Unity, Charity, and Fraternity: Father Michael McGivney and the Knights of Columbus

摘要

My thesis discusses the reasons for the creation of the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic fraternal organization, in 1881. I discuss why Father Michael McGivney, a Catholic priest in New Haven, Connecticut, believed that the organization was necessary to prevent Catholic men from joining the u22secret societiesu22 of the nineteenth century. I also explain the present-day Knights of Columbus and how McGivneyu27s vision is carried out today through the Order.