IT WAS AT THE HEART OF THE KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS FROM THE BEGINNING IN 1882 The young priest rose to his feet in the courtroom, offering himself to stand as legal guardian for Alfred Downes, an unfortunate young man of 19. Alfred’s father, Edward Downes, had died, leaving a wife and 13 children behind. The eldest son, Edward Jr., had left seminary studies to return to New Haven, Conn., to run the family store, and convinced the court he could earn enough to support his mother and the youngest siblings. However, the court ruled that Alfred and his two teen brothers would need guardians or be placed in foster care. Relatives had stepped forward to claim the two younger teens but no one had spoken for Alfred — until this young priest got up on that snowy Monday morning of Feb. 6, 1882. The priest, 29-year-old Father Michael J. McGivney, was assistant pastor at St. Mary’s Church, where the Downes family worshiped. He also had left seminary for a time after his own father had died so he could care for his mother and family. Eventually young man was able to return to his priestly studies, but even after ordination, Father McGivney never forgot the financial hardships and trauma his family experienced following the loss of his father. He was painfully aware, too, of the challenges facing so many Catholic families of his parish. Many were immigrants with fathers and husbands who eked out marginal incomes working dangerous factory, railroad or construction jobs while living in less-than-healthy conditions. Early death from sickness or injury was common, leaving wives and children to fend for themselves. If no one came forward to provide for the survivors, the courts had the power to assign the children the care of others, which often meant separation of the Catholic faith. So that afternoon, Father McGivney stood up for young Alfred, a local grocer guaranteed the required bond, and the priest became Alfred’s guardian. The Downes family was saved. Later that same day, Father McGivney met with a group of laymen to formally establish his Catholic men’s organization as the Knights of Columbus. When the priest first brought the men together months earlier, he envisioned a fraternity whereby Catholic men would be strengthened in their faith during those challenging times of rampant anti-Catholic, anti- immigrant sentiment. Yet he also had in mind another key initiative: to provide for the families of deceased members. Inspired by what happened to Alfred Downes, by his own experience, and by the stories of so many Catholic immigrant families who suffered the untimely loss of a breadwinner, Father McGivney was convinced this lay organization must also become a fraternal benefit society, with men banded together in charity and unity, to come to the aid of widows and orphans. In his own words, Father McGivney said he wanted the Order “to unite the men of our Faith throughout the Diocese of Hartford, that we may thereby gain strength to aid each other in time of sickness, to provide for decent burial, and to render pecuniary assistance to the families of the deceased members.” Explaining the Order’s original motto, “Unity and Charity,” Father McGivney described its purpose another way: “Unity in order to gain strength to be charitable to each other in benevolence whilst we live and in bestowing financial aid to those whom we leave to mourn our loss.” The founding members who gathered that February evening in 1882 were in full accord with this purpose. When first established, the member Knights provided a death benefit for members through a “pass the hat” system. From an initial fund, members who were sick and unable to work would receive $5 per week; when a Knight died, each member contributed $1 in order to provide a $1,000 death benefit for the survivors. As membership in the Knights of Columbus grew, this system evolved into a life insurance program. Today, the Knights of Columbus remains true to Father McGivney’s vision through its top-rated, multibillion-dollar insurance program that offers not only death benefit but also retirement annuities, long- term-care insurance and disability income insurance. Not only that, it provides guaranteed life insurance benefits for uninsurable children, orphan benefits, and member/spouse accidental death benefits, and even offers death benefits for stillborn or miscarried children. Since the founding of the Order, the Knights of Columbus has paid out more than $3.5 billion in death benefits. That’s a lot of comfort and assistance to surviving families in their time of grief. So if there is any question as to why the Knights of Columbus offers insurance, the answer is simple: that’s what Father McGivney and the first Knights founded the Order to do. W continue to carry out the mission.

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