FATHER MICHAEL J. McGivney

PART TWO - FOUNDER - ERNEST NICHOLS

     Hello,

     I am here representing Father Michael J. McGivney, founder of the Knights of Columbus.

     "He was a man of the people.  He was zealous of the people's welfare, and all the kindliness of his priestly soul asserted itself more strongly in his unceasing efforts for the betterment of the condition… Oh. Reverend Founder…that act alone which gave life to the Knights of Columbus has surely secured for thee everlasting joy and eternal peace."

     At the first memorial service for deceased Knights held in 1890, the year of my death, this tribute was given to me, the founder of the Knights of Columbus.

     I was born in Waterbury, Connecticut on August 12, 1852.  I was the first of 13 children born to Irish immigrants, Patrick and Mary McGivney, who tragically saw six of their children die in infancy or early childhood.  Early in life, I saw the pain and uncertainty of the human condition.  As typical in those days, I attended small district schools and at the age of 13 left school to work in a brass factory.  In 1868 at the age of 16, I left the factory and decided to travel to Quebec, Canada, where I registered at the College of St. Hyacinthe to prepare myself to enter the seminary.  I found my way to Our Lady of Angels Seminary in Niagara Falls, New York where I stayed for two years before going on to the St. Mary's College in Montreal.  I remained at St. Mary's until 1973 when I returned to Waterbury due to family problems and financial difficulties.  After a short while the Bishop of Waterbury requested that I enter St. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore, Maryland.  After four years of study, I was ordained on December 22, 1877 at the Basilica of the Assumption by then Archbishop (later Cardinal) James Gibbons.  I began my priestly ministry on Christmas Day in 1877 as curate at St. Mary's Church in New Haven, Connecticut.

  As I began my vocation as a priest by ministering to the people's pastoral, catechetical and corporal needs, I became increasingly aware of the need to form a Catholic, fraternal benefit society.    I strongly felt there should be some way to strengthen religious faith and provide for the financial needs of families overwhelmed by illness or death of the breadwinner.  I received approval by Bishop Lawrence McMahon of Hartford, Connecticut to do so on February 7, 1882.  24 men acclaimed me, Fr. McGivney, as founder of what would eventually become the "Knights of Columbus."  On March 29, 1882, the Connecticut legislature granted a charter to the Knights of Columbus, formally establishing it as a legal corporation.

     It was in April of 1882 that I advocated the creation of councils in parishes throughout Connecticut, and by the year 1885, 31 councils had been formed.  In November of 1884, I was assigned as pastor to St. Thomas Church in Thomaston, Connecticut and continued to minister to the people with the same concern, care and compassion I gave to my former church.  I continued to serve as supreme chaplain of the Knights and assisted in establishing the Order in Rhode Island.  Later form 1901 to 1939, my younger brothers, Msgrs. Patrick and John McGivney served the Order as supreme chaplains.

     Tragically, in January of 1890 I acquired pneumonia, and, despite great efforts to heal me, I died at the age of 38 on August 14, 1890.

     As I had so dreamed for, from the moment it was launched, the Knights fortified Catholics in their faith, offered them ways to greater financial security and strengthened them in self-esteem.

      Today I am being considered for canonization.  The process has already begun.  In April of 1996, Fr. Gabriel B. O'Donnell completed the investigation and forwarded the documents to Rome, Italy.

     It was my will that my legacy live on through all "Knights of Columbus."

     Thank you and have a great day!