1930-1940: Helping Our Neighbors

 

The Great Depression initially had a detrimental effect on the Order’s membership and finances, but it also led to a renewed sense of volunteer service. The success of an extensive membership campaign in 1935, titled Mobilization for Catholic Action, led to the establishment of the Order’s Service Department, which subsequently launched a “Five-Point Program of Progress.” The program encouraged councils to play a more active role in the life of the local parish and community, and included five categories: Catholic activity, council activity, fraternal protection, publicity and maintenance of manpower.

Also in the early 1930s, violent persecution resurfaced in Mexico, prompting the Order’s leadership to strongly urge the U.S. government to take action. Tensions in Mexico eventually eased in 1937, but the threat of atheistic communism was growing in Europe. In response, the Knights organized anti-communist rallies in early 1937. When Pope Pius XI’s encyclical on the subject, Divini Redemptoris, was released in March of that year, the Order printed and distributed a million copies. The Knights also sponsored a new lecture tour and expanded its anti-communism program to include a Crusade for Social Justice. “Injustice to man is the seed of communistic growth,” Supreme Knight Martin Carmody said. “With Truth and Charity as your weapons, go forth as a Crusade.”

1932: The 50th anniversary of the Knights is celebrated with Commemoration Week, June 24-30, 1932. Among the highlights is the unveiling in Washington, D.C. of a statue of Cardinal James Gibbons, an early supporter of the Knights who had ordained Father McGivney.

1935: On July 8, 1935, Supreme Knight Martin Carmody and other K of C officials meet with President Franklin D. Roosevelt about the ongoing situation in Mexico.

1936: Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli, Vatican secretary of state, visits the Knights of Columbus headquarters in New Haven; in 1939, Cardinal Pacelli becomes Pope Pius XII.

1939: In response to Pope Pius XII’s petition for prayers for peace, the Knights of Columbus sponsors an international prayer for peace program on Armistice Day 1939 and a radio prayer for peace broadcast on May 19, 1940.

1939: Less than two weeks after World War II is declared, Canadian Knights establish a welfare program for soldiers comparable to the KC huts program that operated during World War I. Within a year, Canadian Knights raise nearly $250,000 to support troops.