Greetings,

I’m Chris O’Connor, Grand Knight of St. Matthew Council of the Knights of Columbus, and I want to welcome you to our website. I am honored to be serving as the council’s presiding officer for the current year, having taken the reins from my good friend and worthy predecessor, Anthony Armentano. If you are already a member of the Knights and of our council, I hope you will find our website useful in keeping up with events and council news. If you are not currently a member of the Knights, I would like to take a moment to briefly described the Knights and what we do.

The Knights of Columbus was founded in 1882 in New Haven, CT by Fr. Michael McGivney, pastor of a parish in a working class section of the city. The young Fr. McGivney had seen a need for a fraternal organization for working Catholic men a, primarily factory workers, to provide them an opportunity for fellowship and activities as a means of strengthening their families, their Catholic faith and providing mutual support for the members. Fr. McGivney also identified a serious need for financial assistance for families where the husband/father, usually the only breadwinner in the family, was seriously injured or killed on or off the job.

To accomplish the latter, Fr. McGivney established an insurance fund, paid into by the members, for the financial security of member’s families who had found themselves in just such dire straits.

Out of this small beginning, the Knights of Columbus has grown into an organization of 1.7 million members throughout the United States and with strong presence in Canada, Mexico, the Philippines and Poland. The Knights continue to promote the ideals of charity, unity, fraternity and patriotism originally laid down by Fr. McGivney. This is accomplished through the basic unit of the Knights, the local council, which usually maintains a relationship with one or more parishes in its geographical area. With guidance and assistance from the state and national offices, the work of the Knights is accomplished in the council through its officers and directors who guide the council in its charitable work and in its mission to be of service to the church and the community.

Our Council was founded in 2007 and we currently do many fundraising, community outreach and fraternal events throughout the year. Our council is also very involved in our home parish St. Matthew Church in Norwalk, led by our Pastor and Chaplain Father Jeff Couture.  

If you are a Catholic man 18 years or older and have come to our website because you think you might be interested in the Knights, I encourage you to take a look at the site or contact me at chrisoconnor14@yahoo.com or by phone at 203-722-3561.  We are always interested in men who might be seeking a fraternal and service organization through which they can be of service to our Church, our parishes and our community. And even though the Knights are a male-only fraternal organization, we are very family-oriented and most of our events and outings are open to all family and friends.

We look forward to seeing everyone at our events.  Please check out our website for more info in the future.

Warm Regards,

Chris O’Connor

Grand Knight

St. Matthew Council 14360