Knights of St. George

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KNIGHTS OF ST. GEORGE

A Catholic fraternal society organized in Pittsburgh, Pa., in 1880 with the approval of Bp. John Tuigg (187689). The original purpose of the order was to form a large, well-organized society capable of offering effective assistance to the many German immigrant families that were settling in the Pittsburgh area at that time. The movement began among members of St. Martin's parish, a German national parish in Pittsburgh. In the fall of 1880 a constitution was adopted, and the order took as its official title the German Roman Catholic Knights of St. George. On Jan. 8, 1881, a civil charter was obtained in Allegheny County, Pa. In addition to various social and charitable works, the knights gave financial aid to seminarians and sponsored the lay retreat movement. At one time, they also published a periodical called Knight of St. George.

[r. a. klinefelter]