Knights of Columbus Council 5476

MONSIGNOR FRANCIS BYRNE COUNCIL 5476

Web Site: knightsofcolumbuscouncil5476.wordpress.com

The Knights of Columbus is a group of over 100 Catholic men of St. Bridget Parish who practice their faith through service and acts of charity to St. Bridget Parish and to the Richmond community. Special areas of focus include promotion of our faith through Catholic education, support for our priests and seminarians, protecting the unborn, and supporting the intellectually challenged in our community.

We invite all men of the parish who actively practice their faith to consider joining this dynamic group of men from all age groups who serve and support St. Bridget Parish and our core causes. You will enjoy the company of men that choose to live their faith through action and initiative in our parish and the broader community.

LOCATION OF COUNCIL 5476

Council 5476 meets at Saint Bridget Parish.

COUNCIL ACTIVITIES

The Knights engage in numerous activities across the parish and in the community, including:

Hosting the Annual Parish Lenten Fish Fry to fund scholarships given by the KofC to promote attendance at Catholic High Schools
Proving manpower to support the Little Sisters of the Poor's annual French Food Festival
Collecting funds to help the intellectually challenged
Coordinating routine blood drives at the church for the Virginial Blood Services
Monthly distribution of food bags to promote parish food donations to the food pantry at Catholic Charities
Supporting parishioners to attend the Annual March for Life in Washington, DC in support of the unborn and to voice the urgent needt to overturn Roe vs. Wade
Providing financial support to local pregnancy support centers

Social activities include

An annual Mass in remembrance of departed Brother Knights
An annual summer barbeque with our spouses
Fellowship before and after meetings with brother Knights
Seasonal events like Monday Night Football, March Madness, as well as other sporting events on a big-screen-surround-sound theater TV

HISTORY

The Knights of Columbus began in the basement of St. Mary’s Church in 1882 in New Haven, Connecticut, when Father Michael J. McGivney called together a small group of Catholic laymen and founded a society designed to unite Catholic men in their faith and provide financial assistance to the widows and orphans of its members.

The Knights of Columbus is the world’s largest Catholic lay organization. It provides members and their families with volunteer opportunities in service to the church, their communities, families and young people. With more than 1.8 million members in over 13,000 councils around the world, the Knights of Columbus annually donate more than $151 million and 69 million hours of service to charitable causes.

The Knights of Columbus are Catholic gentlemen committed to the exemplification of Charity, Unity, Fraternity, Patriotism, and the defense of the Priesthood. Good Priests need good Knights and we are there for them.

Becoming Knight starts with being knighted into our first principle of the Order, CHARITY. We Knights are followers of Christ and men of faith. We are a non-profit organization committed to charity, easing the plight of those less fortunate.

In UNITY, our second principle, there is strength where we speak out for religiously grounded moral values in a culture that has forsaken us.

For FRATERNITY, our third principle, we Knights of Columbus band together as brothers to help one another and our families in times of distress, sickness and in death.

PATRIOTISM, Our fourth principle of the Order, is one of the reasons the Order was founded where Catholics can emphasize proud citizenship to their countries and support of our Armed Services. A fourth degree Knight holds the highest and most prestigious degree and earns the title of Sir Knight.

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.

The Knight of Columbus 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 these principles today.

For more information, the national KofC website is an excellent resource and can be accessed at: http://www.kofc.org/en/todays-knights/our-principles.html.

Membership in the Knights of Columbus is open to practicing Catholic men in union with the Holy See, who are at least 18 years old. A practicing Catholic is one who lives up to the Commandments of God and the precepts of the Church. Application blanks are available from any member of the Knights of Columbus.

Being a member of the Knights of Columbus is not a time-consuming undertaking. There are many opportunities and outlets for members to choose where they can have the biggest impact based on their personal talents and interests. We welcome men of St. Bridget Catholic Church, as well as fathers who have children in the School, to speak with one of our members to learn more about the Order.