On June 14, 2014, in observation of Flag Day, the Knights of Columbus Assumption Council 3397 held a special ceremony outside of the Church of St. Bridget Parish Center in Glassboro, N.J. to rededicate the flag pole and raise a new flag.

In attendance were members of Assumption Council 3397, Saint Bridget Pastor Father Matthew Weber along with many parishioners, Eagle Scout Thomas Seddon of Glassboro, and members of the Knights of Columbus Color Corps from Archbishop C.J. Damiano, Bishop James Schad, and Bishop Eustace Assemblies.

Flag Day holds a special honor to the Knights of Columbus who, in addition to their many civic and social projects, work to cultivate pride in United States patriotism. In that vein, the Knights of Columbus helped lead the charge to add “under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance, which occurred 60 years ago on Flag Day, June 14, 1954.

In his message of thanks to Supreme Knight Luke Hart, President Dwight D. Eisenhower wrote, “They [the words “under God”] will help us keep constantly in our minds and hearts the spiritual and moral principles which alone give dignity to man, and upon which our way of life is founded.”

From the discovery to the renewal of our nation, civic leaders have often remarked that freedoms come through the Grace of God – that civic duties and religious values are inextricably linked.

In 1492, Christopher Columbus, namesake of the Knights, performed his civic and religious duties, as he would have understood them, when he left Spain for the New World. Our Founding Fathers expressed the Rights of Man as no less than a gift granted by our Creator when they established the United States of America in 1776. In 1863, Abraham Lincoln’s address at Gettysburg was just as explicit. In his desire to heal a country divided by war, Lincoln spoke the words “this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom.

The Knights of Columbus are proud to continue to uphold and promote both American and religious values in these complex times for our nation.