Knights of Peter Claver

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Saint Peter Claver as the pastor of the African slaves

The Knights of Peter Claver (Abbreviation: KPC, German: Ritter von Sankt Petrus Claver ) are a knightly brotherhood in the Roman Catholic Church . It was founded in 1909 as an Afro-American and Catholic brotherhood by Father Conrad Friedrich Rebesher SJ and 6 other founding members in Mobile (Alabama) ( USA ). She operates in the United States and South Africa . The CCP, including the women's organization, is the largest and oldest African-American lay organization .

history

The Polish Jesuit Conrad Friedrich Rebesher and the Jesuits Samuel Kelly, Joseph Peter Van Baast, John Henry Dorsey and Gilbert Faustina, Francis Xavier Collins and Francis Trenier founded the first local group within a parish on November 7, 1909 . They chose Saint Peter Claver as their namesake, who had evangelized in Africa in the 17th century . To build their organization, they oriented themselves to the already existing Knights of Columbus . In 1922 the Brotherhood was joined by a women's organization (Ladies Auxiliary), which was officially recognized in 1926. The establishment of a male youth organization began as early as 1917, which was completed in 1935 with formal integration. In 1930 a department for young girls was established. Since 1917, honorable and deserving members have been accepted into the "Sublimed and Meritorius Fourth Degree". The prerequisite for this was a four-year membership and active participation in the brotherhood and the community. The honored members receive the honorary titles "Sir Knight" and "Gracious Lady".

organization

The main office of the CCP is located in New Orleans . It is headed by the elected President, the Supreme Knight and his Presidium. The brotherhood consists of 298 male and 312 female divisions. The youth organization, aged 7 to 18, is divided into 123 groups (councils) for male and 208 councils for female youth. The CCP is an associate member of the International Alliance of Catholic Knights and an association of believers recognized by the Pontifical Council for the Laity as a spiritual community .

deals

The CCP asks all members to actively participate in their parishes and to help shape the Holy Mass . They support charitable projects in their communities, at schools and universities , as well as in other national aid organizations. They define their goals in

  • helping the pastor , the parish and the local bishop ,
  • active participation as a group and community,
  • the pride and participation in civic life,
  • the representation of faith,
  • participation in social developments,
  • the offer of education ,
  • the character development of youth and ultimately
  • by offering their members social and educational enthusiasm.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Petrus Claver (1580-1654) was a Spanish Jesuit , missionary and priest . He is the patron saint of Colombia and has been considered the "Patron of Human Rights" since 1985.