Knights of Columbus Maharlika Celebrates 45 Years in Service

May 25, 2025. The Knights of Columbus Maharlika Council celebrated its 45th anniversary with a dinner/dance attended by 120 members and guests at the Rouge River Community Centre in Markham, Ontario.

Founded on January 9, 1980, Maharlika was the first all Filipino council established in Canada. With no fixed church address, the council brought the Filipino Catholic experience to Canada and introduced them to the parish communities they served in the Toronto area. The council is grateful for the generosity and welcome of the parishes they served: St. Rose of Lima, St. Aidans, Immaculate Heart of Mary and St. Boniface parishes. The council participated and chaired many of the parishes’ programs through its life, families, community and faith initiatives.

The council is proud to highlight three of its biggest accomplishments. Its vocations program has seen fifteen seminarians complete their theology studies; twelve of them were ordained to the Catholic priesthood. The council founded fifteen other councils in Toronto within the past forty five years, twelve of which are still active. The council’s disaster relief program, which included its Yolanda support program, remain to be an active concern within the council, along with other outreach programs both in Toronto and the Philippines.

“We thank all who have supported our causes over these years: our members and families, friends, the clergy and other ministries. We would not be here today without their support and prayers”, Grand Knight Virgilio Torres.