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^[update].^[1][2]

Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus
Incumbent Patrick E. Kelly since March 1, 2021 (2021-03-01)
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; mandatory retirement at age 70
Formation	February 2, 1882; 142 years ago (1882-02-02)
First holder	James T. Mullen
Website	kofc.org/en/who-we-are/our-supreme-officers/supreme-knight.html

Since its founding in 1882, there have been 14 Supreme Knights.^[3] Patrick E. Kelly is the Supreme Knight incumbent, holding this position since March 1, 2021.

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		March 29, 1882	May 17, 1886	John T. Kerrigan[5]	1882–1884	Rev. Patrick P. Lawlor	1882–1884
					John F. Dowling[6]	1884–1886	Rev. Michael J. McGivney[6]	1884–1890
2	John J. Phelan[7]		May 17, 1886	March 2, 1897	William Hassett[7]	1886–1887
					James C. Roach	1887–1895
							Rev. Hugh Treanor	1891–1899
					James E. Hayes	1895–1897
3	James E. Hayes		March 2, 1897	February 8, 1898	John J. Cone[8]	1897–1898
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–June 3, 1903	Rev. Garrett J. Barry	1899–1901
							Rev. Patrick J. McGivney[11][12]	1901–1928
					Patrick L. McArdle[10][13]	June 3, 1903[10]–1905
					James A. Flaherty[14]	1905–1909
6	James A. Flaherty[12][15]		September 1, 1909	August 31, 1927	Martin H. Carmody[12]	1909–1927
7	Martin H. Carmody[12][16]		September 1, 1927	August 31, 1939	John F. Martin[12][17]	1927–1933
							Rev. John J. McGivney[12][17]	1928–1939
					Francis P. Matthews[16]	1933–1939
8	Francis P. Matthews[17]		September 2, 1939	October 14, 1945	John E. Swift	1939–1945	Rev. Leo M. Finn[17][18]	1939–1960
9	John E. Swift[19][20]		October 24, 1945	August 31, 1953	Timothy P. Galvin	1945–1949
					William J. Mulligan[20][21]	1949–1960
10	Luke E. Hart		September 1, 1953	February 19, 1964
					John W. McDevitt[21][22]	1960–1964	Bishop Charles P. Greco[23][18]	1961–January 20, 1987
11	John W. McDevitt		February 22, 1964	January 21, 1977	John H. Griffin, MD[22][24]	1964–1966
					Charles J. Ducey[25][26]	1966–April 1976
					Ernest J. Wolff[26]	1976–1977
12	Virgil C. Dechant		January 21, 1977	September 30, 2000	Frederick H. Pelletier[26][27]	1977–1981
					John M. Murphy	1981–1984
					Ellis D. Flinn[28]	1984–February 1, 1997
							Bishop Thomas V. Daily[29]	February 13, 1987–April 1, 2005
					Robert F. Wade[30]	April 1, 1997–September 30, 2000
13	Carl A. Anderson		October 1, 2000	February 28, 2021	Jean B. Migneault[31]	October 1, 2000–October 27, 2006
							Archbishop William E. Lori[32]	April 2, 2005–present
					Dennis A. Savoie[33][34]	October 27, 2006–December 2013
					Logan T. Ludwig[35]	December 12, 2013–December 16, 2016
					Patrick E. Kelly[35]	January 1, 2017–February 28, 2021
14	Patrick E. Kelly		March 1, 2021	present	Paul O'Sullivan[36]	June 9, 2021–July 1, 2023
					Arthur L. Peters[37]	July 1, 2023-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. Vol. XXXV, no. 87. Kalamzaoo, Michigan. August 20, 1927. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
16. "K. of C. Pledge support for NRA". The Bulletin. Vol. XIV, no. 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.
36. Burger, John (June 14, 2021). "Supreme Knight installed, calls for "guardians of truth"". Aletia. Retrieved August 5, 2022.
37. "ARTHUR L. PETERS". Knights of Columbus. Retrieved June 10, 2024.

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.
• 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.