Parish Priest: Father Michael McGivney and American Catholicism
by Douglas Brinkley and Julie M. Fenster (New York: William
Morrow, 2006) tells the story of the founder of the Knights of
Columbus, one of the largest charitable organizations in the
Church. The Knights help to raise money for handicapped
organizations, to create and support scholarships for college
students, and to support the Pope’s charitable activities and
other needs of the Church. They helped to clean and restore St.
Peter’s Basilica’s façade and that of St. John Lateran. They
have helped other churches too. They also help their members
through insurance policies. The Knights of Columbus are also a
large and active group of supporters of pro-life activities. In
1997 the process for the canonization of the founder of the
Knights of Columbus, Fr. Michael McGivney was started by the
Archbishop of Hartford, Connecticut, Daniel A. Cronin. Fr.
Gabriel O’Donnell is the archdiocesan postulator, or advocate,
for Fr. McGivney’s cause. He has put tog