ARCHDIOCESE OF HARTFORD
THE HOLY SACRIFICE OF THE MASS AND RITE OF BEATIFICATION OF
THE VENERABLE SERVANT OF GOD MICHAEL McGIVNEY
DIOCESAN PRIEST AND FOUNDER OF THE KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS
PRESIDER HIS EMINENCE JOSEPH WILLIAM CARDINAL TOBIN, C.Ss.R. ARCHBISHOP OF NEWARK
REPRESENTATIVE OF THE HOLY FATHER
POPE FRANCIS
OCTOBER 31, 2020
CATHEDRAL OF SAINT JOSEPH HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT
Father Michael J. McGivney is recognized as a model parish priest who has inspired generations of priests and presented to the Church a paradigm for engagement with the laity. In his crowning achievement of founding the Knights of Columbus, he anticipated the call of the Second Vatican Council for greater lay participation in the mission of the Church. By doing so, Father McGivney offered a deeply inculturated model of fraternal community for laymen — a model that was directed toward, not away from, parish life — and in this way he has had an enduring effect upon the Church in America and beyond. He embodied the Order’s principles of charity, unity and fraternity, and his example continues to guide the 2 million members of the Knights of Columbus today. Recalling the deep impression he made on people, a priest who knew him wrote that parishioners “called him a positive saint and meant it.” However, Father McGivney’s holiness did not separate him from others. Rather, it drew him into their lives as he shared in the joys and hardships which he himself had experienced.
Born Aug. 12, 1852, in Waterbury, Conn., Michael Joseph McGivney was the eldest of 13 children of Irish immigrant parents. He grew up amid 19th-century anti Catholic sentiment while completing his primary education and then joining his father in local factory work. He began preparation for the priesthood at age 16, excelling in his studies at St. Hyacinthe College in Québec, Our Lady of Angels Seminary in Niagara Falls, N.Y., and St. Mary’s Seminary in Montreal, before returning home upon the death of his father. With the loss of the family’s breadwinner, Michael was unable to continue his studies until Hartford’s Bishop Francis McFarland provided a scholarship to St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore. After four years of theological studies, he was ordained to the priesthood in the nation’s first cathedral, on Dec. 22, 1877, and was assigned to St. Mary’s Church in New Haven, Conn.
In response to the needs of his people, Father McGivney established the Knights of Columbus in 1882, with a group of laymen, to sustain the faith of Catholics and provide financial protection for their families, especially following the death of the breadwinner. Explaining the mission of the new fraternal benefit society, he wrote, “‘Unity and Charity’ is our motto. Unity in order to gain strength to be charitable to each other in benevolence whilst we live and in bestowing financial aid to those whom we have to mourn our loss.” His vision of fraternal charity, lived out today by Knights and their families, is more relevant than ever, as indicated by the recent encyclical of Pope Francis, Fratelli Tutti (“Brothers All”), which is dedicated to the importance of fraternity and social friendship.
Pope Francis paid tribute to Father McGivney earlier this year, saying that the Knights of Columbus have remained faithful “to the vision of your founder, Venerable Michael McGivney, who was inspired by the principles of Christian charity and fraternity to assist those most in need.”
Previous popes have made similar statements. Recognizing Father McGivney’s continued influence on the Order, Pope St. John Paul II wrote in 2003: “In fidelity to the vision of Father McGivney, may you continue to seek new ways of being a leaven of the Gospel in the world and a spiritual force for the renewal of the Church in holiness, unity and truth.” Pope Benedict XVI, during his apostolic visit to the United States in 2008, further noted “the remarkable accomplishment of that exemplary American priest, the Venerable Michael McGivney, whose vision and zeal led to the establishment of the Knights of Columbus.”
After seven years as an assistant pastor at St. Mary’s Church, Father McGivney became pastor of St. Thomas Church in Thomaston, Conn., and a neighboring mission church, Immaculate Conception in Terryville. He spent his entire priesthood in parish ministry, while continuing to serve as supreme chaplain for the Knights. He died amid a viral pandemic on Aug. 14, 1890 — two days after his 38th birthday. His funeral procession in his hometown of Waterbury was the largest the city had ever seen, with the bishop, fellow priests and members of the Knights of Columbus coming from all parts of the state. To this day, Father McGivney’s holiness of life and exemplary service continue to inspire priests throughout America and around the world, and his vision for an active and engaged laity serves as a witness to the power of spiritual brotherhood and charity.
