Message From The Grand Knight
Greetings. I'm Joe Miceli, Grand Knight of Council #953 of the Knights of Columbus and I want to welcome you to our web-site. I have been a Knight and a member of Council #953 for more than thirty years and I am honored to be serving as the council's presiding officer for the current year. If you are already a member of the Knights and of our council you will find our website useful in keeping up with events and council news. If you are not currently a member of the Knights, I would like to take a moment to briefly described the Knights and what we do.
The Knights of Columbus was founded in 1882 in New Haven, CT by Fr. Michael McGivney, pastor of a parish in a working class section of the city. The young Fr. McGiveny had seen a need for a fraternal organization for working Catholic men a, primarily factory workers, to provide them an opportunity for fellowship and activities as a means of strengthening their families, their catholic faith and providing mutual support for the members. Fr. McGiveny also identified a serious need for financial assistance for families where the husband/father, usually the only breadwinner in the family, was seriously injured or killed on or off the job.
To accomplish the latter, Fr. McGiveny established an insurance fund, paid into by the members, for the financial security of member's families who had found themselves in just such dire straits.
Out of this small beginning, the Knights of Columbus has grown into an organization of 1.7 million members throughout the United States and with strong presence in Canada, Mexico, the Philippines and Poland. The Knights continue to promote the ideals of charity, unity, fraternity and patriotism originally laid down by Fr. McGiveny. This is accomplished through the basic unit of the Knights, the local council, which usually maintains a relationship with one or more parishes in its geographical area. With guidance and assistance from the state and national offices, the work of the Knights is accomplished in the council through its officers and directors who guide the council in its charitable work and in its mission to be of service to the church and the community.
Concomitantly, in accordance with Fr. McGiveny's vision, the national organization of the Knights operates an insurance program for the benefit of its members and their families and provides both life insurance and long term care insurance policies as well as annuities. The Knights of Columbus insurance arm continues to receive the highest ratings from two national insurance rating companies and currently has more than $60 billion dollars of coverage outstanding. There is, of course, no obligation on the part of any member to purchase insurance through the Knights, but one who is considering buying such a policy would do well to consider this excellent program.
In our council, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2005, we engage in a number of events and fund raising dinners throughout the year. Recently, we participated in the St. Mary's and Immaculate Conception church festivals, held a chili cook-off and will soon start planning for a bus trip to the 2010 Walk For Life in San Francisco. Through our fund raising efforts we are able to make a number of donations to local and national agencies that promote or serve pro-life issues, unwed mothers, children and adults afflicted with physical and developmental disabilities, the Special Olympics as well as to local churches and catholic high schools. If you are a Catholic man and and have come to our website because you think you might be interested in the Knights, I encourage you to look us over. We are always interested in men who might be seeking a fraternal and service organization through which they can be of service to our Church, our parishes and our community and where they can enjoy the companionship of like minded fellows. And while the Knights is a male only organization, we hold our families in the highest regard and virtually all of our events and celebrations are open to our families and friends.
I would be pleased to meet with you and your families to talk about the Knights and what we can offer you. And be sure to check out our national website and our state website for more information. You can contact me, Joe Miceli, at (916)595-2325 or by email at gk@kofc953.org You can also contact our membership director, Jim Conner, at (916)428-3831 or by email at membership@kofc953.org
Joe Miceli Grand Knight