In September of 1959, the newly appointed Bishop of Pittsburgh, the future Cardinal John Wright, asked the Pittsburgh Chapter of the Knights of Columbus to take the lead in organizing a fundraising drive to assist the efforts of the diocese to educate children with intellectual disabilities, especially the students at St. Anthony School in Oakmont.
From this was born the annual Bishop’s Project, which soon grew to include all the Knights of Columbus councils in the diocese and to add McGuire Memorial Home to St. Anthony as a recipient of our support.
Under successive bishops, the Project continued to grow and mobilize Knights throughout the diocese to advance the founding work of our Order, charity.