Facing religious persecution, social services exclusion and poor economic hardships that rendered many a young and newly arrived immigrant family widowed or orphaned, Venerable Father Michael J. McGivney took action in 1882 by founding the Knights of Columbus.  Little did he know then, that this little order of men would grow to become the world’s largest Catholic fraternal service organization boasting nearly 2 million men spread across a dozen countries who donate in excess of $185 million to charity and more than 75 million volunteer service hours annually.