Council Information

The Holy Rosary Council is located in Harrisburg at 145 Peach Street. The Grand Knight for 2011-2012 is Ron Stramitis. You can contact the Knights at 717-545-6504.

Council Meetings

Council meetings are held on the second and fourth Mondays of the month, September through June, and the second Monday only of July and August at 7:00 PM at 145 Peach Street, Harrisburg, PA.

Our History

On February 2, 1882, Father Michael McGivney, at the age of 29, called a small group of Catholic men in New Haven, Connecticut to a meeting for the purpose of forming a Catholic organization to unite all Catholic men and to provide for their families. On March 29, 1882, Father McGivney’s idea became a fraternal organization called the Knights of Columbus.

The Knights of Columbus was twenty-two years old, when a small group of Catholic laymen met in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to organize a Council. On April 10, 1904, the Harrisburg Council was chartered and Martin Malone was elected as the 1st Grand Knight (1904-1907). In the presence of fifty new Knights, Holy Rosary Council 869 was chartered at 204 North 2nd Street. In 1921, as the membership grew, Council 869 purchased a building on State Street across the street from St. Patrick’s Cathedral where the Council remained until 1973.

The Council functioned without a home from 1973 until 1976. Council meetings were held at St. Margaret Mary’s Youth Center at the invitation of Rev. Matthew Casey, Council Chaplain and Pastor of the church.

In 1976, the Council purchased our present home, the old Paxtonia Firehouse at 145 Peach Street. The Council engages in many charitable, religious, fraternal and social activites. Catholic men age 18 years and older are invited to join more than 400 members of the Holy Rosary Council in the Harrisburg area.