Knights of Columbus
A global Catholic fraternal service organization providing member insurance, charitable assistance, and faith-based community programs.
Last updated August 21, 2026
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Overview
The Knights of Columbus is a Catholic fraternal service organization established in New Haven, Connecticut, on March 29, 1882, by Catholic priest Michael J. McGivney and a group of parishioners. It began as a mutual-benefit society for working-class and immigrant Catholic men. At a time when public welfare systems were limited and Catholics frequently faced religious and ethnic discrimination, McGivney sought to create an organization that could support families after the death or disability of a principal wage earner while also strengthening parish and community life. The order is organized around four principles: charity, unity, fraternity, and patriotism. Its members are practicing Catholic men in good standing with the Church. Local councils generally operate through parishes or community organizations, while state councils and the Supreme Council coordinate programs, governance, insurance, and international activities. Membership is divided into four degrees, with the fourth degree emphasizing patriotism and civic service. Women participate through affiliated auxiliaries such as the Columbiettes, and boys may participate in the Columbian Squires program. Insurance remains a central institutional activity. Through its wholly owned insurance operation, the Knights provides life insurance and related financial products to members and the broader Catholic market. The organization also owns Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors, an investment-management business that applies Catholic social-investment principles. These commercial activities help finance the order’s fraternal and charitable work, although the Knights is not a publicly traded company. Its charitable programs support Catholic parishes and schools, seminarians, people with intellectual and physical disabilities, refugees, military personnel, veterans, disaster victims, and communities affected by war. The order has been particularly active in humanitarian assistance for persecuted Christians and other religious minorities in the Middle East, refugees at the United States–Mexico border, and people displaced by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It has also supported Special Olympics and crisis-pregnancy centers, including through donations of ultrasound equipment. The Knights has maintained a public role in debates involving Catholic social teaching, including religious liberty, abortion, education, marriage, and assistance to persecuted religious minorities. Its political and public-policy activity has sometimes attracted criticism, but it remains closely connected to Catholic institutions in North America and elsewhere. By 2025, the order reported more than 2.2 million members and more than 17,000 local councils worldwide. Patrick E. Kelly is its 14th Supreme Knight.
History
Michael J. McGivney founded the Knights of Columbus at St. Mary’s Church in New Haven in 1882. His immediate concern was the vulnerability of immigrant Catholic families when a breadwinner died. The new organization combined mutual aid with Catholic fellowship and gradually developed an insurance system. Its early councils spread through Connecticut, New England, and the wider United States, while governance evolved into a federal structure with local, state, and national levels. The organization expanded its social role during the twentieth century. During World War I it operated welfare centers for servicemen in the United States and overseas, and after the war it supported veterans through education, training, and employment initiatives. It also became involved in religious-liberty and education disputes. Its support for the legal challenge to Oregon’s compulsory public-school law contributed to the Supreme Court’s 1925 decision in Pierce v. Society of Sisters, which protected the right of parents to choose private education. The Knights also undertook historical and educational projects addressing prejudice against Catholics and other minority groups. In the 1920s it sponsored publications describing the contributions of Black Americans, Jewish Americans, and German Americans to United States history. The order’s record on race was not uniform: some local councils admitted Black members while others used local voting procedures to exclude them. In the mid-twentieth century, Supreme Knight Luke E. Hart pressed councils toward greater acceptance of Black candidates, and membership procedures were subsequently changed so that rejection required a majority vote rather than a small number of negative ballots. The order was also a target of Ku Klux Klan propaganda, including a fabricated claim that Fourth Degree Knights swore an oath against Protestants and Freemasons. The Knights denied the allegation, offered a reward for evidence of such an oath, and pursued libel actions against distributors. During the Cristero War in Mexico, it supported persecuted Catholics; several Knights associated with the conflict were later canonized or beatified. In the later twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, the Knights deepened its relationship with the Catholic Church while retaining a major financial and charitable infrastructure. It built a 23-story headquarters in New Haven in 1969 and continued expanding local, college, military, and Fourth Degree councils. Its programs now include support for parishes, Catholic education, refugees, veterans, military families, people with disabilities, disaster victims, and victims of war. Special Olympics has been a notable beneficiary since the first games in 1968. The modern Knights combines fraternal membership with insurance and investment management. Its insurance subsidiary serves members and the Catholic market, while Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors manages investments according to Catholic social teachings. The order also advocates positions associated with Catholic doctrine, including opposition to abortion and same-sex marriage and support for religious liberty. This public-policy role, together with criticism of senior executive compensation, has made the organization politically and institutionally prominent beyond its charitable work. Patrick E. Kelly currently serves as Supreme Knight, and the order reports more than two million members across a worldwide network of local councils.
- 2022
Ukraine humanitarian response expands
[1]Knights in Ukraine and Poland organized large-scale aid and transport for people displaced by the invasion.
- 2021
Patrick E. Kelly becomes Supreme Knight
[1]Patrick E. Kelly became the order’s 14th Supreme Knight.
- 1969
New Haven headquarters opens
[1]The organization opened a 23-story headquarters building in New Haven.
- 1968
Support for Special Olympics begins
[1]The Knights became an ongoing supporter of Special Olympics and disability-related charitable programs.
- 1925
Supreme Court education case
[1]The Supreme Court struck down Oregon’s compulsory public-school law in Pierce v. Society of Sisters after a legal challenge supported by the Knights.
- 1903
Early disaster-relief activity
[1]Councils provided assistance to victims of a flood in Kansas, an early example of the order’s disaster-relief work.
- 1898
College council program begins
[1]The organization began developing councils for Catholic college students, later creating a worldwide campus network.
- 1882
Organization founded in New Haven
[1]Michael J. McGivney and parishioners founded the Knights of Columbus as a Catholic mutual-benefit society.
Products and positioning
A Catholic, member-based fraternal institution combining mutual financial protection, religious identity, civic participation, and large-scale charitable service.
Insurance and financial services
Knights of Columbus insurance
The order’s wholly owned insurance operation provides life insurance and related member financial products. Insurance is both a member benefit and a major source of the financial infrastructure supporting the organization’s fraternal and charitable activities.
Investment management
Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors
A money-management business owned by the Knights of Columbus. It offers investment services designed for Catholic institutions and investors and applies investment screens and principles based on Catholic social teachings.
Membership and community services · 1882
Fraternal council programs
Local councils organize parish assistance, volunteer projects, fundraising, youth activities, family programs, disaster response, and support for military personnel and veterans. These activities are the most visible community-facing expression of the order.
Controversies
2020
Criticism of senior executive compensation
The salaries of senior Knights of Columbus officers have been criticized as excessive, particularly in light of the order’s charitable and religious mission.
1963
Disputed Black membership application
A Chicago-area council rejected Joseph Bertrand’s membership application through the local balloting system, prompting criticism and renewed pressure to change admission procedures.
1920
False oath allegations and Klan propaganda
The Ku Klux Klan circulated a fabricated claim that Fourth Degree Knights swore to harm Protestants and Freemasons. The Knights denied the allegation, offered a reward for proof, and pursued libel actions.
Marketing campaigns
- 2022Ukraine relief response
Ukraine · Poland
Local Knights helped people fleeing the invasion by distributing supplies and arranging buses toward the Polish border, while councils in Poland provided reception and humanitarian support.
Outcome. The response became one of the order’s largest recent international relief efforts.
- 2014Aid to persecuted Christians and minorities
Middle East
The Knights funded food, shelter, clothing, and medical assistance for persecuted Christians and other religious minorities affected by conflict.
Outcome. More than two million dollars was reportedly provided between 2014 and 2018.
- 2009Ultrasound Initiative
United States · Canada
The order began funding ultrasound machines for crisis-pregnancy centers as part of its anti-abortion and charitable agenda.
Outcome. More than 1,000 machines had reportedly been donated during the first decade of the initiative.
- 1917Wartime servicemen welfare centers
United States · Overseas military locations
The Knights established welfare centers for Catholic and other servicemen during World War I and continued assistance for veterans after the conflict.
Outcome. Created a long-running military and veterans’ service role.
Brand decisions
2022
Scale humanitarian operations in UkraineStrategyBackground
Russia’s invasion created a large refugee and humanitarian emergency affecting Knights and non-members in Ukraine and neighboring countries.
Action taken
Councils organized transport, food distribution, clothing, shelter, and financial relief through Ukraine and Poland.
Aftermath
The order developed an extensive continuing relief operation for displaced people and communities affected by the war.
1964
Change local membership voting rulesStrategyBackground
Local council voting could allow a small number of negative ballots to block a candidate, contributing to disputed exclusions of Black applicants.
Action taken
The order changed the procedure so that rejecting an applicant required a majority vote of the council.
Aftermath
The change reduced the ability of a small minority of voters to prevent admission, although the order’s racial history remains contested.
1925
Support litigation protecting parochial educationOtherBackground
Oregon adopted a law intended to require children to attend public schools, threatening Catholic and other private schools.
Action taken
The Knights supported the legal challenge that reached the United States Supreme Court.
Aftermath
The Court invalidated the law in Pierce v. Society of Sisters, recognizing parental rights to choose private education.
Recent events
- 2022
Knights expand humanitarian assistance in Ukraine[1]
Other
Councils in Ukraine and Poland organized transport, food, clothing, shelter, and other assistance for people displaced by the Russian invasion.
- 2021
Patrick E. Kelly leads the order as Supreme Knight[1]
Leadership change
Patrick E. Kelly became the organization’s 14th Supreme Knight.
- 1925
Knights support legal challenge to Oregon compulsory-schooling law[1]
Lawsuit
The order supported the challenge that led the Supreme Court to invalidate Oregon’s law restricting private and parochial schooling in Pierce v. Society of Sisters.
- 1882
Knights of Columbus founded as a mutual-benefit society[1]
Other
Michael J. McGivney and parishioners in New Haven established the organization to provide fraternity and financial protection for Catholic families.
Sources2 sources
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