As a symbol of allegiance to their country, which did not conflict with allegiance to their faith, the Knights of Columbus took as their patron, Christopher Columbus — recognized as a Catholic and celebrated as the discoverer of America. His ship, the Santa Maria has long been The Santa María was probably a medium sized nao (carrack), about 58 ft (17.7 m) long on deck, “very little larger than 100 toneladas” (100 tons,)or burden, and was used as the flagship for the expedition.
Archbishop Carney’s Santa Maria was single-handedly built by Sir Knight Tony Vernerey, who peacefully passed away on Dec 5th, 2008. Brother Tony’s legacy lives on until today, as a fixture of Archbishop Carney Assembly’s commitment to patriotism and the order.
The Santa Maria is loaned out to Assemblies and Councils all over Metro Vancouver and even beyond, for events and parades. As a shining symbol of the Knights of Columbus, our Santa Maria helps Knights of the Fourth Degree everywhere to literally live their raison-de-etre, that is, to be the visible arm of the Knights of Columbus. What more visible symbol can one have in a parade than to have the Santa Maria, the flagship of the patron of our order, Christopher Columbus, leading a parade of Regalia Knights!
Wherever it goes, and it has gone as far away as the Okanagan region, our Santa Maria has helped further the cause of the Knights of Columbus. Recently, it was even rented out to a artistic play at the Act Theatre of Maple Ridge, where it was displayed on stage, complete with our KOC paraphernalia.
If you have a need to make an impact to your parade, please contact our Santa Maria Float director, Sir Knight Rick McArthure at rick_mcarthur@telus.net.
For Santa Maria pictures, click here For Instructions on Santa Maria Setup, click here
