Blessed Michael J. McGivney

A parish priest from Connecticut whose care for working families gave rise to the largest Catholic fraternal service organization in the world.

Father Michael J. McGivney was born in Waterbury, Connecticut, on August 12, 1852, the eldest child of Irish immigrants. Ordained in 1877, he served as a curate at St. Mary's Church in New Haven, where he saw how the sudden death of a father could leave a Catholic family in poverty and force children out of their home.

In 1882, with a small group of parishioners, he founded the Knights of Columbus to provide financial protection for widows and orphans and to strengthen the faith of Catholic men through works of charity. He died of pneumonia on August 14, 1890, at age 38. Pope Francis beatified him on October 31, 2020; his feast day is August 13.

From that first council in New Haven, the Order has grown to more than two million members worldwide, still guided by the principles McGivney set down: Charity, Unity, and Fraternity, with Patriotism added for members of the Fourth Degree.