Centenary of The Knights of St Columba in Carlisle

The Knights of St Columba (KSC) will be celebrating their centenary at St Margaret Mary’s Church on Scalegate Road. 

Council 60 of the KSC was established on September 23 1923, with its first Grand Knight being Lt Bernard Francis Rudden, MBE.

The first Grand Knight of Council 60 was Lt Bernard Francis Rudden, MBE, born in 1877 and son of John Rudden, killed in France in 1914.

Very little is recorded about the activities of KSC in Carlisle between the first and second world wars.

The KSC has provided support to men entering the priesthood, from funding assistance during seminary studies to offering ordained clergy the chance to become Members of Honour (MoH).

Among the notable MoHs are Rev Fr Francis Moulding and Very Rev Mgr Canon R L Smith, both of whom passed away in Carlisle.

Another MoH, Fr James William Kenny, died under more tragic circumstances.

After being ordained in July 1939 and becoming assistant priest at Our Lady and St Joseph’s Church in Carlisle, Fr Kenny joined the 6th Airborne Division in 1943. He parachuted into France a few days after D Day, showing great bravery in the Battle of Caen by carrying a wounded soldier to safety.

Tragically, Fr Kenny was later shot and killed in his parachute crossing the Rhine in 1945.

Although KSC Council 60 undertake many works for the church, perhaps the lasting monument of KSC Council 60 is the creation of the Wayside Shrine at the corner of Wetheral Plains Road on land provided by Mrs Elwes of Warwick Hall. 

KSC Council 60's Wayside Shrine (Image: Supplied)

Twenty years later in 1976 following exposure to the elements and damp rot, the wooden cross collapsed and restoration was required.

KSC Council 60 undertook the responsibility for the restoration and re-erection of the shrine.

The new Cross was blessed in Our Lady and St Joseph’s Church and conveyed by the Knights back to Wetheral Plains Road where it remains today.