Our Council
The Council Charter was issued in 1912.
Columbus Hall was purchased by the Knights of Columbus in May 1962.
We remember our role in the community.
We honour the memory of our deceased fellow Knights.
We respect the history of our Council leadership.
Our Founder
When Father Michael McGivney founded the Knights of Columbus in 1882, he knew these husbands and fathers — mostly poor, Catholics immigrants — faced a culture with deep mistrust of the Catholic community and often dangerous working conditions. It was a great burden to know that their death would likely leave their families penniless and at risk of being separated. A child of immigrants, and a faithful son who had to leave seminary to help support his mother and siblings after his factory-employed father died, Father McGivney was intimately familiar with these realities.
And so, as an assistant priest at St. Mary’s Church in New Haven, Connecticut, he gathered men in his parish basement and founded the Knights of Columbus.The mission: Help keep men Catholic and ensure their families’ financial protection.
Father McGivney ministered among his people until, during the global flu pandemic of 1899-1890, he died on Aug. 14, 1890, two days after his 38th birthday.
With the Knights’ support, the Archdiocese of Hartford officially opened the cause for Father McGivney’s canonization in 1997. In 2020 the Vatican approved a miracle involving the child of one of the Order’s members, moving Father McGivney’s cause for canonization to the stage of beatification. In his Apostolic Letter announcing Father McGivney’s beatification , Pope Francis stated that our Founder’s “zeal for the proclamation of the Gospel and generous concern for the needs of his brothers and sisters made him an outstanding witness of Christian solidarity and fraternal assistance.”
Blessed Michael McGivney is entombed at St. Mary’s Church, birthplace of the Knights of Columbus and a pilgrimage destination for Knights and their families.
Our Order
The late-19th century in North America was marked by anti-Catholic prejudice and dangerous factory conditions that left many families fatherless. Recognizing a need, 29-year-old Father Michael McGivney gathered a group of men at his parish on Oct. 2, 1881. His vision: an order to unite Catholic men and help families of deceased members.
The years after World War I and through the Great Depression saw the Knights continuing to make a name for themselves with charitable work, as well anti-defamation education in the face of rising Ku Klux Klan and nativist campaigns. In the early 1930s, the Knights also responded to the growing threat of atheistic communism in Europe by organizing anti-communism rallies and sponsoring educational programs to combat the ideology.
The early 1960s marked a period of transformation and upheaval for the Church and society. At the 1966 Supreme Convention, Supreme Knight John W. McDevitt said it was time to see the Order as more than just “a fortress” for its members in a world hostile to the Catholic faith. In revising its admission policies and supporting several social justice initiatives, the Order took positive steps to eliminate racial discrimination.
From delivering supplies in the wake of wildfires and hurricanes, to serving victims of war in Ukraine, the Order has become adept at responding to natural and humanitarian disasters. Other charitable work includes advocating for persecuted Christians in the Middle East, providing over 2,000 ultrasound machines to pregnancy centers and much more. The Knights of Columbus are fully committed to living its mission to life in a changing world.
Knights of Columbus In Ontario
In Ontario Knights of Columbus there are more than 56,500 Knights in 460 councils
The following are excerpts taken from The Unofficial History of the Knights of Columbus in Ontario (1900-62) Volume one by Immediate Past State Deputy Bruce S. Poulin.
Many Catholics in the nation’s capital believed that if they remained committed to their Faith and God they would be able to live freely, grow and prosper. But this sentiment changed at the turn of the twentieth century when it became increasingly clear that the local business community was relegating most of the high-risk jobs to either Irish or French Catholic men. This meant that the families of these Catholic men were always threatened with being broken up and dispersed if the husband died or suffered a catastrophic injury at work and the family became financially destitute.
And, in spite of the British North America Act of 1867, which specifically protected separate schools in Ontario (under the separate School Law of 1863) as a precondition to creating the Dominion of Canada, Freemasons were more determined than ever to rid the province of separate schools and especially French-speaking ones located in Ottawa and eastern Ontario.
The appearance of evil which threatened their Faith, the natural family, their children’s religious education, and their language was a constant thorn in the side of many Catholics. For some, fear took over and they stopped living and just survived. But there was another group of Catholic men. Resilient and confident that they had real value in this world. It was some of these men from Saint Patrick Basilica and Notre Dame Cathedral parishes in Ottawa who took matters into their own hands and refused to be vexed any longer. With the support of the local Catholic clergy, they started looking for a way to help Catholic men change society into a better place for their families to live freely, grow, and prosper.
First Councils
One not-for-profit organization that caught their attention was Father Michael J. McGivney’s Catholic fraternal society called the Knights of Columbus. Established in New Haven, Connecticut in 1882, it was supported by the Clergy and its members had access to preferred member insurance rates and member benefits programs in case of a catastrophic injury to the male breadwinner. At the time, there were also three councils that had already been established in Québec and they were very well received by their respective Catholic communities.
Fifty-eight Catholic men gathered in November 1899 to hear from the District Deputy John P. Kavanagh from Canada Council 284 in Montréal, Québec, talk to them about the Order. Before the meeting ended, a vote was held and everyone at the meeting supported the creation of a Knights of Columbus council in Ontario.
With the blessing of Ottawa Archbishop Joseph Thomas Duhamel, Council 485 was established on Sunday, January 28, 1900. Today, it is known as the pioneer council from which all other subordinate councils in the province were created. John Patrick Dunne (originally from Québec City, Québec) became the first Grand Knight of the Council in Ottawa and is known as the Father of the Knights of Columbus in Ontario. In the same vein, the first chaplain for the council, Rev. Father Matthew J. Whelan from St. Patrick Basilica, is considered the spiritual father of the Order in Ontario.
With the establishment of Council 485, there were now four councils in Canada which meant that it could become a State Council. But the leadership within Québec and Ontario were confident that they could establish at least four councils in each province thereby making each of their states in their own right. More states in Canada meant more votes at Supreme Convention and more infrastructure and access to financial resources to support local provincial initiatives.
On May 25, 1903, a second charter was granted in Ontario to Council 789 in Peterborough. October 7, 1903, saw the establishment of Frontenac Council 728 in Kingston. The fourth council needed was established on November 29, 1903. It was called Ontario Council 755 and it was located in Cornwall, Ontario. On July 1, 1904, the inaugural Annual State Convention was held in Ottawa, Ontario.
First World War
During the Great War, a member of Council 485, Maj. Rev. John J. Gorman was wounded in the Battle of the Somme. He returned to Ottawa to recover. While convalescing, he suggested that his brother Knights establish a Canadian Catholic Army Huts program for the Canadian troops deployed overseas. He argued that our troops did not have access to material and spiritual comforts. His idea, supported by State Deputy Joseph L. “Joe” Murray, was adopted by the voting delegates at the 1917 Annual State Convention of the Knights of Columbus held in Hamilton, Ontario.
Returning Veterans joined the Knights, partly because of the support they had received from the Knight while deployed overseas. Another factor was the Spanish flu because the Knights offered its members life and disability insurance at a time when universal health care did not exist in Canada. Since then, it may be truly said that the ranks of the Knights of Columbus everywhere are to be found old and young, rich and poor, humble and exalted, illiterate and learned – we have broken down the barriers between those classes and have provided the facilities for getting together.
Great Depression, Bigotry, and Totalitarianism
The Great Economic Depression led to an unprecedented decline in membership among the uninsured working-class members in the Order. Undeterred by their dwindling numbers, the remaining members of the Order in Ontario successfully took on the Ku Klux Klan when it first appeared in Niagara Falls, Ontario on August 9, 1924, and launched several terrorist attacks on Catholic churches in Ontario.
But it was the threat of totalitarianism (including communism and Nazism) that got the most attention from the members of the Order in Ontario largely because of totalitarianism’s threat to their Faith, the natural family, their children’s religious education, and the right to private property.
Members within the Order were being challenged from all sides: Politically by communist and Nazi sympathizers, economically by the Great Economic Depression and its associated financial hardships, and socially by the anti-Catholic birth control movement. Yet, in its seemingly darkest hour, when their Catholic Faith seemed to be enduring evil’s worst assault, another world war broke out and the Knights would be challenged to do more.
Second World War
With a much-reduced membership and empty financial reserves in the council coffers, State Deputy Sir Philip N.L. Phelan of Council 485, appealed to the membership to support a new Canadian Army Huts program during the Second World War (1939-45). There were a thousand reasons for his brothers Knights to refuse Phelan’s request. He knew his appeal could precipitate the total destruction of the Order in Ontario. Much to their credit, and the noble legacy of devotion and inspiration they have left behind, these dedicated members did respond. They rose to the challenge and provided the material and spiritual comforts for the troops deployed overseas for the duration of the war under the auspices of the Canadian Army Huts program.
Much like the Great War, returning veterans flocked to the Knights of Columbus councils to join after the war and they were all received with warm arms of brotherly love. This influx was partly based on the support the Knights had given them during the war.
Conclusion
In a world where government programs are falling short and community organizations are struggling to fill the gap, it is the common consensus that the Knights in Ontario have, over the years, acquitted themselves nobly as true and loyal Catholic Canadian citizens since the order was established in Ontario on January 28, 1900, with the pioneer Council #485 in Ottawa. In a world that desperately needs men to stand out, the Knights of Columbus has been helping Catholic men change society into a better place for their families to live freely, grow, and prosper – one volunteer at a time.
End of excerpts from The Unofficial History of the Knights of Columbus in Ontario
Modern Programs
Indigenous Awareness: In the spirit of reconciliation, the Knights of Columbus in Ontario have donated to seminaries supporting indigenous awareness programs, adopted St. Kateri Tekakwitha as its patroness (2023 – 2024), and sponsored a pilgrimage to her shrine in Kahnawake, Quebec.
Veterans’ Housing Initiative: Since 1917, the members of the Knights of Columbus have provided physical and spiritual comfort to Canada’s military through its Canadian Army Huts program during the Great War and the Second World War. Its more recent fundraising activity consists of erecting a cenotaph at the Veterans’ Housing Initiative in Ottawa for homeless veterans.