Knights of St Columba

A Fraternal Order of Catholic Men

York

Council Chamber, English Martyrs’ Hall, Dalton Terrace, York

Middlesbrough

Local on Middlesbrough Council 29 meets at 7.30pm on the first Tuesday of every month at 3 Southfield Road which is better known as ‘The Knights’.

We have thirty members with the following officers presently elected. The Chairman is known as ‘Grand Knight’.

Grand Knight

Contact George Metcalfe

Secretary

Martin Allinson

The Knights

A privately-owned club facility for the Catholic community.

3 Southfield Road, Middlesbrough TS1 3BX

Come and Join Us to Spread the Good News

The Knights of St. Columba like every organisation needs a constant supply of workers for the vineyard, because we loose members like everyone else through death or in some cases leaving for family reasons, or other commitments. We are particularly looking to spread into areas where we have no presence, and establish new Councils to promote our Aims and Objectives for the Good of the Church and our fellow man.

Who are we?

The Order of the Knights of St. Columba is a Fraternal organisation of Catholic men dedicated to the work of the Lay Apostolate, following the Fundamental Virtues of Charity, Unity and Fraternity and open to Catholic men of 16 years and over.
We give our entire loyalty to the Holy See, the Hierarchy and the Clergy in all things appertaining to our Catholic Faith and to support the mission of the Church.

During the First World War the American Order of the Knights of Columbus won wide recognition for their welfare work among the troops in France. Inspired by the same ideals, a number of Catholic men met in Glasgow on 5th October 1919 and decided to form our own Order of the Knights of Columba. One week later the Order received ecclesiastical approval, and the rest is history.

We have Councils throughout our thirty-two Provinces in Gt. Britain and the Channel Isles and are affiliated to similar Orders around the World coming under the banner of IACK the International Alliance of Catholic Knights.

St. Columba is our Patron Saint, and Mary our Patroness.

What do we do?

What do we not do would be a better question. Everything is possible if we have the will and commitment to work for Christ’s Kingdom. We have often in the past been accused of being involved in too many projects, but rest assured we have something for everybody, and we are always ready to welcome Catholic men with the skills and expertise requires for our work.

We are a Family organisation and we champion the Family and Family Values.

Our Action and Youth work over the years has and continues to fulfil the hopes and expectations of our founders over eighty six years ago, and has the blessing of the Hierarchy and Clergy. There is still much more to do if we are to address the evils in our society.

“A new state of affairs today both in the Church and in social, economic, political and cultural life, calls for a particular urgency for the action of the Lay Faithful, if lack of commitment is always unacceptable, the present time renders it even more so, It is not permissible for anyone to remain idle,” (CFL section 3)

The seven Corporal Works of Mercy are:

1. To feed the hungry.
2. To give drink to the thirsty.
3. To clothe the naked.
4. To harbour the harbourless.
5. To visit the sick.
6. To visit then imprisoned.
7. To bury the dead.

A Piece of History

Early in our history the Order was responsible for the introduction of an Act of Parliament and won prestige for the Knights of St. Columba throughout the Catholic world. In 1924 during the annual Corpus Christi procession on 24th June at the shrine of Our Lady at Carfin some local people demanded that it should be banned because it was a breach of the Penal Laws. In the circumstances the police had no option and the procession was prohibited. Fr. Thomas Taylor, parish priest of Carfin asked the Knights to take up the matter and have the procession restored.

The Grand Knight of Ormskirk, Liverpool Bro. Nicholas Blundell who was also a Member of Parliament and a wealthy landowner with extensive possessions in Lancashire was outraged on hearing what had happened at Carfin. He brought the matter to the attention of the House of Commons, and won considerable support. A Bill was prepared which proposed to abolish many of the obnoxious clauses of the Penal Laws. The Bill was the subject of a lengthy debate and passed on its third reading. Hansard has a final comment, which proves what a sweeping victory the sponsors of the Bill achieved. The Bill received the Royal Assent on 15th December and thus the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1926 became the law of the land. Bro. Blundell received many congratulations for what the Knights had achieved through their campaign against these ancient and obsolete laws, and thanks to their Actions Pilgrimages and Processions at Carfin continue to this day.

I had a lovely letter recently from a lady in Surrey and she simply stated:

I just went into your web site and had a good read. What good work you do. I was so impressed with what you all do all over the world, it made me think of what I have, and to be grateful for my life. I am 54 yrs old and have just been made redundant. I have worked in the care of the elderly for 11yrs, four of them as a manager. I thought my working days were over, but since reading your web site, you have inspired me to get up and do something, either paid or unpaid, as long as it is with the elderly. Thank you for a great read.

What can I say but come on you good Catholic men, come and join a fraternal organisation that will make you proud to belong. Join with like-minded gentlemen that do care about our Church and the society we live in.

It is hoped that we will be allowed to follow up on this our first article, to explain and update you with our work especially in your area.

If you would like to know more, you can contact us on 0141 883 5700 or e-mail us on
headoffice@ksc.org.uk or browse through our web site www.ksc.org.uk and read our excellent Columba magazine.

John Doran, Supreme Knight