Fr. John R. Hogan, Circle# 4397
Columbian Squires
Port Huron, Michigan  USA

About Us

A open letter to future Squires... 

Dear Friends, 

  As a Catholic, I understand that the world today is a difficult one to grow up in, and it's not always easy to lead the Christian way of life. Young Catholics today don't have it easy. One way to lighten the load is to join the Columbian Squires. The Port Huron circle offers the area's teenage Catholics the opportunity to join friends in an encouraging setting, and grow into well-developed young men. 

  I joined the Father Hogan Circle at St. Mary's Church nearly a year ago, at the encouragement of same of my friends. Their stories of accomplishment and good times sounded too good to be true, so I decided to attend a meeting and see just what the program was about. What I discovered was a group of fun-loving guys looking to make the world around them, as well as themselves, better. I decided to go on a few outings with these guys, and quite honestly, I had a blast! We went on some of these outings with no other goal then to have a good time, and others we went on helped to make the lives of others a little easier, but no matter what we did, we had fun.

  Guys, if all that I've just told you isn't enough to get you interested, them keep reading. You'll see that the more you read about the Squires, the more you'll want to join, and I certainly hope you do! It's a great way to improve your mind, body, and soul, and have a blast doing it! All of your new friends and I look forward to seeing you there.

Squire Andrew Fiedler,
Invested April, 2003

Q and A about the Columbian Squires

Just what are the Columbian Squires?

  The Columbian Squires can be viewed in one of two ways. Some people look at it as a worldwide organization of young Catholic men, which it is. You can think of it as the worlds largest Catholic youth group, with over 22,000 young Catholic men between the ages of 10 and 18 participating in about 1000 circles throughout the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippine Islands. You will get the opportunity to participate in the larger aspects of the organization by attending state conventions and participating in worldwide activities and drives.

  Others see it as a small parish or community youth group, with the chance to improve their communities and parishes by doing small, local things, and to have fun doing it. The opportunities to do these things are abundant as well.

  Both view points are correct. The Squires is a global organization, sponsored by the Knights of Columbus, with the goal of helping young Catholic men grow up to be responsible, well-rounded adults. In the Squires, you will be given the chance to improve the world at large, as well as the world around you. 

How is the Organization set-up?

  The Squires is really made-up of two bodies. The majority of your time will be spent in the local circles. (In our case, that is the Father Hogan Circle # 4379.) Each circle consist of at least 10 young men, with a meeting location provided by the K. of C. At least one Knight, (although in many circles there are two or more) volunteers his time to provide council to the circle. The Squires themselves are organized by elected and appointed positions. The circle's presiding officer is the chief squire. The other officers are: deputy chief squire, notary (kind of a secretary role) and bursar, who acts as the circle's accountant. These positions are elected each June by the members of the circle. The appointed positions consist of the marshal, sentry, arm captain and pole captain. The chief squire makes the appointments. He also appoints the chairmen of the spiritual, service, circle and membership. The Father Prior of each circle, who must be a priest, is appointed by the chief squire as well.

  The second body of the Squires is the State Circle. This circle is drawn from local circles from around the state, with the same officials selected from various circles. They are selected at a state convention held each June. The selection is made by delegates from each of the state's many circles. While the state circle doesn't really have members, it acts as a governmental body for the state. Its primary purpose is to facilitate the local circles' needs.

  All of the global programs, campaigns, and activities are coordinated by the Supreme Council Department of Fraternal Services at the Knights of Columbus office in New Haven Connecticut. They also publish the monthly SQUIRES NEWSLETTER, to keep members informed. 

What were all of those committees you mentioned?

Section II, Article II of the Laws and Rules of the Columbian Squires states the object of the program to be: "the spiritual, cultural, civic, social and physical improvement of its members, and the development of their leadership qualities." Since the founding of the Squires in August of 1925, this goal has been faithfully pursued.

Today this training takes place in four areas: spiritual, circle, membership and service. 

Spiritual

  This committee is responsible for planning programs of a religious nature, like retreats, marches, and monuments of a religious implications. Our circle is very active in this area, and participates in some of the ways listed below.

     *Monument to the unknown
     *Stations of the Cross
     *Cross in the woods
     *Bike raffle for Seminarian (an award winning activity)
     *Right to Life march
     *Posting 2200 crosses (The next photo shows our work)

Circle

This committee plans and promotes the fun activities, as well as acts to promote the circle in the community

The list below shows some of the fun activities we get to do.

     *Bowling
     *Laser Tag
     *C.M.U. football game
     *Canoe Outing (and tubing, in the picture below)
     *Plane ride
     *Mongolian Barbecue
     *Bonfires
     *Street Hockey
     *Beacons hockey games
     *Tigers baseball games

Membership

  This committee is in charge of all membership campaigns and the recruitment and retention of members. Its goals also include making every member an active recruiter for the Columbian Squires.

Service

  This committee is responsible for planning all of the volunteer programs for the circle within the community, as well as campaigns for local, national and global organizations. These programs range from fundraising to cleaning the neighborhoods. The list below shows some of the work our circle does.

     *Festival of Trees
     *Fish Fries & cleanup (The next photo shows the fun)
     *Alter Serving
     *Wreath Sale
     *Spaghetti Dinners
     *Pancake Dinners

So now it’s YOUR turn 

  Now you've had the chance to see what our program is and what we're all about. The decision to join is entirely up to you. There is work involved in the membership of the Columbian Squires, but know that the work that you do brings joy to others and makes you a better man. The fun you will have and the friends you will make are great incentives. So please, join the Squires today, and enjoy a better tomorrow.

The Meaning of the Squires Emblem

Our thanks and appreciation go out to the Knights of Columbus of
Father William F. Welch Council # 11756 - Port Huron, Michigan

Interested in joining e-mail Pete Smith: monkeydrummer(at)comcast(dot)net
or Chief Counselor Ed Taylor: merataylor(at)advnet(dot)net
 

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Columbian Squires is the Official Youth Organization of the Knights of Columbus.
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