Knights of Columbus

Responding to the rising prominence of fraternal associations in late nineteenth-century America, Michael J. McGivney (1850–1892), a Catholic priest in New Haven, founded the Knights of Columbus in 1882 as a service club for devout Catholic men. Originally conceived as a mutual aid society for the families of church members, it adopted an educational mission to develop a distinctly American Catholic identity and to promote Catholic values, charitable works, and American patriotism. This sheet music is representative of efforts to rally support for American involvement in World War I. Today the fraternity has approximately 1.7 million members.