Knights Of Columbus Santa Maria Council #105
Dr. John W. McDevitt
1906-1993
Past Grand Knight, Santa Maria Council
1938 - 1940
Former State Deputy, Massachusetts K of C
1948 - 1950
Former Deputy Supreme Knight
1960 - 1964
Former Supreme Knight
1964 - 1977
John W. McDevitt was born on December 28, 1906 and raised in Malden, Massachusetts. He received a bachelor's degree from Boston College in 1928 and earned a master's degree a year later. After his graduation, he became a teacher-principal in the Malden public school system. He served as the Grand Knight of the Santa Maria Council #105 in Malden, Massachusetts from 1938 to 1940. In 1942, he became superintendent of schools in Waltham, Massachusetts, a position he held until 1960. He served as a State Deputy, Massachusetts Knights of Columbus, from 1948 to 1950; and in 1960 he was chosen Deputy Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus. He was elected Supreme Knight in 1964, and served until 1977.
Dr. McDevitt served as Supreme Knight during the turbulent 1960s and '70s, vigorously responding to the crises in society and dissension from Church teaching by reiterating the Order's support for the hierarchy of the Church and championing Church teaching on divorce, birth control, abortion and pornography. Dr. McDevitt is shown in the photo at left with Bishop Fulton J. Sheen in 1970. In 1971 he was honored for his efforts by Pope Paul VI with the Order of Pius IX, the highest papal honor which can be conferred on a Catholic layman who is not a head of state. Dr. McDevitt is memorialized at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC, on Bell Number 10, Titled Saint Virgil, in the The Knights' Tower, which was dedicated to him, and Supreme Knight Virgil C. Dechant (Supreme Knight,1977- 2000) in 1989.
During Dr. McDevitt's administration as Supreme Knight the present 23-story international headquarters of the Knights of Columbus was built. The glass-faced building is a notable feature of the New Haven skyline and is set off by four 320-foot towers that symbolize the Order's four ideals of Charity, Unity, Fraternity and Patriotism. Currently, more than 500 people work at the Supreme Council office handling the fraternal and insurance business of the Order.
In 1998, five years after his death, the Delegates at the Supreme Council meeting established the John W. McDevitt (Fourth Degree) Scholarships. The Knights of Columbus award approximately thirty-six academic-based McDevitt Scholarships of $1,500 to U.S. students entering freshman year of undergraduate study at a Catholic college or Catholic university in the United States, who is either a member in good standing of the Knights of Columbus or the wife, widow, son or daughter of such a member or deceased member.
The Knights of Columbus, Santa Maria Council #105, honor the memory of Supreme Knight Dr. John W. McDevitt and the example that he established for members of our Council and Knights worldwide. He truly exemplified the principles of Charity, Unity, Fraternity and Patriotism of the Knights of Columbus.
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References:
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dr. Geraldine M. Rohling. Archivist, Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception