Welcome to the St. Augustine Council Knights of Columbus Website
Practicing the Principles of Charity, Unity, Fraternity, and Patriotism since 1991
Steven Calise, Grand Knight


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Our council was formed in February of 1991 in the basement of St. Augustine's church. Thirty men made the decision that the Knights of Columbus was the organization they wanted to join and the one to be formed at St. Augustine's was the council they wanted to belong to. Of the thirty charter members, 4 came into the council with prior experience as knights. Some were currently active and only had to fill out transfer forms, and some had not been active for many years and had to be readmitted. During the next 10 days, the 26 new members went through all three degrees. This was, of course, a major logistical undertaking, but the men made up their mind that they would be available on the three nights and would become full-fledged knights.

On February 21, 1991 State Deputy James J. Kiley and District Deputy Bob Marciano drove down to New Haven and personally delivered the 30 Form 100's to the New Council Development director and we were born.

Over the next several months we learned how to be a council and how to run a meeting. Those early days were very much a learning experience for our Grand Knight Steve Rianna and our Financial Secretary Jerry Scannell. Those guys had to carry the brunt of everything.

Over the years, we have done a very good job in fostering the principles of the order and have been very fortunate to have produced a State Deputy, four District Deputies, two state membership directors, three state program chairmen, and three Faithful Navigators out of our Past Grand Knights, and for that we are very proud.

We also qualified as a Star Council in 1997 for the first time in our existence! We recently were rewarded for our recruitment efforts by making Star Council, Double Star Council (twice), and just last year made Triple Star Council despite the difficulties with the COVID 19 pandemic!

Our first 3 years of existance was full of memorable events. To see a slideshow of those years, just click on one of these links:

  1. 1991 - our first year. Installation of officers and Columbus Day parade ( 15 photos ) Click here
  2. 1992 - our second year. Installation of officers, Columbus Day parade ( 41 photos ) Click here
  3. 1993 - our third year. Free throw tournament, golf tournament, trip to Supreme ( 78 photos ) Click here

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Click here for an officer photo Slideshow
Grand Knight: Steven Calise

Chaplain: Rev. Christopher M Mahar

Deputy Grand Knight: Anthony Murray

Chancellor: Michael J Salvatore

Warden: Christian Durango

Financial Secretary: Paul G. Scannell, PGK PFN FDD (Mary (McCoy))

A charter member of St. Augustine's Council, I joined the order in 1991. I was the Grand Knight of the council in 1995, and after that time have been fortunate to serve the state council in many capacities including District Deputy, Membership Director, Program Director, State Webmaster, and Executive Secretary. I've been married to my wonderful wife, Mary, since 1969 and have a son Sean who is also a brother knight.
Recorder: Robert J Chase, PGK (Mary Ann)

I am serving my second tour of duty as grand knight and originally joined the St. Augustine Council in 2015. I am married to the former Mary Ann Greer and was a State employee for 37 years before retiring, mostly spent with the State Archives. I enjoy reading, cooking and perennial flowers.
Treasurer: John Olobri (Donna)

Retired Director of Sales and Marketing after 25 years with AEMC Instruments. Vice President of the Men of St Joseph International. Treasurer of the St Augustine’s council 10557 of the Knights of Columbus and a Fourth Degree Knight. Married to Donna since 1968. Father of 4 children, Christina, Peter, John Jacob and Joseph and have 7 grandchildren. I have been a parishioner of St Augustine church since 1977 and a member of council 10557 since 2019.
Advocate: Paul Morry (Kathleen)

Trustee 1: John L. Marcello, PSD (Marjory)

I joined the St. Augustine Council in 1993, worked my way through the chairs becoming Grand Knight in 1996. With the help of my brother knights, the council achieved Star Council under my tenure. I served three years as District Deputy, followed by three years as Membership Director. I was appointed State Warden in 2002 (having finished second in a earlier two man election for State Warden) as a result of our State Secretary resigning due to health reasons.The next election I ran and won for State Warden.
Trustee 2: Anthony Magro

Trustee 3: Michael J Geraghty

Inside Guard: Ernest Vacca

Outside Guard: Steven Lombardi, Esquire

Membership Director: Michael J Geraghty

Program Director: Robert J Chase, PGK (Mary Ann)

I am serving my second tour of duty as grand knight and originally joined the St. Augustine Council in 2015. I am married to the former Mary Ann Greer and was a State employee for 37 years before retiring, mostly spent with the State Archives. I enjoy reading, cooking and perennial flowers.
Family Director: Michael J Salvatore

Community Director: Anthony Murray

District Deputy: Sean Andrade, DD

Insurance Agent: Brian S Hastings

EFF Director: John Olobri (Donna)

Retired Director of Sales and Marketing after 25 years with AEMC Instruments. Vice President of the Men of St Joseph International. Treasurer of the St Augustine’s council 10557 of the Knights of Columbus and a Fourth Degree Knight. Married to Donna since 1968. Father of 4 children, Christina, Peter, John Jacob and Joseph and have 7 grandchildren. I have been a parishioner of St Augustine church since 1977 and a member of council 10557 since 2019.

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You can view the council's calendar by clicking here

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Click here for an "In the News..." photo Slideshow
Archived News Items:   Produce a printed report for selected year

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Over the past 140+ years of its existance, the Knights of Columbus have had some very famous people as members. Here is just a short list of some...
Member Biography
Babe Ruth The Sultan of Swat. The King of Crash. The Colossus of Clout. The Great Bambino. Babe Ruth forever changed baseball unlike any athlete before him. A home run slugger, he paved the way in numerous batting categories, holding records for career home runs and more.
John F. Kennedy President Kennedy, the first Catholic ever elected commander in chief, was a longtime Knight. He praised his brother Knights’ charity and service, writing in 1961 that their “countless allied activities all unselfishly offered in the name of our common humanity have served to strengthen and solidify their hold on the public heart.” Today almost 30 Knights of Columbus councils bear his name.
Fulton Sheen Archbishop Sheen was one of the most influential Catholics of the 20th century. He hosted several radio and television shows, including The Fulton Sheen Program which had roughly 30 million weekly viewers. His cause for sainthood is currently open.
Ed Sullivan The Ed Sullivan Show is among the most trend-setting variety shows ever that helped introduce Elvis Presley and The Beatles to the American public.
Ferdinand Foch A French general, Ferdinand Foch became the Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Armies during World War I. He led the French, British and American troops. When Germany sued for an armistice, it was Foch who accepted those terms.
Vince Lombardi Lombardi coached the Green Bay Packers to five NFL championships as well as the first two Super Bowls in 1967 and 1968. The Super Bowl trophy in now named in his honor.
Joyce Kilmer Kilmer, considered the leading Catholic poet of his day, is probably best known for the short poem “Trees.” He enlisted in World War I and was killed in action on the battlefields of France in 1918.
James Connolly An author and athlete, Connolly was the first modern Olympic gold medal winner, winning the triple-jump in the 1896 games.
Jeremiah Denton Commander Denton, a U.S. pilot, was an American prisoner of war in Vietnam. He was forced to participate in a propaganda interview, during which he blinked the word TORTURE in Morse Code to secretly reveal the reality of what was happening to American soldiers.
Paul Scully-Power A world-renowned oceanographer, Scully-Power worked with NASA. He became not only the first Australian-born person to go into space, but also was the first astronaut with a beard.
Sargent Shriver Shriver created the Peace Corps with his brother-in-law President Kennedy. The Peace Corps’ mission was to help improve the health, education and general welfare in less developed countries around the world.
Al Smith Presidential candidate in 1928.
Lt. William Fitzsimons The first U.S. Officer to die during World War I.
Francis Matthews A former Supreme Knight, Francis was appointed by President Harry Truman to be the Secretary of the Navy and later appointed ambassador to Iteland.

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The following Members have passed away. May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace...
Member Wife Born-Died
Henry J Walaska (4th) Marilyn (Quetta) 06/14/1947 - 05/03/1992
M. Frank Gibney (3rd) 10/30/1918 - 04/26/1999
Edwin H. Benz Sr. (3rd) 11/05/1925 - 10/09/1999
John C. Butler Jr. (3rd) 10/26/1937 - 10/21/2001
William J. Mc Enery PGK (4th) 10/18/1929 - 03/13/2002
John W. Cronin Jr. PFN (4th) Anne (Belluche) 06/22/1933 - 04/27/2002
Carmino C. Romano (2nd) 06/29/1916 - 09/23/2004
Angelo Cataldi (3rd - Honorary Life) 08/11/1918 - 11/09/2004
James Conway (3rd) 01/01/1960 - 03/07/2005
Angelo Rosati (3rd) 06/18/1920 - 05/26/2005
William P. Connor (4th) Frances(Chiaverlini) (died) 06/24/2005
Rev. Francis C. Duffy O.P. (4th - Clergy) 06/21/1931 - 03/24/2006
Thomas S. Natale (4th - Disabled) Leonita (Chiaverini) 03/21/1920 - 01/18/2007
Brendan J. Fay (1st - Honorary Life) 04/22/1912 - 04/24/2007
Alexander M. Longo (4th) Laura (DiNapoli) 04/22/1918 - 02/02/2008
Pasquale Iannazzi (2nd) 07/12/1926 - 02/13/2008
Joseph J. Maselli (3rd) 06/24/1920 - 10/05/2009
Charles W. Smith Jr. (3rd) Emily (Mascia) 03/17/1920 - 02/26/2010
Ralph Grieco (3rd) Marie (Ibello) 02/03/1925 - 08/12/2013
Robert A. Colson Sr. PGK FDD (4th) Yvonne (Gervais) 04/10/1935 - 12/07/2014
Arthur E. Fitzpatrick (3rd - Honorary Life) Mary (Hodge) 07/23/1948 - 10/20/2015
Fausto Andreozzi (3rd - Life) 07/18/1930 - 11/24/2016
Robert De Moranville (4th) 12/30/1936 - 11/26/2017
Roger R. Bastien (3rd) Cynthia (Lesneski) 06/30/1954 - 11/10/2018
Fred J. Abboud (3rd) 12/20/1930 - 02/11/2019
Gus A. Bucci (1st) Ruth (McGinn) 02/24/1951 - 08/07/2020
Val B. Cardente PGK (3rd - Disabled) Jeanne 03/23/1939 - 10/23/2020
Joseph A. Finegan (1st - Life) 09/13/1928 - 01/31/2022
James R. Gambardella PGK (3rd) Maureen 08/17/1947 - 09/18/2022
John N Taylor PGK (3rd) Frances M.(Turcotte) 09/17/1928 - 06/08/2024
Fr. Ajit Oram (3rd - Clergy) 02/09/1984 - 09/25/2024
Nicolau R Amaral ( ) 02/05/1949 - 06/10/2026

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