On Saturday, Nov. 6, Zone 4 of the Gulf Coast District of the Knights of Peter Claver, Inc., which consists of five councils and courts from Huntsville, Birmingham, and Montgomery, hosted a beautiful Mass of Remembrance for Deceased Knights and Ladies and Founders Day Celebration at Holy Family Catholic Church in Ensley. Officially, Sunday, Nov. 7, 2021, marked 112 years of faith, service, and fraternalism to communities in the United States and abroad for the Noble Order. However, as with many celebrations, the pandemic caused the celebration to be postponed. Father Vernon F. Huguley, Gulf Coast District chaplain and pastor of St. Peter the Apostle Church in Hoover, officiated the celebration.

During the day, reflections of the founders and the good works already done and those yet to come were conveyed. Those present also remembered dedicated Clavers who paved the way for generations to come, acknowledging their involvement in social justice, civil and human rights concerns, and the education of children and young adults in all communities.

The Knights of Peter Claver, Inc. is the largest African-American Catholic lay organization in the United States and is named after its patron saint, St. Peter Claver, a Jesuit priest who ministered to African slaves upon their arrival to the port of Cartagena in the early 1600s. On Nov. 7, 1909, the Noble Order of the Knights of Peter Claver was established in Mobile by four priests and three lay persons. The organization consists of six divisions: Knights of Peter Claver, Knights of Peter Claver Ladies Auxiliary, Junior Knights, Junior Daughters, 4th Degree Knights and Ladies of Grace. It is divided into six districts and states across the country.