Since 2008, as part of the largest African-American Catholic lay organization in the world, the Knights of Peter Claver Council 386 have proudly served Camden’s Saint Bartholomew community.
For these past 13 years, the Knights have remained steadfast to the organization’s mission, which includes supporting its parish and the diocesan bishop; participatiing in parish activities; helping youth develop in a positive environment; promoting civic improvement and social justice; and fostering social and intellectual fellowship.
“We care about helping not only our members, but members of the community,” says Fourth Degree Sir Knight and Treasurer, Earl Kights, who has been a part of the organization for the last 10 years.
“It sounded like a fraternity I wanted to be a part of” when he was first introduced to it, said Kights, 76 years old, a retired Camden educator and longtime worshipper at Saint Bartholmew Church. (Through parish mergers, Saint Bartholomew Church, located on Kaighns Avenue, is currently part of Sacred Heart Parish.)
Originally begun in Mobile, Alabama, in 1909 to “allow men of color membership in a Catholic fraternal society,” as its website explains, today the Knights of Peter Claver have over 700 councils (for Knights) and courts (for Ladies) in the United States, with one in Colombia, and more than 18,000 members.
The organization’s namesake, Saint Peter Claver, was a 17th century Spanish Jesuit who ministered to African-Americans arriving as slaves on the docks of Cartagena, Colombia.
The Camden chapter (one of two in the state of New Jersey, along with Newark) has members in three divisions: the Knights of Peter Claver, Fourth Degree, Ladies Auxiliary, and Junior Daughters. All told, almost 60 men, women, and young women are involved.
“It’s a family atmosphere, one of the unique things about it that sets it apart” from other similar organizations, says Victor Green, one of the founders and the first Grand Knight of the council.
A worshipper at Saint Bart’s since 1955, Green says he and other men “were thinking about (starting a chapter) for some time — we wanted another way to express our Catholicism,” and be part of a group of people with similar backgrounds.
At the same time, Green is quick to mention the Knights don’t discriminate against anyone desiring membership and. Two of his fellow Knights are Caucasian.
Pre-COVID times, Green, Kights and their fellow Knights would meet once a month in the church, and help lead such church initiatives as the annual blood drive, food drive, toy donations, Christmas baskets and senior picnic.
Now, their activities are scaled back, but members are still a presence at Sunday Masses, whether as Eucharistic ministers, choir singers, audio/visual technicians or parking lot security.
It is their love of the faith and their community, perhaps needed even more now, that keep the Knights energized.
“Everybody knows everybody here,” Green says of his church. “We’re all family.”
Kights laments the fact that, due to restrictions brought on by the pandemic, the organization hasn’t been able to attend funerals for its brothers and other faith community members who have died. “We can’t give them the respect they are due,” he says.
One of these individuals they sorely miss is the late Bishop George V. Murry, S.J., of Youngstown, Ohio, Camden native and childhood friend and classmate of Green’s. He died last June after a battle with cancer.
Council 386 has since been renamed the Bishop George V. Murry Council in his honor. As well, Camden’s Knights of Peter Claver hope sometime in the summer of 2022 to honor the late prelate with a special Mass and celebration.
For men and women interested in learning more about the Knights of Peter Claver, Ladies Auxiliary, or Junior Daughters, call Sacred Heart Parish at 856-966-6700.
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