Luke E. Hart
Encyclopedia
Knights of Columbus
The Knights of Columbus is the world's largest Catholic fraternal service organization. Founded in the United States in 1882, it is named in honor of Christopher Columbus....
from September 1, 1953 to February 19, 1964.
Hart was the Supreme advocate of the Knights of Columbus in 1928 and was a delegate to Republican National Convention from Missouri in 1940.
By the end of the 1950s Supreme Knight Hart was actively encouraging councils to accept black candidates. It was during Hart's tenure in 1954 that the Knights petitioned to get "under God" inserted into the Pledge of Allegiance
Pledge of Allegiance
The Pledge of Allegiance of the United States is an expression of loyalty to the federal flag and the republic of the United States of America, originally composed by Christian Socialist Francis Bellamy in 1892 and formally adopted by Congress as the pledge in 1942...
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Hart is buried in the crypt of the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis
Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis
The Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis, also known as the Saint Louis Cathedral or the New Cathedral, was completed in 1914 in St. Louis, Missouri, as the archdiocesan replacement for the Cathedral of St. Louis, King of France...
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