Charter Members – March 17, 1998
| Msgr. David Corkery Msgr. Francis French Rev. Joven Beltran Rev. Glicerio Jimenez Hugh Braceland Maurie Breen Jim Callaghan Andrew Doyle Patrick Deasy John Duffy Michael Ferrigan Doug Ford Berman Guevara Stan Harrison Sean Hogan Robert Howe Terrence Howe |
Peter Juneau Michael Kondracki Bill Kehoe Peter Kelly Louis LaRue Richard Leslie James Lunney Cliff McAuley Dalton McIntyre Michael O’Neill Robert O’Neill James Parsons Quirino Ragub Lloyd Seamont Newton Steacy Gerard Windle Bill Zlepnig |
History of Saint Patrick’s Basilica Council 12158
Our charter Grand Knight Michael O’Neill recalls that he and Sir Knights Maurie Breen and Terry Howe approached Monsignor David Corkery, the Rector of Saint Patrick’s Basilica, during the fall of 1997. They suggested the possibility of forming a Knights of Columbus Council in the parish. A longtime knight, Msgr. Corkery was very pleased and gave his full support. A recruitment campaign attracted 34 men to form the new council.
Saint Patrick’s Basilica – located in downtown Ottawa
Our charter is dated March 17, 1998 – very fitting for Saint Patrick’s. We lost our great friend Msgr. Corkery on November 28, 1998, the first loss of our council. Msgr. Corkery knew that there were many hundreds of men from all walks of life who pass through our doors each week and among them many potential Knights of Columbus. Our council is dedicated to Saint Patrick’s, which the Vatican recognized as a basilica in 1995, and we consider the parish as our first obligation of support.
The Knights of Columbus is a fraternal, family organization with a membership of some 1.7 million Catholic men world-wide. Our order began in 1882 in the basement of a church in New Haven, Connecticut under the leadership of Father Michael J. McGivney. Today, there are some 12,000 active councils where the energies of Catholic men are directed towards the good of their parishes and the Church at large.
In 2003 we celebrated our fifth anniversary with a charter night at the Southway Inn. In the early fall of 2003, our Council organized a trip to New Haven and New York. The highlights were visits to Saint Mary’s Church in New Haven (the site of Father McGivney’s first council) as well as Saint Patrick’s Cathedral and Ground Zero in New York City.
Since then, our Council has organized trips to Washington in the fall of 2004. In August of 2005, our Council organized a trip to the Eucharistic Congress in Chicago. Another trip to New York, Boston and New Haven took place in September 2006 and one to Midland, Ontario (site of Sainte-Marie Among the Hurons) in 2007. There have also been trips to Saint Patrick’s Basilica in Montreal. All these trips have included general interest sightseeing along with tours of Catholic shrines and places of interest.
Here at Saint Patrick’s Basilica, we are part of a parish family that marked its 150th anniversary in 2005. There were many special events to mark this celebration, culminating in the anniversary mass on November 17.
In May 2005, our Chaplain, Msgr. Martineau, blessed a Celtic Cross monument erected by the Knights of Columbus on the north lawn of the Basilica. This monument pays tribute to all those whose faith has found expression at Saint Patrick’s Basilica over the 150-year period of the parish.
In Service to the Parish and Community
We work with the pastoral leadership and the members of Saint Patrick’s Basilica to better serve our parish and our community. Many of our members are ushers, lectors or altar servers and participate on key parish committees. We support pro-life initiatives such as Action Life, Birthright, the Miriam Centre and the Youville Centre. We encourage vocations and provide aid to seminarians. We are involved in school-based programs for youth such as the Basketball Free Throw Championship and the Drug and Alcohol Awareness Program. We work with the Ontario State Council of the Knights of Columbus to sell car raffle tickets for the Ontario Arthritis Society. Over the Christmas season, our members distribute hampers to needy families and also help at the Shepherds of Good Hope. Christmas cake sales have become an annual tradition with proceeds going to the restoration of the basilica. We have organized a Children’s Christmas Party for the children of the parish. We provide monthly hospitality for parishioners as part of our monthly Knights’ Mass and for other parish events. The continuing work on the restoration of the basilica has been our major charity.
As we draw closer to our tenth anniversary on March 17, 2008, we can look back on some significant accomplishments, including winning the Best Overall Council in Ontario Award in May 2005 and nine consecutive Star Council Awards. Our membership has grown almost five-fold from the original charter council of 34 men. Our goal is to continue to serve the parish family and the community.
Grand Knights who have served our Council
Michael O’Neill 1998-2000 |
Michael Ferrigan 2000-2002 |
Joseph Prince 2002-2004 |
Reid Barry 2004-2006 |
Stephen Kusiewicz 2006-2008 |
Christopher McMullan 2008-2009 |
| Michael O’Neill 2009-2010 |
Erik Vink 2010-2012 |
| Stephen Kusiewicz 2012-2013 |
Brendan Hennigan 2013-2015 |
“May the road rise to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face.
And rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the hollow of His hand.”
♣ IRISH BLESSING ♣
DECEASED MEMBERS OF SAINT PARTRICK’S BASILICA KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS COUNCIL 12158
† Rev. Msgr. David Corkery – November 28, 1998
† Jules Kelford – June 29, 1999
† Patrick Deasy – February 24, 2000
† Michael Kondracki – May 25, 2001
† Raymond Hennessey – Dec 15, 2001
† Pasquale Coccimiglio – February 15, 2004
† Rev. Msgr. Francis French – February 16, 2004
† William Kehoe – March 18, 2004
† Newton Steacy – August 5, 2005
† Omer Lowden – January 12, 2007
† Louis LaRue – March 10, 2007
† Igor Ziemba – March 4, 2009
† Maurie Breen – December 3, 2009
† Bela Levay – November 15, 2010
† Rev. Msgr. Robert Martineau – November 27, 2012
† John Larkin – November 30, 2013
† Peter Kelly – August 30, 2014