A senior adviser to the Knights of Columbus discussed the need for men to have fraternal community at the Second Symposium on Young American Men held in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 25.
"We're social beings, so we want to join communities … where we can be our authentic selves," said Joseph McInerney, the Knights' chief strategy adviser and senior vice president for leader development.
The symposium, sponsored in part by the Knights, was focused on problems faced by young American men in 2026. The symposium focused primarily on public policy solutions advanced by both Republicans and Democrats but also included talks unrelated to government, such as McInerney's, which was about the role of fraternal community in helping strengthen men.
Other conference sponsors included the Institute for Family Studies, the National Parents Organization, and the Men's Health Network.
Although the Knights are known for being popular with older, retired men, McInerney noted significant growth in recent years with young men on college campuses and those who recently entered the workforce. He pointed out that men who are under 35 are the organization's fastest-growing membership segment, and there are now more than 300 active college Knights councils, with nearly half of those in the United States.
"The lifeblood of the Knights is young men," McInerney said, adding that "it's a place where they can … spend time with other men — their peers — and that, frankly, is very powerful."
McInerney pitched fraternal communities as a means to combat male loneliness and isolation but also to build up men into leaders and "better themselves so they can be better husbands, fathers, … and members of their community."
Warning against isolation, which McInerney said is amplified through the internet and media, he said: "We're not made for that." Rather, "we're made for rich and beautiful relationships with the people that we love."
Although the broader symposium was not primarily focused on matters of faith, McInerney said a major attraction of the Knights for young men is faith formation. He referenced in particular the Knights' Cor program, which develops small groups for men focused on prayer, formation, and fraternity. The Knights also run the McGivney Fellowship, which is a two-year leadership formation program.
"They become good people," McInerney said of the goals of the Knights' programs. "They become people who are worthy of trust, and those are the type of people we want to lead us."
Speaking to EWTN News after his talk, McInerney noted that the uniqueness of the Knights of Columbus is that it is a Catholic fraternal organization that is also focused on serving others through charity, which he sees as another attraction for young men.
"We want to help people spiritually, but we also have this mandate to serve," he said. "That's why we exist, [it] is to help other people. And so, when you join the group, that's kind of part of the package deal that we offer."
"It's natural if you're working on your spiritual life, you want to share the grace that you're receiving in your relationship with God," McInerney said.
McInerney said Catholic men who wish to join can visit their website and get connected to a local council.
"Whatever council's closest to you, we'll get that person in contact," he said. "And then what's most important. … Entry might be online there, but what's most important is then getting that man in touch with a man face-to-face."
