On Flag Day 2015, the Knights of Columbus Assumption Council 3397 held a special ceremony outside of the Church of St. Bridget Parish Center in Glassboro, N.J. In attendance were members of Assumption Council 3397, Saint Bridget Pastor Father Matthew Weber and many parishioners.

Knights and parishioners of Saint Bridget’s gather at the Parish Center for the Flag Day ceremony.

Grand Knight Ray Iacovone raises the flag during the ceremony.

Father Matthew Weber offers a prayer at the close of the ceremony.

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. 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.