The Thomas Price Council was founded on August 31, 1924. Our Council is named for Father Thomas Frederick Price. He was the first native-born Catholic priest of North Carolina. He is now up for sainthood as a Servant of God. Our Council was formed to serve the Sacred Heart Church in Raleigh.
In 1924, Bishop William J. Hafey was named the first bishop of the newly formed Raleigh Diocese. The new Diocese of Raleigh was the entire state of North Carolina. Bishop William J. Hafey wanted to refurbish what is now Sacred Heart Church as his cathedral. Our council was formed so the bishop could get a loan from the Knights of Columbus Supreme Council.
Our council was formed when State Deputy C. F. Linthicum was responsible for all Knights of Columbus members in North Carolina. Our first Grand Knight was Herman Wolfe, and our Chaplain was Reverend Thomas Griffin.
At this time, new council development was a very scarce commodity. No new councils came into existence in North Carolina until 1941, after the start of World War II.
For the first 29 years of our existence, we met in the orphanage run by the diocese.
We assisted the children in the orphanage, as well as the clergy and staff. When the orphanage was to be closed, we moved to our present site in 1953.
It is worth noting that we were the only council in the greater Raleigh area for 27 years. That changed when a Council was formed in Durham in 1951. The next Council to be formed was in Cary in 1975. Because of this history, we have members who belong to parishes across the greater Raleigh area and not just the Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral (and Sacred Heart Church).
The Knights of Columbus was founded on the principles of Charity, Unity, Fraternity, and Patriotism. Opportunities abound to put your faith into practice and action through the Knights of Columbus. We have our RSVP program (Refund Support Vocations Program) to help our seminarians. We support many local charities, including Operation L.A.M.B., Catholic Parish Outreach, The Women’s Center of Wake County, Habitat for Humanity, Run for Life, Aid Support After Pregnancy (ASAP), A Note in the Pocket, and much more.
We currently have just over 200 members, which makes this all possible.
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