Wonderful news reported by Catholic News Service:
“Pope Francis approved a miracle attributed to the intercession of
Fr. Michael J. McGivney Wednesday, paving the way for the beatification of the
founder of the Knights of Columbus.
McGivney
founded the Knights of Columbus in 1882. Today it is the world’s largest
Catholic fraternal service organization, with nearly two million members in
more than a dozen countries.
Born
in Waterbury, Connecticut, in 1852, McGivney played a critical role in the
growth of the Church in the United States in the latter part of the 19th
century. After his ordination in Baltimore in 1877, he served a largely
Irish-American and immigrant community in New Haven.
Amid an anti-Catholic climate, he established the Knights to provide spiritual
aid to Catholic men and financial help for families that had lost their
breadwinner.
A
press release from the Knights of Columbus May 27 said the miracle recognized
by Pope Francis involved an unborn child in the United States who was healed in
utero of a life-threatening condition in 2015 after his family prayed to
McGivney.
It
added that a date would be set soon for the beatification Mass, which will take
place in Connecticut.
Supreme
Knight Carl A. Anderson said: “Fr. McGivney has inspired generations of
Catholic men to roll up their sleeves and put their faith into action. He was
decades ahead of his time in giving the laity an important role within the
Church.”
“Today,
his spirit continues to shape the extraordinary charitable work of Knights as
they continue to serve those on the margins of society as he served widows and
orphans in the 1880s.”
“Fr.
McGivney also remains an important role model for parish priests around the
world and left us a transformative legacy of effective cooperation between the
laity and clergy.””
I have been a Knight of Columbus since 1990. I was Chaplain
to the Highland Falls Council. I was both Chaplain and Faithful Friar to the
Warwick Valley Council and Assembly. I am now serving as Faith Friar to our own
St. John Paul II Assembly #2917 (4th Degree Knights). Among our
members is our own Wally Wych who is the New York State Deputy. The Knights are
an outstanding organization, and I wholeheartedly recommend that all the men of
our parish consider becoming Knights.
The process to become a Knight has been much simplified.
To begin, all you have to do is click here: https://www.kofc.org/secure/en/join/join-the-knights.html?utm_source=google-ads&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=lower-funnel&campaignid=6758128940&adgroupid=79854405752&adid=397916696142&gclid=Cj0KCQjwwr32BRD4ARIsAAJNf_3SozdDBz5sWLSLOBfh4RIe2zE6BYApCNLPIWC6TVwTCUgPpteOgoUaAndWEALw_wcB
