KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS HISTORY
Venerable Father Michael J. McGivney
The Servant of God is heralded as an Apostle to the Young,
Protector of Christian Family Life and Founder of the Knights of Columbus. As his cause advances, Knights of Columbus families and others seek his intercession, and a closer relationship with Jesus Christ.
The parish records of St. Mary’s Church in New Haven during the time Father Michael J. McGivney served there don’t reveal much about his life, other than that he was a very busy priest. Left alone to run the parish due to the pastor’s prolonged sickness, during one 30-day period in 1883, Father McGivney performed four marriages, baptized four children, celebrated Masses for the St. Vincent de Paul Society, sang vespers and offered Benediction at a special prayer service, attended a reception for two young women entering the Sisters of Mercy, and oversaw May devotions to the Virgin Mary, with the crowning of a statue of the Blessed Mother and the performance of a 250-voice children’s choir. The 31-year-old priest was also busy helping the Knights of Columbus to grow beyond St. Mary’s.
Read more about the Heroic Virtue of our Founder
by clicking the title above!