The
following statement is taken from the Supreme Council:
On
February 22, 1900, the first Fourth Degree exemplification or degree ceremony
was held in New York City. The Fourth
Degree imparts a lesson on the virtue of patriotism. The primary purpose of this degree is to
foster the spirit of patriotism in members and the community at large and
encourage active Catholic citizenship. Today
there are some 300,000 Fourth Degree Knights out of the total 1.9 million
member Knights of Columbus. Local units,
called Assemblies, draw their members from Knights of Columbus councils.
The need for a patriotic degree was first considered
in 1886 and a special plea was made at the National Meeting of 1899. The first Fourth Degree exemplification
followed in 1900 with 1,100 Knights participating at the Lenox Lyceum in New
York City. Today there are more than
2,500 Assemblies.
The Fourth Degree is the highest degree of the
order. Members of this degree are
addressed as "Sir Knight". The
main purpose of the Fourth Degree is to foster patriotism and to encourage
active Catholic citizenship. Fewer than
18% of Knights join the optional Fourth Degree.
Assemblies
are distinct from Councils and are led by a separate set of
elected officers. The Supreme Board of
Directors appoints a Supreme Master, currently SK Dennis Stoddard, and twenty
Vice Supreme Masters, to govern the Fourth Degree. Each Vice Supreme Master oversees a Province
which is then broken up into Districts.
The Supreme Master appoints District Masters to supervise several
assemblies.
Each assembly is led by a Navigator.
Other elected Assembly officers include the Captain, Admiral, Pilot,
Scribe, Purser, Comptroller, Sentinels and Trustees. A Friar and Color Corps Commander are appointed
by the Navigator. Assembly officers are
properly addressed by using the title "faithful" (e.g. Faithful
Navigator). Assemblies are numbered in
the order in which they chartered into the Order and are named by the local
membership.
Only Fourth Degree Knights may purchase the full regalia and
join the Assembly’s Color Corps. The Color Corps is the most visible arm of the
Knights and is often seen in parades and other local events wearing their
colorful regalia. Official dress for the
Color Corps is a black tuxedo, baldric, white gloves, cape and naval chapeau. In the United States, baldrics are red, white
and blue. Service baldrics include a scabbard for a sword and are worn over the
coat while social baldrics are worn under the coat.
The triad emblem of the Fourth Degree features
the dove, the cross and the globe. The
dove, classic symbol of the Holy Spirit and peace, is shown hovering over the
orb of the Earth (globe). Both are mounted on a variation of the Crusader's
cross, which was found on the tunics and capes of the Crusading knights who
battled to regain the Holy Land from the pagans.
Spiritually, the sacred symbols on the emblem
typify the union of the Three Divine Persons in one Godhead, the most Blessed
Trinity.
- The Globe – God the Father, Creator of the Universe.
- The Cross – God the Son, Redeemer of Mankind.
- The Dove – God the Holy Spirit, Sanctifier of Humanity.
The colors of the symbols are:
- A blue globe with the land of the Western Hemisphere in white.
- A red cross with gold borders and gold knobs at the end of the
points forming the ends of the arms of the cross, also known as the
Isabella cross.
- A white dove.
Red, white and blue are the colors of the flag
of the country in which the Knights originated. They are used to stress patriotism,
the basic principle of the Fourth Degree.
