A Blessed Celebration

Knights across the globe give joyful thanks to God as their humble founder is raised to the honors of the altar.

Knights of Columbus and their families, parish priests and religious, and Catholic faithful around the world watched with joy as Father Michael J. McGivney was declared “Blessed” in the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Hartford, Conn., Oct. 31.

Blessed Michael McGivney’s “zeal for the proclamation of the Gospel and generous concern for the needs of his brothers and sisters made him an outstanding witness of Christian solidarity and fraternal assistance,” Pope Francis wrote in his apostolic letter proclaiming the beatification.

The title “Blessed” signifies the Church’s belief that Father McGivney is now in heaven, as manifested by a miracle attributed to his intercession. The beneficiary of that miracle was present at the beatification Mass: Five-year-old Michael McGivney Schachle, healed in utero of a deadly case of fetal hydrops, presented a major relic of his patron to the presider and representative of the Holy Father, Cardinal Joseph Tobin, C.Ss.R., archbishop of Newark.

On the eve of the beatification, priests gathered for a solemn vigil of prayer and reflection at St. Mary’s Church in New Haven, the birthplace of the Knights of Columbus. Archbishop Leonard Blair of Hartford presided at the internationally broadcast event, which included readings from Scripture and historical texts about Father McGivney’s ministry in the late 19th century, as well as reflections about how the Order’s founder continues to be a model for parish priests today.

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“FATHER MCGIVNEY’S LIFE is an illustration of that intimate contact of a priest with the homes and lives of his people. His formation in pastoral practice began in his faith-filled family, which nurtured his growth in grace, providing an ambience in which he and two of his brothers could hear the call to serve the Lord as priests.

“Although he excelled in his studies, before he ever opened a book of theology he worked in a factory, where he learned firsthand the struggles of his fellow workers. As a parish priest, he would ‘smell like the sheep.’ He knew the simple, indispensable requirement for a pastor: He loved his people. …

“Even his signature accomplishment, the founding of the Knights of Columbus, grew out of his ministry as a parish priest. … This great brotherhood of 2 million men now spanning the globe was born from the ingenious solution of a parish priest to the challenges faced by the people he served.”

— Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, C.Ss.R., archbishop of Newark and representative of Pope Francis, Homily at the Beatification Mass, Cathedral of St. Joseph, Hartford, Oct. 31