A Parish Priest and some Knights

I just finished the book Parish Priest: Father Michael McGivney and American Catholicism by Douglas Brinkley and Julie M. Fenster. The book is a biography of Fr. McGivney and a look at the Catholic Church in New England in the late 1800s. It also covers the Knights of Columbus, a group Fr. McGivney founded.

Father Michael McGivney was born in 1852 in Waterburry, Connecticut. The book tracks his life, how he became a priest, and how he worked in his parish. Fr. McGiveny was always visiting the sick, planning activities, and comforting people in need. Aside from his normal spiritual duties, he kept young people out of trouble by organizing baseball games and directing amateur plays. As the book's title indicates, he was a dedicated parish priest who served his congregation.

The need for Knights
The 1870s and 1880s were a dangerous time. Diseases like tuberculous were rampant and since antibiotics were not understood, simple injuries could easily become infected and led to serious complications. When the father of a family became gravely sick or died, that family lost all certainty and security. Any children old enough would be sent to earn money for the family, while the rest were in danger of being taken into custody by the state to be provided for. Fr. McGivney was distressed by this destruction of families.

Some groups tried to address this problem. Benevolent societies existed and Connecticut was the home of the emerging insurance business. There were dozens of different clubs and secret societies men could join. However, they varied in their membership, aims, and activities. Some were openly anti-Catholic, while others were social clubs that did not promote moral living. Fr. McGivney wanted a group that could provide for the families of its members in case of tragedy and allow its members to bring their Catholic faith into all of the group's actions.

Into this Fr. McGivney decided to start a new group for Catholic men: the Knights of Columbus. Since there were prejudices against Catholics and talk of them being more loyal to the Pope than the United States, the Knights took the name of Christopher Columbus; an acknowledged national hero.

128 years later
Today the Knights of Columbus have over 1.8 million members. They volunteer their time and money to charitable causes in their communities. Fr. McGivney's vision of protecting widows and orphaned children is realized by a strong insurance program.

In 2008, Pope Benedict XVI declared Fr. McGivney to be of "heroic virtue." He is referred to as a "Venerable servant of God" because his life exemplified great virtue. These are early steps on the path to sainthood.