In October 2, 1881, Father Michael J. McGivney, the 29-year-old assistant pastor St. Mary's Church in New Haven, Connecticut, brought together a group of laymen with whom he discussed his dream for a Catholic fraternal benefit society.It not only would assist widows and orphans of deceased members through it's life insurance program, but also would boost members' sense of pride in their Catholic religon, then frequently challenged in the anti-Catholic climate of 19th-century America. Father McGivney and his associates met several more over the next several months to continue planning, and the new organization -- the Knights of Columbus -- was formally launched in early Febuary, 1882.