Council History/Information

Council Information

Council 9563

Council Meetings

Council Meetings are held the 3rd Tuesday of every month, 7:30 p.m. in the Cathedral Basement.

History Of Our Council 9563

On April 8, 1987 (Charter Members photo) at the Cathedral of the Risen Christ in Lincoln, Nebraska, 78 men chartered the Cathedral Council 9563.  The first Grand Knight was Ron LeDuc, and his DGK was Doug Vandervort.  Msgr. Ivan Vap was the first Chaplain of the Council and Kurt Verkamp was the first FS.  The Council has grown over the years to its current membership total of 238.  This includes around 20 priests and Honorary Life members. 

We currently are the parent council for two Round tables.  One of the Round tables is at the Spanish Cristo Rey parish with approximately 20 members.  The other Round table is at the St. Francis parish for the traditional Latin rite mass.  The men of St. Francis are just starting to get organized. 

 Cathedral Council 9563 has always been involved in the activities of the parish from its beginning.  Many of our Knights are Acolytes, Lectors, choir members, ushers, EME’s and members of  perpetual adoration that has been ongoing at Cathedral since 1959.  We sponsor parish breakfasts twice a year.  We help with many of the parish functions by providing the manpower they need to get them done.  We help with the parish school; even the principal is a knight.  We help take care of the school grounds with mowing and other lawn and shrub care during the year. 

 The Council has always involved itself in community activities.  We have several members who transport Meals on Wheels every week.  We transport people to church weekly or as needed.  We have annually take members of a retirement complex on a tour of the city lights at Christmas every year.  We have many members who donate blood on a regular basis.  We have spent many hours helping with the annual Alzheimers walkathon.  We have many knights who give their time for the Boy Scouts, and the St. Vincent DePaul Society. 

 We are an active and strong Council.  Our latest project is funding an outdoor memorial for the unborn (See Activities link for more information on memorial). A statue of the Blessed Virgin with a baby in her arms is complete and mounted on the East entrance of the Cathedral, next the Knights will be raising funds for a garden area for meditation.