Sign In For Members Join Sign In
  • Donate

  • For Members

  • Who We Are

  • Our Mission Our Faith Our History Supreme Officers About Membership Video Library
  • What We Do

  • Charity Insurance Invest Donor-Advised Funds Programs Scholarships Churchloan
  • Get Involved

  • Join Donate Find a Council Store College Councils
  • News Hub

  • Latest News Columbia Knightline Faith Response Social Media Hub
  • Contact Us

  • Safe Environment Program

  • Careers

  • Who We Are

    What We Do

    Get Involved

    News Hub

    Christmas with Blessed Michael McGivney

    A Yuletide story of the Knights of Columbus founder

    By Brian Caulfield 12/23/2020

    It was an especially joyous occasion for Father Michael McGivney when he entered his boyhood church for Christmas celebrations in 1877. He was 25 years old, newly ordained, and ready to offer his first Solemn Mass before family members and friends at Immaculate Conception Church in his hometown of Waterbury, Conn. The popular young man, known for his winning manner and personal piety, was among his own people of Irish immigrants, including his mother, and first-generation Irish-Americans like himself and his siblings. Along with the joy of the event, there must have been a few nervous moments for the new priest as he celebrated for the first time the refined and elaborate rites of the solemn Latin Mass.


    Though he was confident of his vocation, the path to the priesthood was far from simple for young McGivney. As the eldest of 13 children, he followed his father into factory life after completing school at age 13, working two years for a spoon manufacturer. The local pastor, however, encouraged him to consider the priesthood, and in 1868 young Michael took a train with a handful of other Waterbury teens to Quebec to begin studies at the College of St. Hyacinthe. It was his first time out of the country, but he felt at home with the idea of the priesthood. He continued his formation with the study of the classics at Niagara University’s Our Lady of Angels Seminary, where he played for the school’s Charter Oaks baseball team. In the fall of 1872, he returned to Canada to begin philosophy studies at St. Mary’s College Seminary in Montreal.

    But when Michael went home to Waterbury for the sad occasion of his father’s funeral in June 1873, his plans for priesthood were as unclear as his family’s finances. However, seeing the great potential in young McGivney, Hartford’s Bishop Francis McFarland provided a scholarship for him to study theology for four years at St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore, where he excelled. Michael J. McGivney was ordained Dec. 22, 1877, in the Baltimore cathedral by Archbishop James Gibbons, who later became a cardinal. After ordination, Father McGivney embarked on the long trip to Waterbury, in central Connecticut, to offer his first solemn Mass – a hometown boy who made good in a growing American Church.

    In the new year, he would begin his ministry as a parish priest at St. Mary’s in New Haven, where he befriended a band of resourceful, energetic Irishmen and made plans for the formation of the Knights of Columbus. Today, he is a candidate for sainthood with his cause active at the Vatican.

    About the Author

    Brian Caulfield is vice-postulator for the canonization cause of Venerable Father McGivney. For more information about the cause and to sign up to receive a quarterly newsletter, visit fathermcgivney.org.

    PRESS RESOURCES

    PRESS

    Logos & Emblems

    Photo Library

    Press Releases

    Recent News

    Supreme Convention

    Video Library

    PUBLICATIONS

    Chaplain's Report

    Columbia

    Fraternal Leader Advisory

    Knightline

    Knights in Action

    Share your Knights in Action News

    FOR PRESS INQUIRIES

    Please contact the
    Knights of Columbus News Bureau
    news@kofc.org, 475-255-0097

    Knights of Columbus 1 Columbus Plaza New Haven, CT 06510 203-752-4000

    Connect With #KOFC

    Who We Are

    Our Mission Our Faith Our History Supreme Officers About Membership Video Library

    What We Do

    Charity Insurance Invest Programs Scholarships Churchloan

    Get Involved

    Join Donate Find a Council Store College Councils

    Member Resources

    Sign In For Members Safe Environment Program Brand Assets Benefits
    This website uses cookies, including third-party cookies, to optimize the functionality of the website and for website analysis and statistics. To find out more about cookies and how to change your cookie settings, please go to our Cookie Policy. Click Allow if you agree to the use of cookies.