The Life andLegacy ofFatherMichael J. McGivney

2045 6/08

Father Michael J. McGivneyAugust 12, 1852—August 14, 1890

In mid-August of1890— over 100years ago—one ofthe largest funeralsin the history of

Waterbury, Connecticuttook place. The throngswho attended were griev-ing the death, at age 38,of Father Michael J.McGivney, founder of theKnights of Columbus.

Delegations werepresent from almost everyone of the 57 K of Ccouncils which hadsprung up in the Order’sfirst eight years. Thebishop of Hartford andmore than 70 ofConnecticut’s Catholicpriests were joined bymany civic leaders. It wasreported that every avail-able carriage for milesaround had been rentedfor the great procession.

Father McGivney’s funeralwas an indication of thelove and respect thepeople felt for this hard-working, holy, parishpriest. It also reflectedthe deep personal appealthat immigrant Catholicsimmediately found in theKnights of Columbus. TheOrder has never sinceceased to grow. Today itis the largest society ofCatholic men in theworld, with more than amillion and a half mem-bers in the United States,Canada, the Philippines,Mexico, and severalCentral American andCaribbean countries.

To mark theirhundredth anniversaryin 1982, the Knights ofColumbus brought theremains of FatherMcGivney from Waterburyback to St. Mary’s Churchin New Haven, where hehad founded the Order.There he now rests in asetting in which dailyMass is offered for thedeceased members of theOrder and prayers aresaid in his honor.

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Father MichaelMcGivney was born inWaterbury on August 12,1852. His parents, Patrickand Mary (Lynch)McGivney, had arrived inthe great 19th Centurywave of Irish immigration.

Patrick McGivney becamea molder in the heat andnoxious fumes of aWaterbury brass mill.Mary McGivney gave birthto 13 children, six ofwhom died in infancy orchildhood. So the firstchild, Michael, with fourliving sisters and twobrothers, learned earlyabout sorrow and theharsh grip of poverty. Healso learned about thepowers of love and faith,and family fortitude.

He went to thesmall district schools ofWaterbury’s working-class neighborhoods. Agood child, he wasadmired by his schoolprincipal for “excellentdeportment and profi-

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Roots.

ciency in his studies.”Then, after the Civil War,when Connecticut’smetals industry wasbooming, he left school atage 13 to go to work. Hisjob in the spoon-makingdepartment of a brass fac-tory provided a few moredollars for family survival.

When Michaelreached the age of 16 in1868, he left the factory.With the priesthood clearlyin mind, he traveled withhis Waterbury pastor toQuebec, Canada. There heregistered at the French-run College of St.Hyacinthe. He workedhard on subjects whichwould prepare him to applyfor seminary admission.

Two academicyears followed at OurLady of Angels Seminary,attached to NiagaraUniversity in NiagaraFalls, New York. YoungMcGivney moved next toMontreal to attend semi-nary classes at the Jesuit-run St. Mary’s College.

He was there whenhis father died in June of1873.

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Lacking funds andconcerned about his family,he went home for thefuneral, lingering awhilein Waterbury. Then, at therequest of the bishop ofHartford, he entered St.Mary’s Seminary in Balti-more, Maryland. After fouryears of study, on Decem-ber 22, 1877, he wasordained in Baltimore’shistoric Cathedral of theAssumption by Archbishop(later Cardinal) JamesGibbons. A few days later,with his widowed motherpresent, he said his firstMass at ImmaculateConception Church inWaterbury.

Father McGivneybegan his priestly ministryon Christmas Day in 1877as curate at St. Mary’sChurch in New Haven. Itwas the city’s first parish.

A new stone church hadbeen built, after the oldone burned, on one of NewHaven’s finest residentialstreets, Hillhouse Avenue.There was neighborhoodobjection which even theNew York Times noted in1879, under the headline:“How An AristocraticAvenue Was BlemishedBy A Roman ChurchEdifice.” So FatherMcGivney’s priestly min-istry in New Haven beganwith tension and defen-siveness among the work-ing-class Irish families heserved.

One of the respon-sibilities of St. Mary’spriests was pastoral careof inmates of the city jail.In a notable case, a 21-year-old Irishman, whiledrunk, shot and killed apolice officer. James(Chip) Smith was triedfor first-degree murder in1881, convicted and sen-tenced to be hung. FatherMcGivney visited himdaily.

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Wings.

After a specialMass on the day of execu-tion, the priest’s grief wasintense. The youngoffender comforted him:“Father, your saintly min-istrations have enabledme to meet death withouta tremor. Do not fear forme, I must not breakdown now.”

Father McGivneyworked closely with theyoung people of St. Mary’sparish, holding catechismclasses and organizing atotal abstinence society tofight alcoholism. In 1881he began to explore withvarious laymen the idea ofa Catholic, fraternal benefitsociety. In an era whenparish clubs and fraternalsocieties had wide popularappeal, the young priestfelt there should be someway to strengthen religiousfaith and at the same timeprovide for the financialneeds of families over-whelmed by illness ordeath of the breadwinner.

He discussed thisconcept with BishopLawrence McMahon ofHartford, and received hisapproval. He traveled toBoston to talk with theMassachusetts CatholicOrder of Foresters, andtraveled to Brooklyn toconsult the CatholicBenevolent Legion. Hemet with other priests ofthe diocese. Wherever hecould, he sought informa-tion that would help theCatholic laymen to orga-nize themselves into abenefit society.

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People who knewFather McGivney in thisperiod were impressed byhis energy and intensity.Father Gordian Daley laterrecalled, “I saw him butonce, and yet I rememberthis pale, beautiful face as ifI saw it only yesterday. Itwas a ‘priest’s face’ and thatexplains everything. It wasa face of wonderful repose.There was nothing harshin that countenancealthough there was every-thing that was strong.”

William Geary, oneof the Order’s chartermembers, said that at the

first council meeting in1882, he was “acclaimedas founder by 24 menwith hearts full of joy andthanksgiving, recognizingthat without his optimism,his will to succeed, hiscounsel and advice theywould have failed.”

Father McGivneyhad suggested Sons ofColumbus as a name forthe Order. This would bindCatholicism and American-ism together through thefaith and bold vision of theNew World’s discoverer.The word “knights”replaced “sons” because

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key members of the orga-nizing group who wereIrish-born Civil War veter-ans felt it would help toapply a noble ritual insupport of the emergingcause of Catholic civilliberty.

In the first publicreference to the Order onFebruary 8, 1882, the NewHaven Morning Journaland Courier said theKnights of Columbus’ ini-tial meeting had beenheld the night before.

On March 29, theConnecticut legislature

granted a charter to theKnights of Columbus, for-mally establishing it as alegal corporation. TheOrder’s principles in 1882were “Unity” and “Charity.”The concepts of “Frater-nity” and “Patriotism”were added later. Each ofthese ideals played amajor role in the ceremo-nials from the beginning.The Columbus-linkedthemes, says historianChristopher J. Kauffman,“reverberated with pride inthe American promise ofliberty, equality andopportunity.”

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In April of 1882,Father McGivney, withthe permission of BishopMcMahon, wrote to all thepastors of the Diocese ofHartford. The Order’s pri-mary objective, he wrote,was to dissuade Catholicsfrom joining secret soci-eties by providing thembetter advantages attimes of death or sick-ness. He urged eachpastor to exert influence“in the formation of aCouncil in your parish.”Father McGivney person-ally installed the first offi-cers of San SalvadorCouncil No. 1 in NewHaven, in May of 1882.

By May 1883,Council No. 2 had beeninstituted in Meriden,Connecticut and BishopMcMahon, so impressedwith the organization,

became himself a memberof Council No. 11 in 1884,and served it as councilchaplain. By the end of1885, there were 31 coun-cils in Connecticut.

Father McGivney’sdedication to the Orderwas evidenced in trips hemade to all parts of Con-necticut and in handwrittencorrespondence—little ofwhich survives—aboutK of C business. At St.Mary’s, despite all this, heremained the energeticcurate with constant con-cern for every parish-ioner’s problems.

Then, in Novemberof 1884, he was namedpastor of St. Thomas’Church in Thomaston,Connecticut, a factory town10 miles from his home-town. It was a factoryparish, heavily in debt,service working-classparishioners with few re-

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SpreadingThe

Word.

sources beyond their faith.With prayerful acceptance,Father McGivney put hisseven years at St. Mary’sbehind him.

His New Havenparishioners, in a testimo-nial resolution elaboratelysuperimposed on thedrawing of a chalice andhost, declared thatdespite burdens andafflictions, his courtesy,his kindness and thepurity of his life had“secured the love andconfidence of the peopleof St. Mary’s, which willfollow him in every futurefield of labor.”

In six subsequentyears at St. Thomas’, hewrestled with the church

debt and built the sameclose ties of devotion andcharitable concern he haddeveloped in New Haven.He continued, as well, toserve as supreme chap-lain, personally involvedin helping the Order toextend its membershipinto Rhode Island. Later,from 1901 to 1939, hisyounger brothers, Msgrs.Patrick and John J.McGivney, served theOrder as supremechaplains.

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Never robust inhealth, Father McGivneywas suddenly strickenwith a serious case ofpneumonia in January1890. It hung on. Varioustreatments for consump-tive illness were tried,but his decline persisted.The young priest lostphysical strength just asthe Order he foundedwas moving toward newvitality.

On August 14,1890, Father Michael J.McGivney died at the ageof 38. In his 13 brief,busy years as a priest,Father McGivney’s pietyand compassion won thelove of those he servedas curate and pastor.

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“ThatActAlone...”

His Christian inspiration,leadership and adminis-trative drive had broughthim the loyalty and affec-tion of thousands whoknew him as the founderof the Knights of Columbus.

From the momenthe launched it, the organi-zation fortified Catholicsin their faith, offeredthem ways to greaterfinancial security in asometimes hostile world,and strengthened them inself-esteem.

Remarkably devel-oped from its simplebeginnings in a churchbasement, the Knights ofColumbus today combinesCatholic fraternalism andone of the most successfulAmerican insuranceenterprises. The fourtowers of the internationalheadquarters symbolizethe Order’s worldwidecommitment to charity,unity, fraternity and patri-otism. More than 14,000fraternal councils areactive in 13 countries.

A million-sevenhundred thousandKnights contributed over$143 million and morethan 68 million hours ofvolunteer service forcharitable causes duringthe last fraternal year.And—as a particularresult of the Order’smulti-faceted services tothe Church—the boardof directors in 1988 con-ducted formal business ofthe Order for the firsttime in a room named forthe Knights of Columbuswithin the ancient St.Peter’s Basilica in Rome.

At St. Mary’sChurch in New Haven,Father McGivney’s sar-cophagus, shelteredinside a totally restoredchurch, now has becomea shrine for pilgrimKnights where the Orderbegan.

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At the first memorial ser-vice for deceased Knightsheld later in the year hedied, this tribute wasaccorded him:“He was a man of thepeople. He was zealous ofthe people’s welfare, andall the kindliness of hispriestly soul asserted itselfmore strongly in hisunceasing efforts for thebetterment of their condi-tion...Oh, ReverendFounder...that act alonewhich gave life to theKnights of Columbus hassurely secured for theeeverlasting joy and eternalpeace.”

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