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Meet Our Parish Knights of Columbus: Bringing the Faith Alive Through Service and Fraternity
Charity, unity, fraternity, and patriotism — these are the four guiding principles of the Knights of Columbus. Everything that our St. Patrick and St. Canice Knights of Columbus members do falls into one of these categories.
“I just really enjoy being involved in the Knights of Columbus and getting to know people through the group,” says Bill Mahar, who serves as Grand Knight and has been involved for the last four years.
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Bill worked out of state for his career, so previously, joining the Knights had not been a possibility. He knew if he was going to get involved, he wanted to be all-in. Bill’s son, Fr. Ryan Mahar, was recently ordained to the priesthood and also joined the Knights at the same time as Bill.
A global, Catholic fraternal service organization, the Knights of Columbus was founded in 1882 by Father Michael J. McGivney. Our chapter, 1875, is associated with our parish and St. Canice. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Knights' meetings have taken place via the Zoom videoconferencing platform. They also took on a new project for part of this past winter — outdoor Mass. Prior to indoor Mass being permitted, again, the Knights were setting everything up that was needed for the outdoor Mass. They also helped with teardown, ushering, parking, and anything else that was needed.
“As Knights, we are called to step in where we are needed,” Bill says.
The organization members support one another in strengthening their faith and are dedicated to the Rosary and pro-life efforts. Prior to the pandemic, our Knights performed a lot of service projects in order to benefit our community and the pro-life movement. They have held pro-life signs along the road in support of the movement and Knights have gone to San Francisco for the Walk for Life. The Knights of Columbus are known for hosting delicious breakfasts and our chapter also participated in this tradition, once a month after Mass. They have also collected coats for children at Christmastime. Another important project for the Knights is Bill’s Wheels, through which the chapter collects wheelchairs in any condition and refurbishes them to donate to those in need.
In March, the Knights were able to hold one of their famous fundraisers, the Crab Feed, in a drivethru fashion. They also participated and assisted in the St. Patrick Day Dinner to celebrate the Patron saint of the parish and the Anniversary of the Dedication of the church building. Both events were a big hit. The Knights also raffled off three-$250 grocery certificates. The Grocery Raffle, as they called it, made $4,500 for area charities. Each year in June, the Knights’ donation money is divided among area nonprofits.
“Being a part of the Knights has just really strengthened my faith life,” Bill says. “I really enjoy everything we do and all that we are able to do for the community.”
