The state council of a Catholic fraternal order will not be marching in this year’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade in South Boston.

In a statement on its website, the Massachusetts State Council of the Knights of Columbus said, in part, that it:

“… had planned to march in the 2015 St. Patrick’s Day Parade as a Catholic witness, to honor this great Catholic saint and in gratitude for the contributions of Irish Americans to the history of our country. We did so in the belief that the St. Patrick’s Day Parade would be an occasion for unity and celebration in the city of Boston.’’

The statement continues:

“We deeply regret that some have decided to use this occasion to further the narrow objectives of certain special interests, which has subjected this occasion to undeserved division and controversy. … Because the parade has become politicized and divisive, and because of the misrepresentation of our motive for participating, we will not be marching in this year’s parade.

The group has instead invited “Catholics to join us in prayer to celebrate St. Patrick during the hours of the parade.’’

It is unclear when the statement was posted and the exact reasons behind it.

The Immaculate Heart of Mary School will also not participate in this year’s festivities, despite having done so for the past 25 years.


‘‘We don’t want to be seen as condoning homosexual activity and gay marriage,’’ Brother Thomas Dalton, the school’s principal, told The Associated Press.

On Friday, it was announced that the South Boston Allied War Veterans Council, which plans the St. Patrick’s Day festivities, invited Boston Pride to march in this year’s parade. Boston Pride organizes the city’s annual Pride Week. The same council voted in December to allow OutVets, a group representing gay military veterans, to march in the parade, according to the AP.