WHEREAS, on May 27, 2020, the Vatican announced that His Holiness Pope Francis had approved the promulgation of a decree recognizing a miracle attributed to the intercession of the Venerable Servant of God Father Michael J. McGivney, Founder of the Knights of Columbus; and

WHEREAS, the approved miracle was performed on the unborn child of brother Knight and General Agent Daniel Schachle and his wife, Michelle, who with their family fervently invoked Father McGivney’s intercession after receiving a fatal prenatal diagnosis from which their unborn child was miraculously healed; and

WHEREAS, with the approval of a miracle, Father McGivney will be raised to the honors of the altar during a Mass of Beatification on October 31, 2020, at the Cathedral of Saint Joseph in Hartford, after which the founder of the Knights of Columbus will be known as Blessed Michael McGivney.

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the members of the Supreme Council assembled virtually for its 138th Annual Meeting on August 5, 2020, join in offering fervent prayers of thanksgiving with brother Knight Daniel Schachle and his family for the healing and beautiful life of his son, who is named Michael “Mikey” McGivney Schachle, now five years old and brimming with joy; and

FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Supreme Council expresses its gratitude to all whose efforts made possible the advancement of the Founder’s cause, beginning with Archbishop Daniel A. Cronin of Hartford, who in 1997 opened Father McGivney’s Cause at the request of Past Supreme Knight Virgil C. Dechant; as well as to Brother Knight John Walshe and all the McGivney Family relatives who have supported the cause; to Reverend Gabriel B. O’Donnell, O.P., who as postulator authored the Prayer for Canonization and prepared the Positio which presents the case for Father McGivney’s heroic virtue; to Supreme Knight Carl Anderson, who has diligently worked to promote devotion to Father McGivney, including the publication of his definitive biography, Parish Priest: Father Michael McGivney and American Catholicism; to Dr. Andrea Ambrosi, Postulator of the Cause for Canonization, and Vice-Postulator Brian V. Caulfield, and the doctors and experts whose work and testimony were indispensable to the finding of a miracle; and to Bishop J. Mark Spalding and the members of the Tribunal convened in the Diocese of Nashville to document and examine the reported miracle; and

FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Supreme Council, knowing that one more miracle is needed for canonization, calls on all Knights and their families to invoke the proven intercession of Father McGivney for their own needs and intentions, and to promptly report all favors received to the Father McGivney Guild; and

FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Supreme Council calls on all state and local councils to plan Masses of Thanksgiving and other suitable celebrations in the year following the beatification of Father McGivney to promote devotion to our Founder by all members and their families, as well as by all Catholics everywhere the Order is established, and be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Supreme Council fully supports the transformation of the Knights of Columbus Museum into what will become the Blessed Michael McGivney Pilgrimage Center, giving greater focus to the spirituality and charitable vision of our Founder, while continuing the Museum’s original mission and updating its recounting of the Order’s history.