Born on August 12, 1852 to Irish immigrants, Patrick and Mary McGivney in Waterbury, Connecticut, Michael Joseph was raised in the strong Catholic community.
The first of twelve children, seven of which survived infancy, Michael took the entrance examination for the East Main Street School and scored well enough to pass the first two grades due to the teaching of his mother from a young age.
At the age of twelve, Michael expressed an interested in joining the priesthood, something his father opposed. By thirteen, he finished school and took a factory job making spoons to appease his father.
The Priesthood for McGivney
Despite growing up in the turbulent times of the American Civil War and during a time when anti-Catholic fever nearly ignited a religious war, McGivney remained true to his calling and in September of 1868 left his family. Accompanied by Father Hendrickson, his long time parish priest, Michael took a train to Canada to enroll in the Seminary of St.-Hyacinthe.
When his father died on June 6th, 1873, he left the school before taking his final exams. Back in Waterbury, Michael discovered that two of his sisters could meet the household expenses through the jobs they held, but that still left him in need of funding for his tuition.
With the financial support of the Hartford Diocese offered by Bishop McFarland, Michael was placed into studies at the Sulpician seminary of St. Mary’s.
After a total of nine years of study, he was ordained to the priesthood in the yuletide ceremony of 1877 in Baltimore. His public debut as a priest came on Christmas day when he celebrated his first solemn Mass at his boyhood church, Immaculate Conception.
Founding the Knights of Columbus
Assigned to St. Mary’s church in New Haven, Connecticut, McGivney oversaw the final construction of the church and slid quietly into life as a parish priest.
During the early 1880’s, a fervor began to rise among the people to establish fraternal societies. Several rose to promenance but quickly faded away until McGivney tried his hand and called his first preliminary meeting for Sunday afternoon on October 2, 1881.
Several names were bandied about and rejected. At the February 2 meeting the following year, McGivney suggested the name, “Sons of Columbus,” since he wanted to find a name that would be patriotic without being overtly Catholic. James Mullen recommended the term “Knights of Columbus.”
On March 29th, 1882, the Knights of Columbus were officially recognized by the assembly of the state of Connecticut and given a charter.
Death of Father McGivney
He turned 37 in 1889 and his strength gradually began to wan and his health as well. In December he contracted influenza and in January of 1890 came down with pneumonia. He survived his illnesses but was left with a weakness he couldn’t overcome.
After struggling for several months and seeing several doctors, McGivney passed away on August 14th, 1890, just two days after turning thirty-eight.
The Knights of Columbus he founded has continued doing his work, focusing on helping men care for their families, long after his death. Today, many are calling for McGivney to be canonized a saint, and if he were, would be the first American born parish priest to be canonized. On March 16, 2008, Pope Benedict declared McGivney a “Venerable Servant of God," bringing him one step closer to sainthood.
Sources:
Brinkley, Douglas and Julie M. Fenster. Parish Priest: Father Michael McGivney and American Catholicism. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2006.
<UVcaramelWordPress> Retrieved on 10/3/08
