By Marie Elena Giossi and Antonina Zielinska

Fourth-degree Knights of Columbus stood guard during the public viewings in Brooklyn and Douglaston for the late Bishop Emeritus Thomas V. Daily, and members attended the funeral in force for their brother Knight. Bishop Daily joined the order in 1952, and served as supreme chaplain from 1987 to 2005.

“I’ve always admired his love and his care for the Knights and his loyalty to the order,” said Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore, Md., the bishop’s successor as supreme chaplain.

“Even after all these years, I realize I’m still filling some big shoes.”

The archbishop attended the funeral Mass, he said, “first, to pray for him, and secondly, to honor his memory, and particularly his work with the Knights.”

Bishop Daily served the order “with dedication and joy,” noted Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson, who travelled to the funeral from the Knights’ headquarters in New Haven, Conn.

“In life, he followed the example of the Good Shepherd and cared deeply for his diocesan flock and for the Knights of Columbus. I invite all Knights and their families to remember him in their prayers,” Anderson said.

Robert Graziano, past grand knight of St. Ambrose Council No. 1463, College Point, felt honored to have the chance to say goodbye to the bishop in the same chapel where they first met two decades ago.

“I’m here to see him for the last time in the same exact room where I first met him,” Graziano said.

As a teenager, he volunteered as a sacristan at St. Fidelis Church, College Point, and was honored at the Immaculate Conception Center with other diocesan youth who were active in their parishes.

When Bishop Daily presented the award, Graziano said, “He looked directly at me, and I could just feel strength coming right through him.”

He recalled the bishop as warm and personable on that day, and again years later, when they met at the centennial celebration for St. Ambrose Council.

“He loved the Knights of Columbus, and we loved him,” said Lucien Sanou from Bishop Raymond Kearney Council No. 4299 in East Elmhurst.

Though he often saw Bishop Daily at big diocesan events and parish celebrations, Sanou said his best experience with the bishop was joining him in praying the rosary for the unborn on a quiet Saturday outside an abortion clinic in Queens.

Joseph Peluso, former Knights of Columbus master for NY District 1, joked that sometimes it would take Bishop Daily half an hour to go down a hallway because he greeted everyone and asked them about their family or any challenges they might have been facing.

“His charity was well known,” Peluso said. “He exuded all the principles of the Knights of Columbus.” That was, in part, because his father was a state deputy.

Peluso said Knights all over the world respected Bishop Daily. Since his death, Knights from across the globe have sent their condolences, memories and photos on Facebook. In addition to serving as supreme chaplain, he was also a state chaplain for New York. He would often make international trips to visit his brother-Knights in faraway places like the Philippines.

“We loved him very much, I tell you,” Peluso said. “He was a very much down-to-earth person.”

Lou Pepe, Knights of Columbus chapter chairman for the Long Island Assembly No. 703, said he remembers Bishop Daily as “always laughing, always full of fun and always very prayerful. A man of great faith and a true friend to everyone.

“He was very joyful. Even in his illness he felt that God was with him. … He trusted in the Lord for what was in store for him.

“When I felt alone and abandoned, he helped me through the hard times,” Pepe said. The bishop took Pepe’s calls when Pepe’s mom was sick. He came to the hospital and to her home on the eve of her death to anoint her.

“He cared for his people. It was no façade,” Pepe said. “He was a good bishop, a good friend and a true priest.”

Among the closest causes to his heart was that of life, Pepe said, from conception to natural death.

“I’ve always admired his love and his care for the Knights and his loyalty to the order,” said Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore, Md., the bishop’s successor as supreme chaplain.

“Even after all these years, I realize I’m still filling some big shoes.”

The archbishop attended the funeral Mass, he said, “first, to pray for him, and secondly, to honor his memory, and particularly his work with the Knights.”

Bishop Daily served the order “with dedication and joy,” noted Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson, who travelled to the funeral from the Knights’ headquarters in New Haven, Conn.

“In life, he followed the example of the Good Shepherd and cared deeply for his diocesan flock and for the Knights of Columbus. I invite all Knights and their families to remember him in their prayers,” Anderson said.

Robert Graziano, past grand knight of St. Ambrose Council No. 1463, College Point, felt honored to have the chance to say goodbye to the bishop in the same chapel where they first met two decades ago.

“I’m here to see him for the last time in the same exact room where I first met him,” Graziano said.

As a teenager, he volunteered as a sacristan at St. Fidelis Church, College Point, and was honored at the Immaculate Conception Center with other diocesan youth who were active in their parishes.

When Bishop Daily presented the award, Graziano said, “He looked directly at me, and I could just feel strength coming right through him.”

He recalled the bishop as warm and personable on that day, and again years later, when they met at the centennial celebration for St. Ambrose Council.

“He loved the Knights of Columbus, and we loved him,” said Lucien Sanou from Bishop Raymond Kearney Council No. 4299 in East Elmhurst.

Though he often saw Bishop Daily at big diocesan events and parish celebrations, Sanou said his best experience with the bishop was joining him in praying the rosary for the unborn on a quiet Saturday outside an abortion clinic in Queens.

Joseph Peluso, former Knights of Columbus master for NY District 1, joked that sometimes it would take Bishop Daily half an hour to go down a hallway because he greeted everyone and asked them about their family or any challenges they might have been facing.

“His charity was well known,” Peluso said. “He exuded all the principles of the Knights of Columbus.” That was, in part, because his father was a state deputy.

Peluso said Knights all over the world respected Bishop Daily. Since his death, Knights from across the globe have sent their condolences, memories and photos on Facebook. In addition to serving as supreme chaplain, he was also a state chaplain for New York. He would often make international trips to visit his brother-Knights in faraway places like the Philippines.

“We loved him very much, I tell you,” Peluso said. “He was a very much down-to-earth person.”

Lou Pepe, Knights of Columbus chapter chairman for the Long Island Assembly No. 703, said he remembers Bishop Daily as “always laughing, always full of fun and always very prayerful. A man of great faith and a true friend to everyone.

“He was very joyful. Even in his illness he felt that God was with him. … He trusted in the Lord for what was in store for him.

“When I felt alone and abandoned, he helped me through the hard times,” Pepe said. The bishop took Pepe’s calls when Pepe’s mom was sick. He came to the hospital and to her home on the eve of her death to anoint her.

“He cared for his people. It was no façade,” Pepe said. “He was a good bishop, a good friend and a true priest.”

Among the closest causes to his heart was that of life, Pepe said, from conception to natural death.