The Knights of Columbus Queenship of Mary Council 4050 sponsored a Lenten fish dinner March 3 at St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church, 3024 S. Ruch St., Stiles.

The hall was filled with patrons, who enjoyed the fish meals at their tables or captured a fish dinner to take home. Happy she did not have to cook that night, Jen Rush, of Whitehall, was delighted to leave with a take-home meal.

The Roman Catholic meat prohibition on Fridays has a long history dating back to 866 A.D. when Pope Nicholas I made the Friday abstinence from meat a universal rule of the church. In 1966, church law prohibited meat consumption on all Fridays throughout the entire year.

In 1983, a revised code of the Roman Catholic canon law noted that abstinence from meat is to be observed only on Ash Wednesday and on the Friday of the passion and death of Jesus Christ, also known as Good Friday.

Knights of Columbus 4050 leader Bill Fonzone, of Whitehall, was pleased with the large turnout despite inclement weather, as were the numerous other volunteers who ran the event. Fonzone has risen in the Knights of Columbus ranks because of his significant work furthering the group’s service goals.

Fonzone and Mark Woods, of North Whitehall, who also worked the event, are fourth degree Knights, which is the highest degree of the order. The primary purpose of the fourth degree is to foster the spirit of patriotism and to encourage Catholic citizenship.

Another Knight from Whitehall, Pat Klement, poured wine for attendees wishing to have a fruit of the vine beverage.

The kitchen was filled with Knights cooking the fish and assembling the meal. They labored in coordination and focus to serve the attractive and reportedly tasty meal.

Attendees appreciated the social aspect of a gathering to eat and spend time with family and friends. It was a dinner in reverence of church tradition to acknowledge the passion and struggle of the Roman Catholic deity.