After 142 years, the Knights of Columbus is pulling down a veil of secrecy that has surrounded its initiation ceremonies from its beginning in an effort to better showcase the order’s core principles and its drive to help Catholic men become disciples.
Knights of Columbus
Founded in 1882 by the Ven. Fr. Michael J. McGivney, the Knights of Columbus are Catholic men who lead, serve, protect and defend. The desire is to be better husbands, fathers, sons, neighbors and role models and to put charity and community first. There are approximately 17,200 Knights in Arizona and 1.2 million worldwide.
Since its founding in 1882, the
initiation ceremonies for the first three degrees of Knights membership —
focused on the principles of charity, unity and fraternity — have been separate
and open to members only. The fourth degree, dedicated to the principal of
patriotism, was added later in 1900, and this initiation also is secret and for
members only.
But starting this year, the Knights
have adopted a new ceremony. Called the Exemplification of Charity, Unity and
Fraternity, or CUF, it combines the initiation for the first three degrees into
a single ceremony that will be open to family, friends and fellow parishioners.
“There is nothing we do that is secret or needs to be secret,” Supreme Knight Carl Anderson told the Tennessee Register, newspaper of the Diocese of Nashville. “We decided this is a way to let other parishioners know, family members know, what the Knights of Columbus is all about. We think that’s a good thing.”
The Knights of Columbus is a
fraternal organization of Catholic men that was founded by Fr. Michael
McGivney, a young priest serving at St. Mary Church in New Haven, Connecticut.
Fr. McGivney is a candidate for sainthood and has the title “Venerable.”
Today, the order has more than 2
million members worldwide who are involved in charitable and service works,
including approximately 17,200 in Arizona.
Although membership as a whole is
growing, not all areas are showing increases, Anderson said.
“I think the Catholic Church is
growing more quickly in some areas than in other areas. Those trends affect us
as well,” he said. “When you see dioceses with parishes closing, that has to
affect all the Catholic organizations in those dioceses.”
At the Knights’ Supreme Convention
last summer, a resolution from the Illinois delegation calling for combining
the first-, second- and third-degree ceremonies into one and removing the
condition of secrecy was approved. Anderson directed a review of the ceremonies
“with an eye toward staying true to our roots while at the same time presenting
our principles of charity, unity and fraternity in a more clear and convincing
way.”
Anderson unveiled the new ceremony
in November at the midyear meeting in Orlando for the order’s state deputies,
who are the highest official in each jurisdiction. He said the ceremony “stays
true to our traditions while addressing the needs of our times.”
Among them was Arizona State Deputy
Mario Vassallo, a member of St. Rita in the Desert Council 14230, based out of
the parish of the same name in Vail, in the Diocese of Tucson. He expressed to The
Catholic Sun that it was a privilege to have his wife Mary Ann present.
“Having the exemplification open to
the general public will be a testimonial to all of who we are and what we do
and can be used as a membership recruitment tool,” Vassallo said.
The fourth degree ceremony will
remain unchanged and will continue to be open to members only.
“Secrecy has to be understood in
the context of the 19th century,” Anderson said. “There was incredible bigotry
against Catholics,” with the anti-Catholic Know-Nothings in control politically
in New England at the time, and the Ku Klux Klan later became a powerful
political force across the country, he said. “There was some appeal to
secrecy.”
Also, at the time, the idea of
progressing through the degrees as a journey toward Knighthood was popular. But
today, those features have proved to be an impediment to men joining,
particularly young men, Anderson said. The new single ceremony takes about 30
minutes.
By opening the ceremony to the
public, “families and friends can see what we’re all about and hopefully decide
I or my brother or my husband should join,” Anderson said.
The new degree ceremony pulls from
the three previous ceremonies to pass along the organization’s history and the
importance of the principles rooted in the organization.
“We need to impress on the members
the importance of charity, unity, fraternity, how they are linked, and how in
Fr. McGivney’s vision of Christian discipleship … charity, unity and fraternity
become a path of discipleship for the Catholic man,” Anderson said.
A ceremony that focuses on the
three principles enhances the Knight’s involvement in the Church’s work of
evangelization, Anderson explained.
“I think its central,” he said. The
order’s principles “are really at the core of Catholic life, and (the new
ceremony) makes it clear we have a responsibility and the responsibility
extends into the whole person, the spiritual dimension, the fraternal dimension
and the financial dimension.”
The script for the new degree calls
for the ceremony to be conducted in a church or similarly appropriate location,
with a priest or deacon participating. The expectation is that the new ceremony
can be held after a Mass when the congregation can be invited to stay and
watch.
“I was greatly elated to hear the
news that a new degree exemplification, combining the Admissions, Formation and
Knighthood Degrees into one and open to the public, had been approved by the
Supreme Council,” Vassallo said. “By combining the first three degrees into one
ceremony, new members can now be eligible for council office positions as soon
as they join.”
Current knights who are first
degree members who also go through the ceremony will become members in the
third degree.
“It’s an exciting development for
the Knights of Columbus,” said Michael McCusker, the state deputy of Tennessee.
“How many times do we go home from degrees with our hearts on fire and we had a
desperate need to share it with our families, but we couldn’t? To me that’s
akin to putting your light under a bushel.”
“What I also like is it removes the
struggle of getting a man to go through all three separate degrees,” said
McCusker, a member of Council 9317 at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Cordova,
in suburban Memphis, Tennessee. “I like that they go, they and their families
see what they’re involved in, and the minute they leave, they’re full members
of the Knights of Columbus.”
The script for the new ceremony was
made available to all councils Jan. 15. It was left to each state deputy to
decide how and when the new ceremony will be rolled out in their jurisdiction.
The Connecticut State Council used the new ceremony for the first time Jan. 1
at St. Mary Church in New Haven, Connecticut, the birthplace of the order. Fifty-two
candidates from Connecticut councils participated in the new ceremony. About
200 people attended, including Anderson.
“They had a very large turnout and
it was very well received,” Anderson said. “That’s been our experience across
the country.”
In Arizona, the new degree was held
for the first time Jan. 11 at St. Anthony of Padua Community Center in Casa
Grande during the state council’s mid-year meeting, at which 24 candidates were
initiated. As of press time, nine CUF exemplifications have been held, with
more coming up. In total, 61 candidates have been exemplified consisting of 31
new knights and 30 first degree knights.
A Spanish version of the CUF was
held Jan. 29 at Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Tucson with three candidates being
exemplified.
— By Andy Telli, Catholic News
Service. Telli is managing editor of the TENNESSEE REGISTER, newspaper of the
Diocese of Nashville. Contributing to this article was Tony Gutiérrez from THE
CATHOLIC SUN.