Foundation

It was founded on 4 March 1883, at St. Joseph's Parish Hall at 10th & Howard, in San Francisco, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

. The six founders were:

• John McDade, the first grand president and subsequently first supreme president
• James Smith, who later became a member of the Commerce Court in Washington DC
• Edward Sheehan
• William Ryan
• William Gagan
• George Maxwell

Objects and purposes

Its objects and purposes were: "Mutual aid and benevolence, the moral, social, and intellectual improvement of its members, and the proper development of sentiments of devotion to the Catholic Church and loyalty to our country, in accordance with its motto, 'Pro Deo, Pro Patria': 'For God, For Country'".

History

Membership was divided into three classes:

• Benefit members, men between 18 and 45 years old who participated in the sickness and funeral benefits
• Active members, who did not participate in either benefits
• Honorary members who were outside the age range.

Membership has always been limited to practicing Catholics.

The organization spread through the United States, Canada and related territories, Hawaii and the Philippines. In 1900 it had a membership of 20,000 centered in California. It was strongly encouraged by the Archbishop of San Francisco, Patrick William Riordan

Patrick William Riordan

Patrick William Riordan was a Canadian-born clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of San Francisco from 1884 until his death in 1914.-Early life and education:...

 and received the approbation of Pope Leo XIII

Pope Leo XIII

Pope Leo XIII , born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci to an Italian comital family, was the 256th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, reigning from 1878 to 1903...

 and Pope Saint Pius X, as well as the approval of various members of the Catholic hierarchy in the territories that it operated in

Present status

The Young Men's Institute is still active in a number of Catholic parishes in California, Hawaii and Indiana, although fraternal/social aspects are stressed today. It still runs a nominal death benefit program for benefit members and has a national convention. Its membership is still divided into three categories: benefit members (17 to 45), associate members (those over 45), and Honorary members (reserved for clergy).