In December, three young men became the fifth generation of
the Hassan family to become full members of the Knights of
Columbus. Patrick, 17, William, 18, and Matt, 21, raised
their hands to take the third-degree oath at the Father
Herman J. Veger Council in Warrenton as their Knight father,
Matthew David, and their Knight grandfather, William Edward,
looked on.
When Father Michael J. McGivney founded the Knights of
Columbus in New Haven, Conn., in 1882, it was a different
world for Catholics. Poor Catholic immigrants often were
excluded from labor unions which limited job opportunities.
They also had little access to financial help for their
families. If the father died on the job, it could be
disastrous for a family.
In addition to providing insurance for the bread-winner, the
Knights were an important source of fraternal and social
opportunities for isolated communities of Irish, Italian and
Polish immigrants.
The Knights of Columbus still provide those services to 1.9
million brother Knights and their families, and have given
hundreds of millions of dollars to charity and volunteered
millions of hours of time. They are pro-life and pro-Catholic
education.
The Hassan family has been active in the Knights for more
than 100 years, and can trace their lineage back to the early
days of the Knights.
Edward Daniel Hassan (1888-1973) was the first documented
Hassan to join the Knights. He joined the Msgr. James J.
Chittick Council in Hyde Park, Mass., in 1911. At the time of
his death he was an honorary life member of the Mattapan
Council in West Roxbury, Mass.
Edward Daniel joined because the Knights offered the
financial and social support the family.
In 1929, Edward Daniel’s son, William Joseph (1911-79),
joined the Mattapan Council. He moved to Virginia with the
U.S. Coast Guard during World War II and joined the Edward
Douglass White Council in Arlington and became an honorary
life member.
William Joseph’s son, William Edward, joined the Father
Robert E. Nudd Council in Chantilly in 1979, and is an
honorary life member of the council. He passed the family
tradition of Knighthood to his son Matthew David, who passed
it on to his sons.
William Edward, 69, said that his reason for joining the
Knights differed from that of his ancestors.
“The Knights are an important and powerful voice of the
things I believe in,” he said, citing pro-life issues and
patriotism.
Matthew David, 46, had similar reasons for joining, including
the importance of service and working with a group of
like-minded Catholic men.
“It was a big part of my life,” he said.
Matthew’s wife, MaryAnn Catherine, passed away from cancer in
January. Matthew said that the presence and support of the
Knights have helped him and his family in the grieving
process.
Matthew’s sons felt the pull of family tradition in their
call to the Knights.
Patrick, a senior at Seton School in Manassas, said “I saw it
as a way to serve my faith. It felt natural.”
All of the Hassan Knights, except for Matthew’s three sons,
have served as Grand Knights and state district directors. He
hopes his sons can keep that part of the tradition going,
too.
The members are proud of their five-generation Knight family.
“It’s wonderful to have the family commitment to the Catholic
faith and to what the Knights stand for,” said Father Herman
J. Veger Grand Knight Joe Tullington.
The lineage may date back to an earlier generation. Matthew
David is trying to verify records for William Joseph Hassan,
who was born in 1854, 28 years before Father McGivney founded
the Knights of Columbus.
