Blessed Michael McGivney
Bishop Martin Hayes celebrated Mass in the Cathedral of Saints Patrick & Felim in Cavan on Thursday morning, 13 August 2026, at 10:00a.m. to mark the Optional Memorial of Blessed Michael McGivney.
Father McGivney was a Connecticut priest who served his flock in the Archdiocese of Hartford during the pandemic of 1890, before himself becoming ill and dying of pneumonia.
He is best known for founding the Knights of Columbus in 1882. Nearly a century before the Second Vatican Council, his prescient vision empowered the laity to serve Church and neighbour in a new way. Today, the Knights of Columbus is one of the largest Catholic organizations in the world with 2 million members in North and Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia, and Europe.
Father McGivney was born of Irish immigrant parents on 12 August 1852 in Waterbury, Connecticut. His father, Patrick, was a native of Drumkilly (Crosserlough Parish) and his mother, Mary Lynch, came from Castlerahan – both in the Diocese of Kilmore.
His parents came to the United States in the great 19th-century wave of Irish immigration and were married in Waterbury. Patrick was a molder in the heat and noxious fumes of a brass mill. Mary gave birth to 13 children, six of whom died young, leaving Michael (the eldest) with four living sisters and two brothers, who also became priests.
Father McGivney was a central figure in the dramatic growth of the Church in the United States in the late 19th century. Ordained in Baltimore in 1877, he ministered to a heavily Irish-American and immigrant community in the then-Diocese of Hartford. At a time of anti-Catholic sentiment, he worked tirelessly to keep his flock close to the faith in part by finding practical solutions to their many problems – spiritual and temporal alike. With a group of the leading Catholic men of New Haven, he founded the Knights of Columbus in 1882 at St. Mary’s Church to provide spiritual support for Catholic men and financial resources for families that had suffered the loss of their breadwinner.
The fledgling group soon became a major force in the areas of evangelisation, charity, racial integration, and the defense of religious freedom.
Never robust in health, Father McGivney continued to minister in the vineyard of the Lord until he fell ill during the pandemic of 1889-1890 — possibly caused by a coronavirus — and was stricken with severe pneumonia in January 1890. The young priest lost physical strength just as the Knights of Columbus were moving toward new vitality. He died on August 14, just two days past his 38th birthday.
Today, Father McGivney’s body is interred in a beautiful marble tomb in St. Mary’s Church in New Haven, where he founded the Knights of Columbus.
His vision and mission continue to bear fruit through the work he inspired in the more than 2 million Knights of Columbus working throughout the world. These men, these Knights, form a band of brothers dedicated to faith in action under the principles of charity, unity, fraternity and patriotism.
In March 2008, he was declared a Venerable Servant of God by Pope Benedict XVI, who during his visit to St. Patrick’s Cathedral cited the “remarkable accomplishment of that exemplary American priest, the Venerable Michael McGivney, whose vision and zeal led to the establishment of the Knights of Columbus.”
He was beatified in October 2020.
Bishop Martin’s reflection during the Mass is given below:
Introduction
We gather to remember Blessed Michael McGivney, Priest, son of immigrants, Patrick McGivney from Drumkilly, Crosserlough and Mary Lynch of Castlerahan. I welcome all of you to our daily Mass here in the Cathedral of St Patrick & St Felim and in particular, the relatives of Blessed Michael and the public representatives and staff of Cavan County Council, including the Cathaoirleach, Ms Carmel Brady.
Reflection
One of the meanings of the word ‘Blessed’ is ‘connected to God’. Today, we honour Blessed Fr Michael McGivney with the proclamation of the Beatitudes which begin with the word, ‘Blessed’ in the Gospel of Matthew. Blessed are the poor in spirit, those who mourn, – as echoed in the Prayer for Canonisation of Blessed Michael. Blessed are the meek, those who hunger and thirst for what is right and those who are merciful. Blessed Michael founded the Knights of Columbus, to care for the outcasts. Blessed are the pure in heart and the peacemakers. It is appropriate that Fr Michael, a priest of the then Diocese of Hartford which was experienced anti-Catholic sentiment, that we proclaim, Blessed are those persecuted for doing good and for giving witness to their faith in God. The Beatitudes proclaim the essence of what we are invited to live as Christians, indeed, in suffering and in being with those who suffer we are connected to God.
Rather than see the faults of others, we are called ‘to bear with one another’ (First Reading from Ephesians), see the good in others, and celebrate how God’s grace can be active in others. The grace of God was evident in the life of Fr Michael McGivney, born on August 12th1852, ordained at 25 years, and who founded the Knights of Columbus in 1882 which has grown to involve millions in doing good work throughout the USA. Fr Michael had the ability to relate to everyone and the Knights of Columbus, as well as doing good, helped young Catholic men, in particular, to find ways of expressing their faith with purpose in practical ways.
In the spirit of our first reading, we celebrate that we are all different, thank God; each with our different gifts and we are challenged to channel our efforts for the common good. It’s the call to follow the example of Jesus as echoed in the Prayer for the Canonisation of Blessed Michael which we will pray after Communion. Today, we give thanks for the example of Blessed Michael McGivney, Priest, son of immigrants from Crosserlough and Castlerahan who left Ireland amid the tragedy of the Great Famine. We rejoice in what has emerged. We celebrate their son, a priest, indeed, Blessed Michael, now recognised as connected to God. Though, Fr Michael died at 38 years of age, he continues to have an impact for good. He died on 14th August 1890, was born on the 12th August 1852 and so it is appropriate that we pray his Memorial on today, the 13th August.
Thanks
To you all, the relatives of Blessed Michael, and members of Cavan Co Council who represent the wider local Cavan community, including Cathaoirleach, Ms Carmel Brady. I thank, in particular, Councillor John Paul Feeley who has been instrumental in coordinating our celebration this morning and who indeed has visited the Hartford, the Archdiocese in Connecticut (where Fr Michael ministered) to build upon those connections between here and there.