BERKELY, NJ - Retired teacher, pharmacist and onetime candidate for the US Senate Krikor George Gostigian has been inducted into the Order of St. Gregory the Great, a Roman Catholic knighthood awarded for his service to the Catholic Church.

Gostigian, 77, a member of the Catholic Holy Name Society and Knights of Columbus, said he has been active in religious affairs and was nominated through the Diocese of Trenton for the award.

The Order is named after Pope St. Gregory, who led the church from 590 to 604 and set it on a course of independence from the secular authority of Roman and Byzantine emperors. Gregorian chants are named after him.

More recently, Gostigian ran as an independent candidate for the US Senate under the banner of "God Bless New Jersey" but lost the race.