Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus

The Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus (more simply referred to as the Supreme Knight) is the title of the chairman of the board and chief executive officer of the Knights of Columbus. The organization comprises approximately 1.9 million members in more than 15,000 councils and operates an insurance company with over $109 billion of life insurance in force, as of 2020.[1][2]

Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus
Incumbent Carl A. Anderson since October 1, 2000 (2000-10-01)
Style	Supreme Knight
Status	Chief executive officer Chairman of the board
Abbreviation	SK
Member of	Knights of Columbus
Residence	United States
Term length	At their discretion
Formation	February 2, 1882 (1882-02-02)
First holder	James T. Mullen
Website	Supreme Knight

Since its founding in 1882, there have been 13 Supreme Knights.[3] Carl A. Anderson is the current Supreme Knight incumbent, holding this position since October 1, 2000.

Supreme Knight[4]					Deputy Supreme Knight[4]		Supreme Chaplain[4]
#	Office holder	Portrait	Term began	Term ended	Office holder	Term	Office holder	Term
1	James T. Mullen		February 2, 1882	May 17, 1886	John T. Kerrigan[5]	1882 to 1884	Rev. Patrick P. Lawlor	1882 to 1884
					John F. Dowling[6]	1884 to 1886	Rev. Michael J. McGivney[6]	1884 to 1890
2	John J. Phelan[7]		May 17, 1886	March 2, 1897	William Hassett[7]	1886 to 1887
					James C. Roach	1887 to 1895
							Rev. Hugh Treanor	1891 to 1899
					James E. Hayes	1895 to 1897
3	James E. Hayes		March 2, 1897	February 8, 1898	John J. Cone[8]	1897 to 1898
4	John J. Cone		March 2, 1898	March 31, 1899	Vacant
5	Edward L. Hearn		April 1, 1899	August 31, 1909	John W. Hogan[9][10]	April 1, 1899 to June 3, 1903	Rev. Garrett J. Barry	1899 to 1901
							Rev. Patrick J. McGivney[11][12]	1901 to 1928
					Patrick L. McArdle[10][13]	June 3, 1903[10] to 1905
					James A. Flaherty[14]	1905 to 1909
6	James A. Flaherty[12][15]		September 1, 1909	August 31, 1927	Martin H. Carmody[12]	1909 to 1927
7	Martin H. Carmody[12][16]		September 1, 1927	August 31, 1939	John F. Martin[12][17]	1927 to 1933
							Rev. John J. McGivney[12][17]	1928 to 1939
					Francis P. Matthews[16]	1933 to 1939
8	Francis P. Matthews[17]		September 2, 1939	October 14, 1945	John E. Swift	1939 to 1945	Rev. Leo M. Finn[17][18]	1939 to 1960
9	John E. Swift[19][20]		October 24, 1945	August 31, 1953	Timothy P. Galvin	1945 to 1949
					William J. Mulligan[20][21]	1949 to 1960
10	Luke E. Hart		September 1, 1953	February 19, 1964
					John W. McDevitt[21][22]	1960 to 1964	Bishop Charles P. Greco[23][18]	1961 to January 20, 1987
11	John W. McDevitt		February 22, 1964	January 21, 1977	John H. Griffin, MD[22][24]	1964 to 1966
					Charles J. Ducey[25][26]	1966 to April 1976
					Ernest J. Wolff[26]	1976 to 1977
12	Virgil C. Dechant		January 21, 1977	September 30, 2000	Frederick H. Pelletier[26][27]	1977 to 1981
					John M. Murphy	1981 to 1984
					Ellis D. Flinn[28]	1984 to February 1, 1997
							Bishop Thomas V. Daily[29]	February 13, 1987 to April 1, 2005
					Robert F. Wade[30]	April 1, 1997 to September 30, 2000
13	Carl A. Anderson		October 1, 2000	Present	Jean B. Migneault[31]	October 1, 2000 to October 27, 2006
							Archbishop William E. Lori[32]	April 2, 2005 to Present
					Dennis A. Savoie[33][34]	October 27, 2006 to December 2013
					Logan T. Ludwig[35]	December 12, 2013 to December 16, 2016
					Patrick E. Kelly[35]	January 1, 2017 to present

References

1. Annual report 2020
2. KofC About Us
3. "History of the Knights - Supreme Knights". Knights of Columbus Supreme Council. Retrieved January 25, 2011.
4. Knights of Columbus archives (December 3, 2018). "Knights of Columbus Supreme Officers". Retrieved December 3, 2018.
5. Kauffman 1982, p. 18.
6. Kauffman 1982, pp. 40-41.
7. Kauffman 1982, p. 61.
8. Kauffman 1982, p. 103.
9. Kauffman 1982, p. 131.
10. "National Council, K of C., Increases Issue. Next Convention Will Be Held in Louisville". The Boston Globe. June 4, 1903. p. 3.
11. "The Life and Legacy of Father Michael J. McGivney" (PDF). Knights of Columbus. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
12. Kauffman 1982, p. 287.
13. Dodge 1903, p. 9; Kauffman 1982, p. 114.
14. "History of the Uniontown Council No. 1275". Retrieved February 2, 2018.
15. "First Michigan Man to be Elected Supreme Knight". The Augustinian. XXXV (87). Kalamzaoo, Michigan. August 20, 1927. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
16. "K. of C. Pledge support for NRA". The Bulletin. XIV (16). Augusta, Ga. August 26, 1933. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
17. Kauffman 1982, p. 338.
18. Kauffman 1982, p. 394.
19. Kauffman 1982, p. 357.
20. "Swift Appoints Mulligan Deputy Supreme Knight". The Boston Globe. May 21, 1949. p. 2. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
21. "K. of C Re-elect* Hart Supreme Knight". The Berkshire Eagle. Pittsfield, Massachusetts. October 22, 1960. p. 5. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
22. "HON. JOHN H. GRIFFIN, M.D., K.S.G., K.H.S." (PDF). Knights of Columbus Maryland State Council. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
23. "Bishop Charles P. Greco" (PDF). Louisiana Ladies Auxiliary Association. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
24. Jordan, Robert (March 1, 1964). "New Chief of Knights Led Waltham Schools". The Boston Globe. p. 54. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
25. "McDevitt is reelected as KC head". New Orleans Clarion Herald. October 27, 1966. p. 2. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
26. Kauffman 1982, p. 417.
27. "Local Delegates at K of C Convention". Hanover Evening Sun. May 21, 1979. p. 14. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
28. "ORDER MOURNS THE PASSING OF FORMER DEPUTY SUPREME KNIGHT". Knights of Columbus. April 11, 2013. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
29. "KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS MOURNS THE PASSING OF SUPREME CHAPLAIN EMERITUS". Knights of Columbus. May 15, 2017. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
30. "Annual Report of Supreme Knight Virgil C. Dechant". Chuck Hauger. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
31. Anderson, Carl A. (September 11, 2008). "SUPREME KNIGHT'S EULOGY FOR JEAN MIGNEAULT". Knights of Columbus. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
32. "ARCHBISHOP WILLIAM E. LORI, S.T.D. SUPREME CHAPLAIN OF THE KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS". Knights of Columbus. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
33. Gosgnach, Tony (August 30, 2007). "Q and A with: Dennis Savoie". The Interim. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
34. Gyapong, Deborah (February 27, 2015). "Ambassador settles in to new role in Rome". The B.C. Catholic. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
35. "Patrick E. Kelly". Knights of Columbus. Retrieved February 1, 2018.

Bibliography

• Dodge, William Wallace (1903). The Fraternal and Modern Banquet Orator: An Original Book of Useful Helps at the Social Session and Assembly of Fraternal Orders, College Entertainments, Social Gatherings and All Banquet Occasions. Chicago: Monarch Book Company.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Kauffman, Christopher J. (1982). Faith and Fraternalism: The History of the Knights of Columbus, 1882–1982. Harper and Row. ISBN 978-0-06-014940-6.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)