The International Alliance of Catholic Knights (IACK) is a non-governmental organization

Non-governmental organization

A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...

 made up of fifteen Roman Catholic fraternal societies from 27 countries on six continents. The IACK was founded in Glasgow

Glasgow

Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

 on 12 October 1979 at a meeting of the leaders of six fraternal societies, convened on the occasion of the Diamond Jubilee

Diamond Jubilee

A Diamond Jubilee is a celebration held to mark a 60th anniversary in the case of a person or a 75th anniversary in the case of an event.- Thailand :...

 of the Knights of Saint Columba

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 organization is headquartered in Grimsby

Grimsby

Grimsby is a seaport on the Humber Estuary in Lincolnshire, England. It has been the administrative centre of the unitary authority area of North East Lincolnshire since 1996...

, Lincolnshire

Lincolnshire

Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

.

The IACK is currently an associate member of the Conference of International Catholic Organizations. The CICO is made up of 36 member organizations, four associated organizations and four invited organizations. These international organizations of more than 150 million lay people, through their respective national branches, are present in more than 150 countries.

Member Organizations

Order	Founded	Joined IACK
Knights of Saint Columba 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...	1919	1979	Great Britain Great Britain Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
Knights of Columbus Knights of Columbus The Knights of Columbus is the world's largest Catholic fraternal service organization. Founded in the United States in 1882, it is named in honor of Christopher Columbus....	1882	1979	United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... , Canada Canada Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean... , Mexico Mexico The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of... , Philippines Philippines The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam... , Guam Guam Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United... , Saipan Saipan Saipan is the largest island of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , a chain of 15 tropical islands belonging to the Marianas archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean with a total area of . The 2000 census population was 62,392... , Poland Poland Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
Knights of Saint Columbanus Knights of Saint Columbanus The Order of the Knights of Saint Columbanus is an Irish Catholic fraternal and service organization for lay men over twenty-one years of age.- Organisation :...	1915	1979	Ireland Ireland Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
Knights of the Southern Cross Knights of the Southern Cross The Knights of the Southern Cross is a Catholic fraternal order committed to promoting the Christian way of life throughout Australia....	1919	1979	Australia Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
Knights of the Southern Cross (New Zealand) Knights of the Southern Cross (New Zealand) The Knights of the Southern Cross is a fraternal order of Catholic men committed to promoting the Christian way of life...		1979	New Zealand New Zealand New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
Knights of Da Gama Knights of Da Gama The Knights of Da Gama are a fraternal, Catholic lay society, they get their name from the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama They are based in South Africa. They are a member of the International Alliance of Catholic Knights. Knights should be Catholic men, 18 years old. -External links:*...		1980	South Africa South Africa The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
Knights of Marshall	1926	1983	Ghana Ghana Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south... , Liberia Liberia Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open... , and Togo Togo Togo, officially the Togolese Republic , is a country in West Africa bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, on which the capital Lomé is located. Togo covers an area of approximately with a population of approximately...
Knights of Saint Mulumba Knights of Saint Mulumba The Knights of Saint Mulumba were founded in Onitsha, Anambra, Nigeria in 1953. Currently, there are 7,689 members. The Supreme Knight of the order is Bro. Anthony C. Onuh.-External links:*...	1953	1986	Nigeria Nigeria Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
Knights of Peter Claver	1909	1987	United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... , Colombia Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
Knights of Saint Virgil		1992	Austria Austria Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
Fraternal Order of Saints Peter and Paul		1992	The Gambia The Gambia The Republic of The Gambia, commonly referred to as The Gambia, or Gambia , is a country in West Africa. Gambia is the smallest country on mainland Africa, surrounded by Senegal except for a short coastline on the Atlantic Ocean in the west....
Knights of Saint Gabriel Knights of Saint Gabriel The Diplomatic Society of St Gabriel was established in 1996 by Catholic diplomats at the United Nations in New York. They are a member of the International Alliance of Catholic Knights...		1997	United Nations United Nations The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
Knights of Saint Thomas the Apostle		1998	Pakistan Pakistan Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
The Order of Our Lady Queen of Peace		2000	Mauritius Mauritius Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
Knights of Saint Thomas More	2001	2001	Belgium Belgium Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

Mission statement

During the constitutional meeting, it was resolved that these Fraternal Orders would found an International Alliance for the purpose of working together for the mutual advantage of the individual Member Orders and the extension of Catholic Knighthood throughout the world. Furthermore, the IACK holds its members to:

• Bring the message of Christ to all people.
• Give loyalty and support in every way possible to our Holy Father The Pope and all Bishops, Priests and Religious throughout the world.
• Use their individual and joint influence to eliminate injustice from society.
• Cooperate with other Catholic international organizations and the Pontifical Council for the Laity
  Pontifical Council for the Laity
  The Pontifical Council for the Laity has the responsibility of assisting the Pope in his dealings with the laity in lay ecclesial movements or individually, and their contributions to the Church. The Cardinal President of the Council is Cardinal Stanisław Ryłko. The Secretary is Bishop Josef...
  
   to advance the Christian way of life.
• Extend the vision of The Reverend Father Michael J. McGivney (founder of the Knights of Columbus) by assisting each Member Order to progress and grow and by promoting the establishment of new Orders of Catholic Knights.
• Strengthen the individual and distinct Member Orders by corporate action and to strive to deepen the faith of members of the Alliance and all Catholics in general by encouraging their active and generous participation in the Life and Mission of the Church.
• Pursue these aims by uniting all throughout the world in prayer.

The IACK was approved as a Catholic international organization by the Holy See

Holy See

The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...

in 1981. By a Decree dated 14 April 1992 the International Alliance of Catholic Knights was given official recognition by the Vatican as an International Catholic Association of the Faithful, in accordance with Canons 298-311 and 321-329 of the Code of Canon Law.

Leadership

It was agreed that the Supreme Knight or National President of each Member Order would form an International Council which would meet annually (now biennially) and be responsible for the organization and development of the new Alliance and would provide a forum in which the leaders of the Orders could discuss matters of common concern. The Leaders present at this historic gathering are recognized as the Founders of the International Alliance of Catholic Knights:

• Tony Rouse, Supreme Knight, Knights of Saint Columba
• Virgil C. Dechant, Supreme Knight, Knights of Columbus
• James J. Eccles, Supreme Knight, Knights of Saint Columbanus
• Peter Taylor, National President, Knights of the Southern Cross
• Alan M. Diesel, Supreme Knight, Knights of Da Gama
• Dr. Kevin Greene, Supreme Knight, Knights of the Southern Cross (New Zealand)

Year	Location	International Council President
1979	Glasgow Scotland	Tony Rouse
1980	East London South Africa	Alan Diesel
1981	Wellington New Zealand	Patrick Keogh
1982	Hartford United States	Virgil C. Dechant
1983	Dublin Ireland	Vincent Gallagher
1984	Melbourne Australia	Robert Ward
1985	Glasgow Scotland	Walter Downey
1986	Sekondi Ghana	George Habib
1987	New Haven United States	Virgil C. Dechant
1988	Berg An Daal South Africa	Raymond Allam
1989	Dublin Ireland and the Vatican	Hugh McLaughlin
1990	Auckland New Zealand	Kinney Curran
1991	Rome Italy	Dr. George Akabogu
1993	New Orleans United States	Paul Condoll
1995	Morecambe England	W. Roe
1997	Sekondi Ghana	Owusu Prempeh
1998	The Vatican	Dr. Edmund Kwaw
1999	New Haven United States	Dr. Edmund Kwaw
2001	Melbourne Australia	Eamonn Fleming
2003	St Martin bei Lofer Salzbergerland Austria	Geoffrey Renner

External links

• International Alliance of Catholic Knights