Some of Council 5295 4th Degree Members
Need: List of 5295 members who are 4th degree
Ask for Regalia donations
Honor Guard @ Parish Procession
Fourth Degree
After taking
their third degree, knights are eligible to receive their fourth degree, the
primary purpose of which is to foster the spirit of patriotism and to encourage
active Catholic citizenship. Fourth degree members, in addition to being
members of their individual councils, are also members of Fourth Degree assemblies
that typically comprise members of several councils. As of 2013, there were
3,109 assemblies worldwide.
Fewer than 18%
of Knights join the Fourth Degree, which is optional, and whose members are
referred to as "Sir Knight." Of a total 1,703,307 Knights in 2006
there were 292,289 Fourth Degree Knights. This number increased to 335,132 in
2013. A waiting period of one year from the time the third degree was taken was
eliminated in 2013, and now any Third Degree Knight is eligible to join the
Fourth Degree.
A new Military
Oversees Europe Special District was been established in 2013 to oversee
assemblies of military personnel serving on that continent. Over 100 Department
of Defense civilian employees and active-duty personnel based in Germany,
Italy, and Britain took part in a special Fourth Degree Exemplification
Ceremony at Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany in 2013, and in that year
exemplifications were also held in Camp Zama, Japan, and Yongsan Garrison in
Seoul, Korea, where there are existing assemblies.
Knights
volunteer at 136 of the 153 Veteran's Affairs Medical Centers.
Forth Degree Color Corps
Fourth Degree
Knights may optionally purchase and wear the full regalia and join an
assembly's Color Corps. The Color Corps is the most visible arm of the Knights,
as they are often seen in parades and other local events wearing their colorful
regalia. Official dress for the Color Corps is a black tuxedo, baldric, white gloves,
cape and naval chapeau. In warm climates and during warm months a white dinner
jacket may be worn, if done as a unit.
Baldrics are
worn from the right shoulder to left hip and are color specific by nation. In
the United States, Panama and the Philippines, baldrics are red, white and
blue. Red and white baldrics are used in Canada and Poland; red, white and
green in Mexico; and blue and white in Guatemala. Service baldrics include a scabbard for a sword
and are worn over the coat while social baldrics are worn under the coat.
The colors on
a Fourth Degree Knight's cape and chapeau denote the office he holds within the
Degree. Faithful Navigators and Past Faithful Navigators are permitted to carry
a white handled silver sword. Masters and Vice Supreme Masters, as well as
Former Masters and Former Vice Supreme Masters, are also denoted by their gold
swords.
