This week in Christian history: YMCA founded; Mary Dyer executed; Thomas Becket consecrated

YMCA founded – June 6, 1844

This week marks the anniversary of when the prominent youth organization, the Young Men's Christian Association, was founded in London, England, by Sir George Williams.

Williams, who was 22 at the time, held the inaugural meeting of the YMCA at a room above a drapery shop in St. Paul's Churchyard, with 12 young men in attendance. Eleven years later, the group already had chapters in nine different countries.

"Our objective was the improvement of the spiritual condition of the young men engaged in houses of business, by the formation of Bible classes, family and social prayer meetings, mutual improvement societies, or any other spiritual agency," stated Williams.

For his efforts, Williams would be knighted by Queen Victoria in 1894 and commemorated with a stained-glass window at Westminster Abbey. He was buried at St. Paul's Cathedral in London.

A global organization found in more than 110 countries, in the United States alone, the YMCA boasts of having over 2,500 local chapters, with around 14,000 staff and more than 310,000 volunteers.