St. Mary's Council #1470

St. Mary's Council #1470 in Leonardtown MD was established in 1910 and serves the Parishes of Our Lady's in Medley's Neck, St. Aloysius in Leonardtown, St. Joseph's in Morganza, Our Lady of the Wayside in Chaptico, Sacred Heart in Bushwood, and Holy Angels in Avenue.  The Council conducts an Officers/Business meeting on the first Thursday and a General/Social meeting on the second Thursday of each month at 8:00 pm at the Council Home at 41605 Fenwick Street, Leonardtown (301) 475-1824.

CHARITY, UNITY, FRATERNITY, AND PATRIOTISM

Knights of Columbus are Catholic gentlemen committed to the exemplification of charity, unity, fraternity, patriotism, and defense of the priesthood. The Order is consecrated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Order is unequivocal in its loyalty to the Pope, the Vicar of Christ on earth. It is firmly committed to the protection of human life, from conception to natural death, and to the preservation and defense of the family. It was on these bedrock principles that the Order was founded over a century ago and remains true to them today.

If you want to join this great organization of Catholic men, it is likely that there is a local council near you. There you will find brother Knights working to fulfill the central mission of the Order: striving in charitable works; serving the Church and unified in following its teachings; supporting brother Knights in their temporal and spiritual needs; acting for the good of their country; and giving aid to widows, orphans, the sick and the poor. This is Father McGivney's dream, echoing across the century, and living today in the hearts of his brothers and all of those they touch.

Vivat Jesus!

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These Men Called Knights*

* This is an excerpt from the 6/95 version of the booklet These Men They Call Knights. Published by the Supreme Council and provides a fine overview of and introduction to the Order.  The entire text is available on the State Council Web site (see link provided below)

 Founded by Father Michael J. McGivney, curate at St. Mary's parish in New Haven, Connecticut, the Knights of Columbus was chartered on March 29, 1882, in the State of Connecticut.

As the priest explained to a small group of men at a meeting in the basement of St. Mary's Church in October 1881, his purpose in calling them together was manifold: to help Catholic men remain steadfast in their faith through mutual encouragement: to promote closer ties of fraternity among them: and to set up an elementary system of insurance so that the widows and children of members in the group who might die would not find themselves in dire financial straits.

The founder and first officers of the fledgling organization chose the name "Knights of Columbus" because they felt that, as a Catholic group, it should relate to Christopher Columbus, the Catholic discoverer of America. This would emphasize that it was a Catholic who discovered, explored, and colonized the North American continent. At the same time "Knights" would signify that the membership embodied knightly ideals of spirituality and service to Church, country and fellowman.