News
Over the past two weeks the Archdiocese of Washington District Fourth Degree Color Corps has participated in a great number of events honoring our Church, our Country, and our Order. We had the privileged to assist with the sending home of two Sir Knights at Arlington National Cemetery; we participated in a Chalice Mass at the DC VA Medical Center, honoring those who have served our nation in uniform. We participated in the District of Columbia and the Maryland State Officers Installations, praying for the future success of the Order. We participated in the Episcopal Ordination of the Most Rev. Michael W. Fisher as Auxiliary Bishop of Washington. And soon we will be honoring our Order and Church in Baltimore for the 136th Supreme Convention.
These Color Corps events and many others are all outstanding, and provide a definite feeling of self-fulfillment, as we operate as the visible arm of the Knights of Columbus and add dignity to every event in which we participate! I encourage each Sir Knight in the Archdiocese of Washington District, to consider joining the Color Corps and then join us in these outstanding events!
If you would like to become a member of the Color Corps in your Assembly, please contact your Color Corps Commander or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Recently some of you have told me that you have contacted Knights Gear about the New Uniform, and you were told that they no longer handle the new uniform. It appears that this is true, and that a company named Waterfront, located in Connecticut, will be handling the orders and distribution. We have been told that the Contact phone number is 833-562-4327 and the email address is This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by visiting https://kofcuniform.com. The uniform is listed at the same price and at least for the limited future, Knights Gear is still taking pre-orders. I recommend that if you have a uniform question, that you contact Knights Gear and let them refer you to the new company handling the new uniform.
The new company did tell me that they are in the process of shipping out 4,000 uniforms, so many who have ordered should see them very soon. I have had a pre-order in since October 27, 2017, and I was told that I will soon be asked to pay for the uniform, which means they are getting close to manufacturing it!
Fraternally and Patriotically,
Micheal W. Thumm
Colonel, USMC, Retired
Master, Archdiocese of Washington District
Fourth Degree, Knights of Columbus
Worthy Sir Knights of the Archdiocese of Washington District,
As many of you have heard, a new Fourth Degree Uniform was unveiled at the opening Mass of the 135th Supreme Convention in St. Louis, Missouri. The uniform consists of a blue blazer with an embroidered Emblem of the Fourth Degree on the breast pocket, dark gray trousers, a black beret with the Emblem of the Fourth Degree above the left eye, a Fourth Degree tie, and the Fourth Degree pin (PG-113).
Wearing the newly simplified Fourth Degree uniform, Supreme Master Dennis Stoddard leads the Order’s vice supreme masters in the recessional. (Photo Credit: Knights of Columbus Supreme Council)At the opening business session of the Convention, Supreme Knight Carl Anderson stated and showcased how the uniform had changed through the years, and that this is the new changed uniform. He also stated that the Color Corps Regalia will continue to be used on a limited basis at the Assemblies choosing for public and liturgical events to provide honor guards. Until the uniform becomes available to everyone, we will continue to use our previous Standard Regalia (Cape, Chapeau, Tuxedo), such as at the upcoming AMS Father Capodanno Memorial Mass. Beyond that, we will await further guidance from the Supreme Master and our Provincial Vice Supreme Master.
I will be the first to tell you, as a leader of Marines and your leader, that the rollout of this new uniform wasn’t perfect. But we must work with the facts that we have and move forward.
Certainly we may all have opinions about the new uniform, but we must not forget and continue to live by the guiding principles of our order: Charity, Unity, Fraternity, and Patriotism. These are why we exist, and regardless of any change, I am here to work on and within these principles and the spirit of Columbianism. I hope that you are, too! In today’s world, more than ever, we are needed by many: Family, Clergy, Youth, and the Holy Catholic Church. So, my hope is that you will continue to assist in these and our many Knightly areas, no matter what!
As I receive any additional information, I will pass it on.
Thank you for all that you do for the Knights of Columbus in general and for our Patriotic Degree in particular!
Fraternally and Patriotically,
Mike
Micheal W. Thumm, FDD, PGK, PFN
Colonel, USMC, Retired
Master, Archdiocese of Washington District
Legacy
Have you ever given any thought to your legacy? I certainly didn’t until last year when I attended a funeral of a Brother Knight from VA. As I was sitting there listening to his eulogy they told a story of a man who truly left a great Legacy. Bill was in deed a great man, but you couldn’t tell that from looking at him. He didn’t drive a big nice car, he didn’t live in a big house. Bill was a modest man that left behind a GREAT legacy. That got me to thinking about my legacy as Master, and the legacy of our District. What will people say when I go to my reward, or for that matter what will they say about all of us when we all go meet our maker. Will they say we were dedicated husbands, or hard workers, of even better yet when they stand up at the pulpit will they talk about how much of a Redskins fan we were. Not that any of these are bad, but I would rather they say how we touched in a positive way the lives of the people of our community, and Church. I would rather them say we fed the hungry, and brought smiles to children who had no reason to smile, or we helped someone who really needed our help. These are the true legacies we should be looking for. It isn’t about glory here on earth. It is the command of our Lord to make a difference while we are here.
You ask, what the heck does this have to do with being a Sir Knight of the 4th Degree? Moreover what does this have to do with this season? My answer is this. As we sit down and think about our blessings I would suggest you think about the blessings you have provided someone else this last year. Have we made someone’s life better, or less troubling? Also as we embark on a new year, what will we do over the next twelve months to change a life, and make a difference? As members of the 4th Degree, our District and Assemblies have a great opportunity to do just that. We have a great need in our Country and community, and the question is, do we as Sir Knight have the heart, and love to take on those challenges. I believe we do. So my New Year’s resolution, and I hope yours is as well is to find one way, one project, one effort that will change one life. If we can accomplish that we will truly MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
From the Winfrey family John, Gloria, Mandy, Kassie, Rachel, and Cynthia we wish you and your family’s a Blessed of New Year.
How very proud we should be to see a Priest, Army Chaplain, and a brother Knight receive the Congressional Medal of Honor! It was so good to see, Father Emil Kapaun, a simple priest from the Midwest receive the highest military honor, posthumously, from the President of the USA some 60 years later after the Korean war--it was Divine Providence. It was shameful however, that one had to go onto YouTube to actually see the presentation of the Medal but the media of late has never been friendly toward our Church, especially the Priesthood.
That being said, for me as a retired Air Force Chaplain to see not one but two priests: Frs. Capodanno USN (Vietnam) and Kapaun USA (Korea) honored by our Nation but whose causes are up for Beatification makes me both proud to have served my country during time of war (Desert Storm) and to be a Priest for my men in uniform. Father Emil was a correctly called a "Priest in the Army" an officer second. Father Kapaun died for his men in arms without thinking about himself and ultimately gave his life for his comrades in arms. Yes, doing ordinary things extraordinarily is the quick definition of being a Saint of God, and this Fr. Emil, is a true Catholic Chaplain who working with God's Grace performed miracles in the field. These holy Catholic Priest-Chaplains, broke old barriers of religious bigotry and prejudice when they (Kapaun and Cappadonno) ministered to all troops Catholic and non Catholic with the same apostolic zeal equally rendered. I would be almost certain that not just religious barriers were conquered but many conversions after these wars happened, thanks to "A ministry of Presence!"
When I was a Chaplain, I tried my very best to be all things to all men and women in uniform, and this I learned from the lives of these Saintly Catholic Chaplains above. Oh how we most desperately need good holy priests in the Military now, especially in places like Afghanistan, were militant Islamists still reign, and Christianity is despised. But, this is were the church does her best work, ministering to our troops in the mountains and desert, and even helping defenseless women and children who are victims to terrorists. Our church has always done well under persecution and wars and has come out the stronger. We must at the same time support Priestly-Vocations in recruiting young men for the priesthood. Perhaps we can get one out of an ordination class to consider being a chaplain in the Armed Forces, that would be my job... We are certainly blessed at present to have Father John Ruddermann who is going into the U.S. Air Force chaplain program. He will be a most welcomed addition to the chaplain corps in that at present our Chaplain Corps (all services ) are dominated by Protestant and strange fundamental and obscure new religions who know nothing about our church or its Sacramental nature. It makes it incredibly difficult for a young Catholic Chaplain with low rank to be heard at the table of "command"
In conclusion then, we look at who are winning awards for heroism in the field 90% are the brave Catholic Chaplains who go way over and beyond the call of duty not to win medals but to save souls and lives. The late great General Chesty Puller, USMC of the Korean War vintage once said "I want a Catholic Priest with me in the front lines, they take of my Marines body and soul and don't think of anything else!"
Semper Fi and God Bless,
Rev. Monsignor Karl A. Chimiak FF
Chaplain USAF ret.
The Master of the Archdiocese of Washington 4th Degree District, SK Joseph Feakes, has announced that the Ladies of the Archdiocese of Washington Fourth Degree District will be the the honorees for the 60th Exemplification of the Patriotic Degree of the Knights of Columbus for the Archdiocese of Washington. The event, which will be held in-person and online, will be held on Saturday, October 15th, 2022 at the St. John Paul II National Shrine in Washington, DC. Tickets for Lay and Priest candidates, the Ladies' Program, and luncheon tickets may be purchased by cash or check through our Exemplificaiton Page. All candidates will need to fill out a Form-4 and submit it to the Faithful Navigator of the Fourth Degree Assembly they will be joining.