| Knights of St Columba | |
| Size: | 100px |
| Abbreviation: | KSC |
| Formation: | 5 October 1919 |
| Headquarters: | 196 Clyde St, Glasgow G1 4JY |
| Type: | Catholic fraternal service Order |
| Leader Title: | Supreme Knight |
| Leader Name: | Harry Welsh |
| Key People: | The Incorporators |
| Website: | www.ksc.org.uk |
The Knights of St Columba is a fraternal service order affiliated with the Catholic Church in Scotland, in England and Wales,[1] and, through their Province of Liverpool, in the Isle of Man.[2] Founded in Glasgow in 1919,[3] the Knights are named in honour of Saint Columba, a 6th-century Celtic Church missionary descended from the Gaelic nobility of Ireland in modern County Donegal, who founded Iona Abbey and successfully evangelized both the Picts and Gaels of modern Scotland. The Knights describes themselves as dedicated to the principles of Charity, Unity and Fraternity.[4] There are around 2400 members of the KSC, in over 200 councils across Great Britain — it features in England, Scotland and Wales. Membership is limited to Catholic men aged 16 and over, and promotes the social doctrine of the Catholic Church.[1]
The organisation is apolitical and essentially democratic, does not admit women, and exists to support the mission of the Catholic Church. The KSC organisation is a member of the International Alliance of Catholic Knights. Founder of the Knights at Glasgow in 1919 and the first Supreme Knight was P. J. O'Callaghan.
Admission ceremonies usually take place in a Catholic parish during the celebration of Mass.
The group organises annual Christian pilgrimages to Aylesford Priory in Kent and Carfin Lourdes Grotto near Motherwell in North Lanarkshire. The 2019 centennial of the Knights' foundation was celebrated with a special pilgrimage to Iona Abbey, which was founded by the Knights' patron saint, followed by a Mass offered on site.
The organisation was formed on 5 October 1919.
In 1995, the organisation was reported to have 10,000 members, including artisans and small business owners.[5]
In 2005, the Knights of St Columba in St Albans were involved in fundraising for school projects in Indonesia.[6]
In 2012, the organisation made public calls, reported in the news, for a street in York to be named after the Catholic saint Margaret Clitherow.[7]
In 2018, it was reported that the organisation made a ruling regarding the historical alleged witch Alice Nutter.[8]
Since 2020, the Knights' Council 1 at the University of Glasgow has been promoting Fr Alexander Cameron (1701-1746) by distributing holy cards with a prayer for his Canonization as a Saint and a Martyr by the Catholic Church.[9] Fr. Cameron (Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: Maighstir Sandaidh), was an outlawed Jesuit "heather priest" working among Clan Chisholm and Clan Fraser of Lovat during the Penal Laws and Jacobite Army military chaplain, who died after the Battle of Culloden aboard a Royal Navy prison hulk anchored in the River Thames.
At local level, Members belong to a Council or Charter Council, led by the Grand Knight. The Charter Councils in an area (often corresponding to a Catholic Diocese) come together to form a Province, under the Provincial Grand Knight. Provinces are arranged into larger areas known as Regions, under the Regional Director, who is a member of the Board of Directors. Representatives of the Board of Directors, Regions and Provinces meet at least once annually at the Supreme Council which governs the Order. The Supreme Knight presides over the Supreme Council.