Bishop Conaty
Assembly 395
Meets the First Thursday of Every Month

Faithful Navigator: Gabriel Starczewski
About the 4th Degree Any Third Degree member in good standing, one
year after the anniversary of his First Degree,
is eligible for membership in the Fourth Degree.
The primary purpose of the Fourth Degree is to
foster the spirit of patriotism by promoting
responsible citizenship and a love of and
loyalty to the Knights' respective countries
through active membership in local Fourth Degree
groups (called "assemblies"). Certain
members of the Fourth Degree serve as
honor
guards at civic and religious functions, an
activity that has brought worldwide recognition
to the Knights of Columbus.
The history of the Fourth Degree of
the Knights of Columbus of is directly linked to
the social and political climate in the United
States at the turn of the 19th century. It is in
that light that the connection between the
Fourth Degree and its Color Corps, which has
grown to be the most visible aspect of the
Knights, must be viewed.
The idea of adding new degrees to the Order's
original three, (Charity, Unity, Fraternity)
first came about in 1886. Supreme Knight James
T. Mullen appointed a committee to look into
forming two new "commander" degrees.
That same year the Connecticut Catholic, a local
newspaper, carried an advertisement calling
members of local Knights of Columbus councils to
meet to form a "Uniformed Legion." The
idea for this new unit arose from a growing
nation wide sense of Nationalism, what we call
today Patriotism. The unknown author in
Connecticut was not alone in wanting a visible
organization.
However, little happened at this time because
there was not enough wide spread interest in
creating additional new degrees. The Order's
leaders balked at the idea of a Uniformed Legion
for the simple reason that the cost for the
"Uniform" was well over $100.00. They
feared the "Legion" would cause an
economical class split between wealthy and
poorer members of the Order.
Following the Spanish American War, it was
decided that there should be one new Degree
added based on the principle of Patriotism.
In 1899, Edward L. Hearn was elected Supreme
Knight and he immediately appointed a committee
to establish and format the new Degree to be
given the following year.
At that time, in order to qualify for the 4th
Degree each candidate had to be a Third Degree
member of the Knights of Columbus in good
standing for three years, and show evidence of
distinctive service to the Order, church, and
community. Finally the candidate had to have a
letter from his priest stipulating that he had
received communion within the past two weeks.
The first Exemplification of the new Degree was
scheduled to be held in the Astor Hotel in New
York City on February 22, 1900. But, there were
so many candidates the Exemplification had to be
moved to a larger venue. Therefore the site was
moved to the Lenox Lyceum. At this first
Exemplification of the Fourth Degree 1,100
members of the Knights of Columbus, being in
good standing "took their fourth." The
second Exemplification, held in Boston on May 8,
1900 saw another 750 Third Degree knights join
the ranks of Sir Knights.
In the early years of the Fourth Degree, members
met as part of their councils, usually after
council meetings. In 1910, during a
reorganization of the Order's leadership, the
first Assemblies were created. The position of
Supreme Master was established to lead the
Fourth Degree internationally. Vice Supreme
Masters lead Provinces and Masters head
Districts. This system has spread and flourished
as Sir Knights not only serve their local Church
through their service to local councils but also
their joint efforts in these Assemblies.
 The Honor Guard, first called for in 1886, was
officially formed in 1902 for ceremonial
purposes. Since that time, the uniforms of the
Color Corps have varied, although all have
shared the similar theme of mariners. Most
noticeable in today's current uniform is the
chapeau worn with ostrich feathers.
In 2021, the Fourth degree celebrates its 122nd
anniversary with over 250,000 member Sir
Knights. |