Catholic Association Of Foresters

The Catholic Association of Foresters is a fraternal benefit society in the United States. It was originally formed on July 30, 1879, by members of the St. Vincent de Paul Society of Boston, Massachusetts, most of whom were Irish immigrants. They desired to have a Catholic fraternal insurance society and organized one on the plan of the “courts” of the Independent Order of Foresters, calling it the Massachusetts Catholic Order of Foresters. Initially, membership was confined to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, with one exception where a court was formed at Providence, Rhode Island. On January 1, 1909, the official report stated that there were 235 courts organized, with a membership of 27,757, including 9,679 women. The insurance in force on December 31, 1908, was $27,757,000. On August 11, 1958, the Agreement of Association, Articles of Incorporation, Constitution, and Bylaws of the Society were amended to change the name of the organization to the Catholic Association of Foresters. The company is headquartered in Braintree, Massachusetts. It operates as a non-profit organization and offers insurance and risk management services.