Baltimore lecture series to mark beatification of Father Michael McGivney

To celebrate the beatification of Venerable Father Michael McGivney, St. Mary’s Seminary and University in Roland Park is hosting a series of online lectures about the founder of the Knights of Columbus who became a model for the humble, hardworking parish priest.

The first seminar, titled “Who Was Michael McGivney and What Does He Have to Say to Us Today?” will debut Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. The panel includes Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori, Supreme Chaplain of the Knights of Columbus; Carl Anderson, Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus; and Sulpician Father Phillip Brown, president-rector of St. Mary’s Seminary and University.

Father McGivney will be officially beatified Oct. 31 in St. Joseph’s Cathedral in Hartford, Conn. His road to sainthood started in 1996 and gained new momentum after a miracle attributed to his intercession was approved by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints and was authorized by Pope Francis in May.

Press play below to listen to a Catholic Review Radio interview with Archbishop Lori and Carl Anderson about the beatification of Father McGivney. Story continues below.

He could become the first American-born parish priest to reach sainthood. The lecture series is particularly important to St. Mary’s Seminary and University because Father McGivney was an 1877 graduate of the seminary. He was ordained to the priesthood by then-Archbishop James Gibbons on Dec. 22, 1877 at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Baltimore.

“Though serving in the 19th century, Father McGivney demonstrated the same essential qualities needed for effective priestly ministry in the 21st century: faithfulness; Christ-like humility; zeal for the well-being and especially the spiritual welfare of his parishioners and others, in particular those who are most vulnerable; and dedicated service,” Father Brown said.

Many say Father McGivney, who died of pneumonia ministering to his parishioners during a pandemic in 1890, is particularly relevant in the time of COVID-19.

“He suffered and died like so many Americans and other people around the world,” Anderson told the Vatican News in June. “So, when we say now ‘Father McGivney, pray for us,’ we are going to have somebody who has been there and been through this suffering. I think his prayers will be very personal.”

The son of Irish immigrants, Father McGivney was called to the priesthood at 16. He was motivated to create the Knights of Columbus because the existing social organizations of the day excluded Catholics, reflecting widespread prejudice against Catholics and, more broadly, immigrants.

The Knights of Columbus has gone on to become the largest lay Catholic organization in the world with 2 million members. 

Dates for the second and third installments of the series – “Practically Catholic” and “Saints Among Us – Heroic Christians or Relentless Disciples” – will be announced at a later date.

To register for the online lecture, visit https://bitly.com/37NtJH0.

Email Tim Swift at tswift@CatholicReview.org

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