On this date in 1882 the Knights of Columbus came into being. I bet sometimes you stay up late at night wondering what the heck is a Knight of Columbus. Well, it is the world’s largest Roman Catholic fraternal service organization with 1.8 million members in 15,000 councils. And of course Knights are supposed to be male, but it’s not just any man who can call himself a Knight, only “practical Catholics” 18 or older should apply. Impractical? Forget about it.
Famous Knights? John F. Kennedy, Ted Kennedy, Sargent Shriver, Samuel Alito, Jeb Bush, Vince Lombardi, Lou Albano, and Babe Ruth to name a few. Got that? Good. Wait…I almost forgot Floyd Patterson, you can see him (and these other dudes) in the Knights Hall of Fame. Or whatever you want to call it.
Considering Knights of Columbus buildings can be somewhat interesting and historical, it is with disappointment to tell you the Knights of Columbus Museum in New Haven, Connecticut (that’s where this shit was started) is a dull mass of concrete. If anything, the architecture might be symbolic for what visitors find inside the walls. Open for thirty years, the museum hosts “periodic exhibitions of artwork and related content” to Catholicism and serves as “an archive, repository, and gallery for documents and artifacts” relating to everything K of C. They are so into initials, there is even a permanent gallery space dedicated to the K of C’s annals. Why of course. Oh, and let’s not forget the permanent collections of Christopher Columbus. BIG YAWN. Anyone still reading this?
Wait, this is interesting…in 1954, on the Knights’ orders Congress added the phrase “under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance. They’re also to blame for making October 12 a federal holiday in 1937. You might have heard of it? Columbus Day. Oh, and they like to wear chapeaus. And carry flags in parades.
