Knights Of Columbus Santa Maria Council #105
The Venerable Father Michael J. McGivney (August 12, 1852 - August 14, 1890) was a Roman Catholic priest and founder of the Knights of Columbus. He was the son of Irish immigrants.
Father Michael J. McGivney
Founder of the Knights of Columbus
On February 2, 1882, while an assistant pastor at Saint Mary's Church in New Haven, Connecticut, Father McGivney founded the Knights of Columbus with a small group of parishioners. He died from pneumonia on the eve of the Assumption in 1890, when he was only thirty-eight years old. The order now has over 1.8 million member families and fourteen thousand councils. During the 2008-2009 fraternal year, $150 million and 70 million man-hours were donated to charity by the order.
In 1996, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hartford opened an investigation into Father McGivney's life, with a stated goal of his beatification and canonization, or formal recognition by the Church of his sainthood. Fr. Gabriel O'Donnell, OP is the postulator of McGivney's cause, as well as director of the Fr. McGivney Guild. The diocesan investigation was closed in 2000, and the case was passed to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in Vatican City. On August 7, 2007, in his homily at the Opening Mass at the 125th Supreme Convention of the Knights of Columbus, Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone pledged his assistance to this cause.
On March 15, 2008, Pope Benedict XVI approved a decree recognizing the heroic virtue of Fr. McGivney. The pope's declaration significantly advanced the process toward sainthood. The declaration allows Catholics to refer to McGivney with the title "Venerable Servant of God".
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Was not this unity of vision and purpose – rooted in faith and a spirit of constant conversion and self-sacrifice – the secret of the impressive growth of the Church in this country? We need but think of 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.
– Pope Benedict XVI
“Father McGivney’s vision remains as relevant as ever in the changed circumstances of today’s Church and society.”
– Pope John Paul II
