PAPAL HONOR GUARD
His Holiness Blessed Pope John Paul II
October 5, 1979
Chicago,
Illinois
Sir Knight Louis Hofer
Sir Knight Rodger J. Gransky
Sir Knight Albert DeKeyser
Sir Knight Lawrence D. Alexander
Sir Knight Richard M. Miller
Sir Knight Michael R. McGee
Sir Knight Arthur J. Haungs
Sir Knight William G. Daly
History
On Oct. 2, 1881, a
group of men met in the basement of St. Mary’s Church on
Hillhouse Avenue in New Haven. Called together by their
29-year-old parish priest, Father Michael J. McGivney,
these men formed a fraternal society that would one day
become the world’s largest Catholic family fraternal
service organization.
They sought
strength in solidarity, and security through unity of
purpose and devotion to a holy cause: they vowed to be
defenders of their country, their families and their
faith.
These men were
bound together by the ideal of Christopher Columbus, the
discoverer of the Americas, the one whose hand brought
Christianity to the New World. Their efforts came to
fruition with the incorporation of the Knights of
Columbus on March 29, 1882.
They were Knights
of Columbus.
The Order has been
called "the strong right arm of the Church," and has
been praised by popes, presidents and other world
leaders, for support of the Church, programs of
evangelization and Catholic education, civic involvement
and aid to those in need.
Father McGivney’s
founding vision for the Order also included a life
insurance program to provide for the widows and orphans
of deceased members. The Order’s insurance program has
expanded substantially to serve more effectively the
Knights’ growing membership.
Year after year,
the Knights of Columbus has earned the highest possible
quality ratings for financial soundness from outside
ratings agencies. The Order provides the highest quality
insurance, annuity and long-term care products to its
members, along with many other fraternal benefits.
The Supreme
Council is the governing body of the Knights of Columbus
and is responsible for the development of the
organization as a whole. Supreme Council duties include
establishing the Order in new regions and setting up
regional authorities, defining and advancing its values
and goals, undertaking organization-wide initiatives,
promoting awareness of the Knights’ mission worldwide,
and protecting the families of members through its
extensive insurance program. Members working in local,
or subordinate councils, however, carry on the majority
of the Knights’ beneficial work.
Sir Knights.
Religiously Devoted, Patriotically Proud.
Father John Blasé Raho
The Apostle of Central Illinois
Taken from St. Mary’s of Lourdes
Church History
And excerpts from The Good Work
Begun by Alice O’Rourke, O.P.
Definite parishes had been established in the
Chicago and St. Louis areas in the very early
1800’s, but
the area in between was a “religious wilderness”.
The establishing of St. Raphael’s at Black Partridge
(Lourdes) and other parishes in the diocese of
Peoria was helped by the construction of the
Illinois
and Michigan Canal, begun in 1836, and forming a
connecting waterway from Lake Michigan to the
Mississippi River. The construction of this canal
brought to Illinois thousands of Irish construction
workers and most of these were Catholic. In
December, 1837, one of the contractors of the canal,
William Byrne, who lived in LaSalle, went to Bishop
Rosati in St. Louis, Missouri, to request priests
for the LaSalle district. (There was no Peoria
Diocese at the time.)
Father John Blasé Raho and Father Parodi traveled
from their seminary. The Congregation of the
Mission, at Barrens south of St. Louis on the
Mississippi River, to LaSalle on the Illinois River
which took about a week. When the two Vincentians
missionary priests arrived at their destination at
midnight on Thursday, March 29, 1838, they received
a surprise welcome. Five hundred men and women were
there to meet them. They held torches which gave a
flood of light. The steamboat whistled; drums were
beaten; the crowd shouted a most hearty welcome.
Then followed a midnight parade. Each Father was
given a horse to ride. Bill Byrne, the contractor,
led the procession followed by a band of fifes and
drums, the 500 men and women holding their lighted
torches, and lastly, Father Raho and Father Parodi
on horseback. The band played “Carry Owen” as the
crowd marched one mile to the log cabin home of
William Byrne where the two Fathers were to live
temporarily.
Shortly after the arrival of the Fathers Raho and
Parodi, a feud arose among the Irish who were
working on the canal. Irishmen who came from
Northern Ireland battled against Irish from South
Ireland and the two factions were beating, wounding,
and killing each other and destroying houses and
crops.
From LaSalle, Fathers Raho and Parodi “went up and
down to quell the riots and to bring back the
Catholics to meekness and charity”. Father Raho
expressed his bitter grief and discouragement in
these words: “I am fatigued; I am tired. Would to
God that I could go away and from among them. I
would wish to be among the Indians.” Father Raho
continued: “It was said that a missionary priest
from Chicago pronounced upon the rioters the curse
of God.” An historian of the time feels the curse
must have been effective for he writes: “Within a
short time, the rioters were struck by a dreaded
cholera epidemic; the frightful destroyer began and
finished his work of carnage on each victim within
twenty-four hours.”
Father Raho wrote: “Father Parodi and I have been
very busy visiting the sick and burying the dead;
day and night we have been laboring in order to
afford the help of our religion to the poor sick.”
The historian states further: “The cholera plague
changed the sounds of strife and rioting into sounds
of waiting and mourning. All along the canal the
cholera counted its victims; in small towns of
LaSalle and Peru alone, 81 able-bodied men died of
this plague. The scourge of God brought about a
religious revival among the people; they flocked to
Holy Mass on weekdays and to confession and Holy
Communion; repentance and conversions followed. And
when the people had come back to God, the cholera
epidemic came to an end.”
In a report sent to Bishop Rosati in mid-April, Fr.
Raho noted there were about 2,000 Catholics living
between LaSalle and Ottawa with almost 500 more
expected in the area soon. These included
Canadians, Germans and Irish. Father Raho was
anxious to build a church at LaSalle to be his
headquarters. Up and down the canal he went,
stopping at the camps, at the boarding houses, at
the shanties, begging money for the building of a
log church. This was finally constructed and opened
for worship on July 1, 1838 and given the name “Holy
Cross Church”. Holy Cross is today St. Patrick’s
Parish in LaSalle. Holy Trinity Parish was
established in Ottawa and it is St Columba today.
“The Apostle of Central Illinois” is a title justly
deserved by Father Raho because of the many long,
extensive missionary journeys which he made all over
the central part of the state. He traveled by foot,
horseback, horse and buggy, and boat visiting
settlements in Pekin, Peoria, Black Partridge
(Lourdes), Kickapoo, Lacon, and Lincoln. His
travels took him as far as 120 miles south of
LaSalle. In the years 1838-1839, he founded and
personally attended missions at LaSalle, Ottawa,
Dayton and Marseilles.
Later in 1839, Fr. Raho said Mass at the home of
Patrick Ward in Peoria. In Pekin, Fr. Raho
initiated plans for the building of a church on
donated land. He officiated at the laying of the
cornerstone at St. Patrick Church at Kickapoo and at
St. Raphael Church in the German settlement of Black
Partridge.
Many more parishes were established over the next
few years during which time he and Fr. Monuouri
offered Mass at Lacon, Hennepin, Utica and Troy
Grove (Peterstown).
Late in 1844, Fr. Raho left Illinois after more than
six years of service. After leaving, Fr. Raho went
on to serve as President of St. Louis Theological
Seminary; then worked on Vincentian missions in
Louisiana, and in 1858 was made Vicar General of the
Diocese of Monterey-Fresno in California where he
died December 11, 1862.
In 1956, the Knights of Columbus founded a council #
4194 in Morton, Illinois taking just pride in naming
that council after “The Apostle of Central Illinois”
Fr. John Blasé Raho.
Update submitted February 3, 2011 by
Sir Knight Ronald Swolley
1956-81 The early History of Morton Knights of
Columbus Council #4194
Submitted by Ed Brewster
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