Why Join the Knights

Why Join | Vidoes: Knights in Action | Q&A | Join Us

Why Join the Knights of Columbus?

Imagine being part of an organization that fills your heart and your mind with the joy of giving to others and the feeling that comes with making a difference.

Knights are Catholic men, 18 years of age and older, who are committed to making their community a better place, while supporting their Church.  Being a Knight is more than camaraderie; it is being involved with your community; it is supporting your local Catholic Church, while enhancing your own faith; it is about protecting and enhancing your family life.

Videos on the Experience of Becoming a Knights: 

Hear what Knights have to say in their own words about their membership in the world's largest Catholic family service organizaion:  

Experience of a Lifetime:

 

In Service to One, In Service to All" 

Overview Booklet on Membership"

Our eight-page Overview Booklet gives additinal information about what it means to be a member of the Knights of Columbus.

Knights in Action:

A Knight of Columbus can work wonders; in fact, with its many programs, it can help change the community, town, city or neighborhood in which you live.

However, a successful Knights of Columbus program depends on people like you taking the initial idea, modifying it to suit specific situational and local needs, then implementing the program in the way it works.

The St. Basil Knights of Columbus are active in parish functions, ministries, and activities.  There are lots of ways to bring the Kingdom of God to others by getting involved with parish activities and functions. 

Church Program Activities:

Catholics are searching for ways to further develop the ministry of our Church.  If these good intentions are going to bear fruit, if the Church is going to not only exist, but thrive in today’s society, men and women throughout our communities must come forward and take an active part in ministry.  

Church Program Director: Anthony Odorisio (tony2158@gmail.com)

Vocations: 

Founded by a parish priest, the Knights of Columbus has always worked hard to encourage young men and women to consider God’s call to service in the priesthood or religious life.  Under the motto “keep the Faith Alive,” the Order’s vocations initiative has a number of programs based on prayer and designed to reach the hearts and minds of young people, as well as to provide financial support during their years of seminary training or religious formation.  Council 13800 regularly supports local seminarians. 

Vocations Program Director: Anthony Odorisio (tony2158@gmail.com)

Community Program Activities: 

Whereever we live, wheter in Phoenixville or Center City, Philadelphia, we all have our own perceptions of "community.”  Usually, these perceptions are formed by the concrete reality of the world immediately around us.  It may be a bustling metropolis, a town, a tiny village, a large county, a broad rural area.  It is the place we call home – with all its good and bad features, its beauty and its ugliness, its strengths and its weaknesses.

Every individual has a voice in shaping the world around him, and every individual can make that voice heard.  Council 13800 participates in several community activities including supporting the good works of “PACS,” Coats for Kids, and the Empty Bowl Event.

Community Program Director – Tom Mitchell (tomkat814@verizon.net)

Council Activities:

Many of the activities of the Knights of Columbus sound demanding, and certainly many are, but that does not mean that others can’t be just for fun.  Members of your council are your neighbors, friends and acquaintances, who are just as interested in athletic, cultural and social events as you are.

Council Program Director – Dominic Acquilante (prendie15@verizon.net)

Culture of Life Activities: 

As Catholics, Knights of Columbus have the responsibility to work for the common good of society.  Catholics – and especially Knights – must, in the words of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, “embrace their citizenship not merely as a duty and a privilege, but as an opportunity to participate in building the culture of life. Every voice matters in the public forum.  Every voice counts. Every act of responsible citizenship is an exercise of significant individual power.”  Led by the Fourth Degree, the Order encourages its own members – and all people – to vote and support pro-life and religious policies. 

Pro-Life Program Director – Jonas Bilenas (jonas@jonasbilenas.com)

Family Activities:

Take a look at what’s happening to our family life. Do we communicate? Do we share? Do we take time to get involved with each other?  Are there opportunities for improvement?  What is God’s plan for us?

Today’s society makes it hard to be a family.  Television takes up a lot of our time together.  The hustle and bustle of business, rushed meals, school, work, committee meetings, sports and shopping are cramming our days and weeks.  The family us under heavy attack today. The battle is largely over vales and commitments.  To survive, the family needs support.  Its primary source of strength must be found in a growing religious and parish life.  But is also can be helped substantially by an organization such as ours.

Family Program Director – Stan Conover (sjcdc@aol.com)

Youth Activities:

Today’s youth, the leaders of tomorrow, are looking for a challenge, for responsibility, for faith and trust. Yet, despite their commitments and dedication, the youth of the world are often condemned because of the uncontrolled actions of a minority of young people.  As Knights of Columbus, it is our responsibility to provide youth with the means and the opportunities to become personally committed and involved in meeting the challenges of our times.  Coordinating local activities with the parish, the St. Basil Youth Ministry and our Columbian Squires Youth Organizations have grown to be a pillar of a future full of hope for our youth.

Youth Program Director – Chris Mitchell (chrismitch@comcast.net)

Membership Activities: 

Recruiting new members is essential to the continued growth and well-being of our council and Order.  Offering a man membership in the Knights of Columbus gives him the opportunity to improve his own life and his community. Membership allows him to experience the fraternal bond that Knights share while growing closer to his family and faith.

Membership Director – Chris Mitchell (chrismitch@comcast.net)

Health Services: 

The Knights of Columbus is a fraternal benefit society that is strong, secure and stable.  Members can be confident that we’ll be here when you need us.  We’ve been successfully protecting families since 1882, and our outlook remains bright. 

Prospective member Questions and Answers:

1.      I don’t have time to join another organization; why should I join the Knights of Columbus?

As a Knight you can choose the projects with which you wish to be involved in within your own community.  What is more, the Order is dedicated to family life and the many benefits it offers.  From insurance to scholarships to service and social activities and programs, all are open to the whole family.

2.     What are the requirements?

Membership requirements are that he be a practical Catholic gentleman, who is 18 years of age or older.

3.     What is a practical Catholic?

A practical Catholic is one who is in union with the Holy See and who practices the precepts of the Catholic Church.

4.     Explain what Degrees are.

There are four degrees within the Knights of Columbus.  Each degree ceremony imparts a lesson on the Order’s core virtues of Charity, Unity, Fraternity and Patriotism.

5.     Do I have to purchase Insurance to become a member?

No; unlike many fraternal organizations one does not become a member by purchasing insurance.  In the Knights of Columbus a man has to be a member before he may avail himself of the insurance benefit.  Purchasing insurance is optional, however, the life insurance and long-term care insurance products offered by the Order are not only competitively priced, they are among the most solid and highly rated products available anywhere. Standard & Poor’s and A.M. Best, the leading independent agencies that rate insurance companies, give K of C insurance their highest ratings.

Join Us: 

We are looking for the next generation of Knights.  Men of character and conviction who are driven by both faith and conscience to do truly meaningful works for their families, parish and local community. 

If you are a practical (i.e., practicing) Catholic man, age 18 or older, we invite you to join the world’s leading organization of Catholic laymen.

Membership in the Knights of Columbus is open to men 18 years of age or older who are practical (that is, practicing) Catholics in union with the Holy See. This means that an applicant or member accepts the teaching authority of the Catholic Church on matters of faith and morals, aspires to live in accord with the precepts of the Catholic Church, and is in good standing in the Catholic Church.

To begin your journey towards Knighthood, please contact our membership director, Chris Mitchell, or Grand Knight Rodger Rotheberger to start the conversation!

Membership Director, Chris Mitchell at: chrismitch@comcast.net

Grand Knight, Rodger Rothenberger at rothenberger@msn.com

Include the following information:

Ø  Name

Ø  Address:

Ø  Email address (required):

Ø  Parish:

Ø  Preferred mode of contact

Ø  Email address (required):

Ø  Questions or Comments: 

Heroes:  Inspirational Video about prominent American figures that were Knights of Columbus

In Service to One, In Service to All:   Video about what the Knights do

Knights of Columbus - John F. Kennedy"  Video about our only Catholic President and Fourth Degree Knight

Bessed John Paul II on Knights of Columbus:  Blessed Pope John Paul Speaking about the Knights of Columbus