Rev. Vincent A. Lapomarda, S. J., being received in private audience  at the Vatican by
Pope John Paul II, on October 28, 1982, with
Bishop Lawrence A. Burke, S. J.,  of  Nassau in background.

THE COUNCIL CHARTER

THE EXECUTIVE

SUPREME KNIGHT CARL A. ANDERSON

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Council Activities

Click here to view a letter written by Pope John Paul II, addressed to the Knights.

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COUNCIL HISTORY

          Crusader Council No. 2706 of the Knights of Columbus was born on March 26, 1929, and included almost 140 charter members.  It was the very first council in the order organized on a Jesuit college or university campus.  Its founder was John J. Spillane, a teacher and an assistant dean of discipline, who graduated from Holy Cross College in 1922 and had been active in the Alhambra Council in Worcester.  Equally significant is Father Joseph F. Busam, a Jesuit biology professor at Holy Cross College for forty years, who developed the Crusader Council.

          Under John Spillane's leadership, the Crusader Council numbered as many as one fourth of the student body at Holy Cross.  Its activities included dances, dinners, and debates, and, at times, the publication of a monthly magazine, The Crusader.  Throughout those first twelve years of its existence, the Crusader Council grew in prestige among the college councils in the country precisely because of the leadership of John Spillane who served as its Grand Knight in the opening years.

          Following the outbreak of World War II, the Crusader Council became dormant.  Not only had death deprived it of the leadership of John Spillane but the world war had so affected the regular routine of campus life that it was impossible to have regular meetings.  Consequently, Crusader Council survived on the books with William J. O'Connell as Grand Knight, Francis L. Miller as financial secretary, and Frank Gallagher as treasurer.

          With the return of normal times in the postwar era, Father Busam, who had supervised the activities of the council during its dormant years, revived the Crusader Council with the encouragement of State Deputy John W. McDevitt and Charles A. Grant, a faculty member who took on the duties of Grand Knight.  Just as Alhambra Council  was instrumental in giving birth to Crusader Council by taking charge of the initial degree, so too did Marlboro Council play a similar role in the revival of Crusader Council.

           The leadership of Father Busam in the next forty years of the council has been exceptional.  As John Spillane is the layman who sponsored more men for membership in the Knights of Columbus than any other layman in history, so too Father Busam is perhaps the clergyman who sponsored more men for membership in the Knights of Columbus than any other clergyman in its history, especially as the council's chaplain and financial secretary for many years.

          The record of  Crusader Council of the Knights of Columbus continues to be an enviable one.  It has helped the handicapped, the needy, and the orphans.  It has joined with the council at Notre Dame University in founding the National Collegiate Council of the Knights of Columbus.  And it has maintained a steady membership of about 350 members (including at least forty students enrolled at Holy Cross during the 2004-2005 academic year) dedicated to charity, fraternity, patriotism, and unity during the half century since its revival.  Having celebrated its seventy-fifth anniverary on March 27, 2004, it is still flourishing.

Vincent A. Lapomarda
 
 

COUNCIL SIZE

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Contact Information

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AWARDS

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DEGREE TEAMS?

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SPECIAL HIGHLIGHTS

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 THE KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS:
THE SAINTS AND BLESSED

THE SAINTS:

          Among the distinguished members of Crusader Council are the late Former Governor of Pennsylvania Robert P. Casey (1932-2000), Worcester School Committeeman Brian A. O'Connell, Retired Massachusetts Superior Court Justice Herbert F. Travers, and the late Attorney John W. Spillane, the son of the Council's founder (John J. Spillane)  and the father of four of its Past Grand Knights (John, Joseph, Matthew, and Michael). _____________________________________________

WHEN WE MEET

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OTHER INFORMATION

Crusader Council is one of more than 200 councils in the jurisdiction of Massachusetts under the leadership of State Deputy Richard F. Guerriero. For more about the Knights of Columbus, consult the file of the Dinand Library for relevant histories on the local, state, and national levels.  One of these works is by Fr. Lapomarda who is also the State Historian of the Massachusetts Knights of Columbus.

*MAJOR EVENTS  OF THE FRATERNAL YEAR 2009-2010:
College Conference (September)
Annual Pro-Life Day (Fall)
Lantern Award (Patriot's Day).
Massachusetts State Convention (May).
Fourth Degree Exemplification (Spring).
Supreme Convention (Summer).

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WHO CAN BECOME A KNIGHT?

Acceptance of the applicant depends upon a vote of the members of the subordinate council in which he is making application.

All priests and religious brothers having duly made application for membership and participated in the ceremonials become honorary life members of the Order and are exempt from payment of dues.

Application for membership must be made through the council in the community nearest the applicant's place of residence. Interested prospects without a permanent domicile, such as men temporarily away from home through duty in the armed forces, may make application through their hometown council or at the nearest council on a military base.

If favorably voted upon, the applicant becomes a member by initiation known as the First Degree. He subsequently is advanced through the Second Degree and the Third Degree.

There are modest initiation fees and dues set by subordinate councils under regulations established by the Supreme Council. The insurance privileges are available to all members who can qualify, which represents an important advantage of membership. For men in every walk of life the name Knights of Columbus engenders the image of a united organization, efficiently going about it tasks of charity, unity, fraternity, patriotism and defense of the priesthood. It is composed of men who are giving unselfishly of their time and talents in service of God and their country.

Membership in the Knights of Columbus provides opportunity for wholesome association with congenial companions who are, first of all, practical Catholic gentlemen. It offers the opportunity for fellowship with those who are of the same belief, who recognize the same duty to God, to family and to neighbor and who stand side by side in defense of those beliefs. Programs are so organized as to appeal to the individual interest of the members. Through many constructive activities of Christian fraternity, members are enabled to render service to their Church, their country and their fellowman. Through membership they develop a consciousness of their ability to lead and to assist.

Organized Columbianism, united behind the individual Knight of Columbus, provides the power of an intelligent, alert body of Catholic men--a strength which the individual by himself cannot achieve.

Knights of Columbus has a proud heritage. The qualified Catholic man can share in that heritage and build an even greater future by affiliating himself with this forceful, effective body.

The Patriotic Degree

The primary purpose of the Fourth Degree is to foster the spirit of partiotism by promoting responsible citizenship and a love of and loyalty to the Knights' respective countries through active membership in local Fourth Degree groups called assemblies. Fourth Degree members must retain their membership as Third Degree members in the local council to remain in good standing.

Certain members of the Fourth Degree serve as honor guards at civic and religious functions, an activity which has brought worldwide recognition to the Knights of Columbus organization.
 

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