General Thomas DeLuca
General Thomas DeLuca, Class of 1967
Elected Supreme President
Knights of St. John International
Thomas DeLuca, a son of Blessed Trinity Roman Catholic parish, was elected Supreme President of the 20,000-member Knights of St. John International at its convention in Buffalo, N.Y. in July, 2024.
Under its constitutional guidelines, the Knights gather every two years, but it had been six years, because of the pandemic, before the Knights gathered from around the world to select a new head.
DeLuca wondered whether competition would emerge for the presidency for the Roman Catholic order, an international Catholic fraternal service organization with members in nine countries, including countries as diverse as Germany and Nigeria. However, DeLuca was elected without contest as the head of the order, incorporated some 138 years ago. He is committed not only to aggressively shepherding the Knights in the twenty-first century, but also to growing the order, with specific outreach to young men who are seeking a fraternity that is both social and spiritual.
Describing the Knights as “a great group of guys,” DeLuca added: “You know I am an only child, so the Knights are really my brothers.” Membership in the Knights is also part of his legacy. His father, Horace DeLuca, now passed, was a Knight as is his son, Joseph.
DeLuca, 71, graduated from Blessed Trinity School in 1967 and joined the Knights at age sixteen while attending Bishop Fallon High School. An active Knight for 55 years, largely in leadership roles, DeLuca had served as the Knight’s first vice president for a decade before being elected president.
He has now officially retired after a career in technology and project management although he continues to receive offers to continue. In the view of the General, being president of the Knights of St. John is more than a full-time job.
DeLuca grew up in Buffalo and is now a resident of Cheektowaga, N.Y. He is a graduate of D’Youville University. He met his wife, Cindy, there and history repeated itself when his daughter, Amy, met her husband there.