Building Brotherhood on College Campuses

Jan. 22, 2026

College councils across the United States reshape campus culture by fostering communities of virtue, fraternity and service

By Megan Stibley

Jan. 22, 2026

Grand Knight Patrick Alfarano (seated, left) and members of Francis J. Doc Sweeney Council 5963 promote the Knights of Columbus during a club fair at the start of the fall semester at Manhattan University.

Bartosz Chramiec’s father died just days before Thanksgiving Day 2025. His brother Knights immediately came together to support Chramiec — grand knight of Notre Dame Council 1477 and a student at the University of Notre Dame — during his time of mourning.

Without Chramiec’s knowledge, the council planned a memorial Mass and 24-hour Eucharistic adoration in memory of his father on Dec. 6. Inspired by Blessed Michael McGivney’s founding vision for the Order, Deputy Grand Knight Gabriel Ortner organized a collection among the Knights to help finance the funeral. Members were asked to give what they could, and nearly 60 college Knights donated more than $5,000. On Dec. 1, they informed Chramiec of all they had planned.

“He sat there stunned for several seconds and was very moved. We all hugged and were just there for him in that moment,” Ortner said. “It’s moving to know there are all these Knights who would do the same for me and for any other Knight. We truly have each other’s backs.”

About 70 people attended the memorial Mass at the Chapel of the Holy Cross on campus, including Chramiec’s mother and his brother, who served as a lector. Chramiec, alongside brother Knights, was an altar server for the Mass.

“You realize how important certain people are when you fall into the gutter,” Chramiec said. “Seeing what they did for me, it made me realize how deep of a brotherhood truly exists with the Knights.”

For many college councils across the country, this kind of brotherhood and fraternity defined the fall semester, as young Knights took the initiative to support their communities in faith and charity.

A SEASON OF GROWTH

There are currently 133 councils active at colleges and universities across the United States, and more than 750 new college Knights joined nationwide during the fall semester of 2025. As these councils continue to grow, so does the impact of charity and faith on campuses.

Notre Dame Council 1477, the nation’s oldest college council, now counts more than 200 members. One of its signature programs — selling steak sandwiches before Saturday football games outside the K of C building on Notre Dame’s campus — dates back to the 1960s. The initiative saw a record year in 2025, raising more than $150,000, all of which will be donated to charity.

Members of Notre Dame Council 1477 cook steaks. — Members of Notre Dame Council 1477 cook steaks for the council’s steak sandwich fundraiser outside their K of C building at the University of Notre Dame before a football game.

The council has received inquiries from other college councils, including in Nebraska and Maryland, asking about the fundraiser and seeking advice on running similar initiatives at their schools.

“I’ve come to appreciate the impact that the Knights can have on campus,” Ortner said. “It’s humbling and motivating to realize that I’m part of a highly regarded establishment.”

While some councils began the fall semester with strong momentum, others faced the challenge of rebuilding.

Francis J. Doc Sweeney Council 5963 at Manhattan University in New York City was without a grand knight and largely inactive at the start of the 2025-2026 academic year. At the chaplain’s request, Patrick Alfarano stepped up to lead the council as grand knight.

“Even though I didn’t want to or ask to lead, I had to,” Alfarano said. “I had to take responsibility for my faith, be a leader to others, and help get things going to pursue the Catholic mission on campus.”

Despite the uncertain start, the council worked hard to make an impact on campus and in the community. During the fall semester, members organized a Mothers’ Helper Drive, collecting more than $300 and 25 pounds of women’s clothing for the Sisters of Life, who use the donations to support mothers in need.

About five Knights of Council 5963 also volunteered at a food drive organized by Thrive for Life Prison Project, Inc., a Catholic nonprofit that provides resources and support to incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people. The Knights helped distribute food and gave toys to children.

Volunteers to distribute food at Thrive for Life’s food drive in New York City. — Sam Wiley of Francis J. Doc Sweeney Council 5963 at Manhattan University in New York City works with volunteers to distribute food at Thrive for Life’s food drive in New York City.

Along with continuing to pursue charitable initiatives, the council hopes to foster faith on campus as well.

“We’re trying to bring more opportunities for people to participate in their faith,” Alfarano said. “People stray away and get lost in college, and we want to provide a foothold for them back in their faith.”

The council organized a Rosary on the Quad event, where about 15 people joined the Knights in praying the rosary on the campus quadrangle. The Knights handed out hot chocolate and rosaries to participants, attracting several non-Catholics as well. The council plans to hold the event monthly in the spring semester.

“In culture nowadays, men are told they need to take a step back and not be so profound. Men don’t know who they are,” Alfarano said. “We’re looking to bring a conversion, at least on campus, and influence the culture of men to stand up for their faith and take on responsibility.”

A THIRST TO SERVE

While Council 5963 found a way to revive the Knights’ mission and impact on campus, that same spirit of growth is evident across the country as college councils continue to be chartered.

St. Pier Giorgio Frassati Council 18676 at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo was chartered in March 2025 under the leadership of freshman Spencer Phillips, who now serves as grand knight.

After seeing the 2012 film For Greater Glory: The True Story of the Cristiada, Phillips researched the Order and wanted to bring it to campus. With support from the district, state and Supreme Council levels — and working closely with the Newman Catholic Center — the council focused on growth and now has about 50 members.

“I did not expect the big turnout of people when I was getting the council started,” Phillips said. “There’s something here to be worked with. This organization allows us to practically direct our time and talents for the greater glory of God. Seeing so many people take on that active involvement, it’s just very inspiring.”

The newly chartered council organized its first service event just before the end of the semester. About 30 Knights, along with other volunteers, cooked pots of soup and grilled cheese to bring to Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa, a Spanish mission church near the university, to distribute to people in need — including some experiencing homelessness. The Knights engaged in conversation with the people they served and afterward returned to the church to pray a rosary for them.

Members of St. Pier Giorgio Frassati Council 18676 at their exemplification and officer installation. — Members of St. Pier Giorgio Frassati Council 18676 pose with California Past State Deputy Jim Larson (left) after their exemplification and officer installation at Newman Catholic Center.

The council also organized a clothing drive, collecting three bins of donations for local shelters.

“There’s a great desire and thirst for people here to serve the community,” said Thomas Rosa, council advocate. “Men are spending time with the Lord, so naturally their desire to serve others in charity grows. The Knights have been a great means of fulfilling that desire, and it has been very sanctifying for our interior lives.”

The spring semester has only just begun, but already the Knights have performed a deep clean of the Newman Catholic Center and gone on a pilgrimage to Taigi Vision in Santa Clara, a Catholic nonprofit with religious displays and artifacts. The council plans to organize a Eucharistic procession and launch other faith-based initiatives.

“I really want to emphasize that this is a faith organization. We do acts of service, but really, they are acts of faith,” Phillips said. “There’s a desire for authentic faith and actually living the Christian life, and that will carry over into our service and how we treat other people.”

Whether well-established or newly chartered, college councils continue to draw on the brotherhood of the Knights to serve their campuses and communities through acts of faith and charity. Rejuvenated after winter break, councils are ready for an active spring semester as they continue advancing the mission of the Order.

“For the Knights to succeed in its mission on a college campus, you have to show that this isn’t just another superficial group, but a true brotherhood you can depend on,” Chramiec said. “Having that brotherhood has helped me grow and learn things about myself and address my own weaknesses in a way that I wouldn’t have been able to without the Knights.”

*****

MEGAN STIBLEY is associate editor of Columbia.

Keep Christ in Christmas-themed model boxcars roll along the O-gauge track layout at the Railroad Museum of Long Island

Building Brotherhood on College Campuses

A SEASON OF GROWTH

A THIRST TO SERVE

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