CHAPTER X
COLUMBIANISM IN TEXAS
No other lay organization is doing more today for the Church than the Knights of Columbus. This fraternal insurance society, semi-secret in nature, had its origin in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1882, spread rapidly throughout the whole nation in spite of opposition and difficulties, and has become the right arm of the Church. By 1902 it had reached out as far as Texas and beyond the borders of the nation both north and south. It now counts thousands upon thousands in its ranks. This asso- ciation of Catholic men has won admiration and obtained recognition for the high ideals of its membership. They, as no others, because of their courage, their faith. and their determination to live truly Christian lives, have a right to the name of knights, for they have fought with might and main, with heart and soul, to defend Christian principles and dem- onstra'te through deeds and actions the same high ideals that made the knights of old the staunch defenders of the Church, the Faith, and the Cross. The Reverend Father Michael Joseph McGivney, founder of the Order, could not have envisioned in his wildest dreams the extent of its growth. He could hardly have foreseen, as he labored so ardently for its success with every ounce of his ebbing strength, how far its work was to extend, nor how great its influence for good would be. The Lord chose to try his faith in the beginning; rebuffs made him experience discouragement, and even doubt momentarily the practicality of his magnificent conception. Success crowned his efforts at last, however, and the movement was definitely launched on March 29. 1882, when the State of Connecticut granted a charter legally and formally incorporating the society of the Knights of Columbus. At first the name of Sons of Columbus was thought of. but this was changed at the suggestion of James T. Mullen to Knights. The original incorporators were Michael J. McGivney, Mathew C. O'Con- nor, Cornelius T. Driscoll. James T. Mullen, John T. Kerrigan, Daniel Colwell, and William M. Geary. A week later, on April 6, the first formal meeting of the society was held in Smith's Hall, Chapel Hill Street, New Haven. There the first election of officers took place. The Supreme Council, in which the highest authority of the society is vested, was established a few months later. These officers set up a Supreme Committee, now known
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