Knights of Saint Columba

The Knights of Saint Columba is a Catholic fraternal service organisation and the largest of its kind in the United Kingdom. Founded in Glasgow in 1919, it is named in honour of Saint Columba, a Christian missionary from Ireland who helped to introduce Christianity to some of the people in the north. The organisation describes itself as being dedicated to the principles of Charity, Unity and Fraternity. There are more than 8,000 members of the KSC, in over 340 councils across Great Britain—it features in England, Scotland and Wales. Membership is limited to practising Catholic men aged 16 or older, and promotes the social doctrine of the Catholic Church.

The organisation, which is non-political and essentially democratic, although it doesn't admit women, exists to support the mission of the Catholic Church and at the same time to work for the "spiritual and material good of its members and their families". The KSC organisation is a member of the International Alliance of Catholic Knights. Founder of the Knights and first Supreme Knight was P J O'Callaghan. Following the social teachings of the Catholic Church, members of the Order work for the moral and social welfare of their country and in particular to help the development of young people. Members strive to achieve all these aims through charity, unity and fraternity.

The K.S.C. has been accused of being a secret society but only on the grounds that meetings are open only to members but there is no evidence of secret levels knowledge as with, for example, the Masons or other fraternal organisations ;. Admission ceremonies usually take place in a Catholic church during the celebration of the Mass.