1. As an integral part of the worlds largest and most dynamic Catholic fraternal organization, you will be united with over 1.6 million Brothers and their families in 12,000 councils located in the United States, Canada, Mexico, the Philippines, Central America and the Caribbean.

2. Your personal involvement as a Knight will provide opportunities, in charity and fraternity, for service to the Church at the local, diocesan and universal levels; to your communities; and to the less fortunate in our midst.

3. Your active participation in council affairs: spiritual, fraternal, family, social, civic-oriented, athletic and recreational - will serve as a school of leadership and enable you to develop qualities that enhance your strengths and abilities.

4. You will enjoy a sense of "belonging" in an organization that shares your religious beliefs, brings together like-minded men joined in a common cause, and offers the opportunity to develop and cement friendships for years to come.

5. Your concerns for your family and for your retirement years can be addressed by the Order's low-cost insurance program, conducted by Brother Knights for Brother Knights, assuring your security and peace of mind.

6. You will share in the sense of pride what all Knights feel in knowing that their Order is second to none in support of Our Holy Father, our Bishops and Priests; in working for our fellow men, especially those most in need; and in binding together to preserve traditional values in the face of attacks against the family and innocent human life.

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Rev. Fr. Michael J. McGivney, a twenty-nine year old Catholic Priest of St. Mary's Church in New Haven, Connecticut, U.S.A. was deeply concerned with the plight of his parishioners who suffered discrimination because of their ancestry or religion. Appalled by the poverty and misery which befell most families when the breadwinners die, Rev. Fr. McGivney gathered a handful of Catholic laymen in the basement of his Church on October 2, 1881 to discuss how to best resolve the problems that beset his flock.

The response was enthusiastic. On March 29, 1882, the Knights of Columbus was incorporated and obtained legal status in the State of Connecticut, U.S.A. Its Charter specifies the following purposes:

a) of rendering pecuniary aid to its members, their families and beneficiaries of members and their families;

b) of rendering mutual aid and assistance to its sick, disabled and needy members and their families;

c) of promoting social and intellectual intercourse among its members and their families; and

d) of promoting and conducting educational, charitable, religious social welfare, war relief and welfare, and public relief work.

Thus, the Order is considered a Catholic, Family, Fraternal, and Service Organization.

The name "Knights of Columbus" was adopted simply because the organizers strongly felt that the organization should relate to Christopher Columbus, the Catholic explorer of the new world, to underscore their pride in America's Catholic heritage. The name of "Columbus" evokes the aura of Catholicity and affirmed the discovery of America as a Catholic event and the term "Knights" was adopted to signify the embodiment of knightly ideals of spirituality and service to Church, country and fellowmen.
 

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As conceived by Rev. Fr. McGivney, the Order was to serve only the Diocese of Hartford, which embraced all of Connecticut and Rhode Island. Two years later after Rev. Fr. McGivney died, the Order expanded to New York and Massachusetts, and twelve years later, there were councils in nearly every major American City from Maine to California. In due time, the Order expanded outside the U.S.A. to Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, Puerto Rico, Panama, Cuba, Guam, the Virgin Island, and the Philippines.

On April 23, 1905, the first council of the Knights of Columbus was established in the Philippines. This was Council No. 1000 located within the Walled City of Intramuros. At the time of its inauguration, they had thirty-one charter members, all of whom were Americans. Emerging as the first Grand Knight was Richard Campbell.
In October 1918, the Supreme Council finally approved the institution of the second council in the Philippines, Council No. 1900 located in San Pablo, Laguna.

One of the few but timely and efficacious blessings which the Order in the Philippines experienced was during the lean years of the 1930s when an American Jesuit priest came in the person of Rev. Fr. George J. Willmann SJ.

Rev. Fr. Willmann was appointed in 1948 as the first District Deputy in the Philippines. Then, on March 1, 1954, he was designated as Territorial Deputy. And in 1962, he was named Philippine Deputy, a position held until his death in 1978.

Upon the demise of Rev. Fr. Willmann, former Senator and Ambassador, Hon. Oscar Ledesma was appointed Philippine Deputy. He presided over the continued growth of the Order in the Philippines. When Supreme Knight Virgil C. Dechant visited Philippines Jurisdiction on its Diamond Jubilee in 1980, there were 40,000 Filipino Knights. Don Oscar was later appointed Supreme Director Emeritus.

Mardonio R. Santos succeeded Ambassador Ledesma as Philippine Deputy in 1983. Under his leadership, the Knights of Columbus achieved remarkable growth. In recognition of his dedication, he was elected the first Filipino Supreme Director and was concurrently as Vice Supreme Master of the Fourth Degree on June 30, 1989.

When Sec. 14, Chapter III of the laws of the Order was amended by a Resolution approved in the 1988 106th Supreme Council Convention in Vancouver, British Columbia, the Philippine Jurisdiction was officially divided into three territorial jurisdictions, the Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao Jurisdictions. 

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