Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Wednesday, Fourth Week of Advent
December 22, 2021
One-hundred and forty-four years ago, here in America’s First Cathedral, the recently appointed Archbishop of Baltimore, James Gibbons, ordained priests – the first of many whom we would ordain during his long tenure here of forty-four years. Among the priests he ordained on December 22nd, 1877, was a young man from the Diocese of Hartford, Michael J. McGivney. Archbishop Gibbons did not know it at the time, but on that day, he ordained a holy man, a priest who would have an extraordinary impact on the Church in the United States and far beyond.
Father McGivney’s path to the priesthood was anything but easy. He hailed from a large Irish-immigrant family in Waterbury, Connecticut. At an early age, he felt an attraction to the priesthood, but like many young men in those days, he worked to support his family. Finally, with the help of his pastor, he entered St. Hyacinth College in Quebec, where he studied hard and excelled in English and English literature. Now ready to begin his seminary studies in earnest, Michael McGivney enrolled at Our Lady of the Angels Seminary in Niagara, New York, where he studied philosophy. Then it was onto St. Mary’s Seminary in Montreal, but his studies were interrupted by the sudden death of his beloved father, leaving his family in difficult financial straits. As a result, young Michael McGivney left the seminary and worked to support his family. Providentially, Bishop McFarland of Hartford then came to his rescue by providing funds that enabled Michael to enroll at St. Mary’s Seminary here in Baltimore, where he completed his seminary formation and was ordained to the holy priesthood.
By all accounts, young Michael McGivney was well-liked by his peers, was a good student, played baseball, was a natural leader, served as head-sacristan, and took to heart his priestly formation more than even the most astute seminary authority realized. The rector at the time, gave young Michael McGivney only a lukewarm recommendation, but in God’s grace and goodness, that rector’s assessment proved to be quite wide of the mark.
Finally, on this date, 144 years ago, Michael McGivney & those who were ordained with him, heard their names called, one by one, to which they responded, “adsum” – “I am present”. They listened intently as Archbishop Gibbons exhorted them in the Latin language with words from the Rite of Priestly Ordination – I’ll give you the English translation: “Let your preaching be a spiritual medicine for the people of God, and the fragrance of your lives a delight for the Church of Christ. May you thus build up by word and example, the House, that is, the Family of God . . . .”
How those words resonated in the heart of the newly ordained Michael McGivney! From this place, he would go forth and spend himself utterly for Christ and for the people of St. Mary’s Parish in New Haven. He proved himself a spectacular parish priest, not calling attention to himself, but rather overflowing with pastoral charity for his parishioners, most especially the widow, the orphan, and the outcast. In a most creative effort to meet the needs of the families he served, he founded the Knights of Columbus, today the world’s largest lay organization and an engine of charity, unity, and fraternity – an engine of evangelization, charity, and spirituality for the men of today – while continuing to provide financial security for families of his day and ours.
I am convinced that Father McGivney will be the first United States priest to be canonized. What a joy finally to have a diocesan parish priest from our country to be enrolled among the Church’s roster of canonized saints! What a grace for the Knights of Columbus the world over and what a blessing for priests and seminarians throughout the United States. You and I are here, where his priesthood began, to give thanks to God for the life and ministry of Blessed Michael McGivney, to pray for the continued growth of the Knights of Columbus, and to pray for vocations, abundant priestly vocations, in the Archdiocese of Baltimore and far beyond, to the praise and glory of our Savior and for the good of God’s people.
I thank all of you for taking part in this holy commemoration and I wish you and your loved ones abundant Christmas joy! Blessed Michael McGivney, pray for us! Vivat Jesus!