encourage civic and religious pride among Catholic men, providing a fraternal service association for them, similar to that provided by other organizations, but from which Catholics were often banned. On that October night, and the many nights that followed, McGivney and his men hashed out various schemes for organizing the association.

By the following spring, they had settled on a plan, and on March 29, 1882, the Knights of Columbus was officially incorporated in the state of Connecticut. In the beginning, their efforts were met by rabid anti-Catholic prejudice. Groups such as the Ku Klux Klan spread rumors that fourth-degree knights had sworn to exterminate Freemasons and Protestants, as well as flay, burn alive, boil, kill, and otherwise torture anyone, including women and children, when called upon to do so by church authorities.

Nevertheless, the group flourished. In fewer than ten years, there were more than 40,000 knights throughout New England. By 1909, there were 230,000 knights across the country. Today, the number of knights around the world has reached nearly 2 million. The organization's insurance program has likewise grown, and now holds $100 billion worth of policies. In the last decade alone, the Knights have given more than $1.55 billion to charity, with members performing more than 691 million hours of volunteer service. For both its charitable work and its strong defense of Catholic teaching in the public square, St.

John Paul II once described the Knights as the strong right arm of the Church. Father McGivney was beatified at St. Joseph's Cathedral in Hartford, Connecticut, on October 31st, 2020. McGivney's vision demonstrates how faith and organization can protect and uplift communities.

Today, look for ways to join or support organized acts of charity in your parish or community. Thank you for listening to the American Catholic Daily Reader podcast. Join us tomorrow, March 30th, for another story of faith and courage in America.