Fr. McGivney’s Beatification; An Interview with Dr. Maria Ulrickson

Several years ago I had an encounter I wasn’t expecting at a relic tour hosted by Treasures of the Church, with Fr. Carlos Martins.  During Fr. Martins’ presentation about the relics, he mentioned that “at least one of these Saints will speak to you”. 

A Holy Scent

As I began to examine the hundreds of relics, I stopped at one, and the scent of beautiful flowers became overwhelming.  I looked around to see if someone had walked past me with flowers, or if perhaps a woman was nearby me with perfume, yet there was no one around.  I looked down at the name on the relic in front of me.  It said, Fr. Michael McGivney.  I had a vague recollection of the name, “isn’t he the Knights of Columbus guy?” I thought to myself.  Other than that I knew very little about him, except that what I had just experienced was something I had heard about, the odor of sanctity.  I knew in my heart this Priest was a Saint because I had never experienced such a phenomenon before.  

Fr. McGivney

I went home and began to learn about Fr. McGivney and how his legacy was so much more than I could have imagined.  Formed.org had a movie called, Father Michael McGivney: The Story of the Connecticut Priest Who Founded the Knights of the Columbus.  I was thrilled to learn of this holy Parish Priest.

When it was announced that Father McGivney would be beatified on October 31, 2020, I was elated to know this Holy Man would now be able to touch the lives of so many the way he touched my life and made me want to seek Sainthood.  I wanted to let people know his story.  It goes far beyond the men of the Knights of Columbus, impacting women as well with the Catholic Daughters of Charity. 

Dr. Maria Cecilia Ulrickson

The following is an interview with Dr. Maria Cecilia Ulrickson an Associate Professor of American Church History at the Catholic University of America.  Dr. Ulrickson is a credible and qualified voice who can speak about Fr. McGivney’s legacy who had a great impact not just on men, but on women as well.

Susan: Tell us about your position at The Catholic University of America as it pertains to the collections on Fr. McGivney’s legacy.

Dr. Ulrickson: I am an Assistant Professor of American Church History at Catholic U. I am especially interested in the ways that lay Catholics in the Americas pray, organize, and understand their place in the Church. I discovered that our archives contain several collections related to the early activity of two lay organizations inspired by Fr. Michael McGivney — the Knights of Columbus and the Catholic Daughters of the Americas. The Catholic Daughters were founded in 1903 in Utica, NY as a lay women’s charitable and fraternal organization. Their courts very quickly spread across the US and even into the Caribbean to Puerto Rico and Cuba. Our collection at the American Catholic History Research Center and University Archives contains fascinating stories: of their charitable work (and how it transformed alongside national politics and the Cold War); of an emerging consciousness as laity whose work enlivens the Catholic Church; and of a developing notion of Catholic womanhood, especially as members of their courts entered the workplace and local politics.

Susan: McGivney was the son of Irish immigrants; you are the daughter of an immigrant. Can you talk about the contributions that children of immigrants add to the rich fabric of America?

Dr. Ulrickson: Fr Michael McGivney grew up surrounded by the immigrant Irish community and this made him all the more aware of the vulnerability of immigrants. My mother left the Dominican Republic for Boston, MA when she was 15. Her family faced poverty and instability, but they were also part of a community of Dominican Catholics whose language, liturgy, and love of family transformed Boston Catholicism. Fr. McGivney’s vision for Catholic fraternity in the Knights and the Catholic Daughters today reminds Catholics that we are brothers and sisters in Christ, that we are our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers.

Susan: What is the significance of McGivney’s beatification for the American church and the CUA community?

Dr. Ulrickson: Fr. McGivney stands out as a parish priest for our times. He loved his parishioners and challenged them to meet each others’ material and spiritual needs. Because I am a historian, I also have to note that the American Church became “American” in part through the unity and charity of the lay organizations he founded—the early members of the Knights and the Catholic Daughters used these lay organizations to enter the public sphere and to develop a notion of Catholicism that transcended parish, national, and regional boundaries.

Susan: What might people be surprised to learn about McGivney’s life?

Dr. Ulrickson: Fr McGivney was an amazing organizer! Besides founding the Knights of Columbus, he organized parish picnics complete with agendas and programs, and he directed his parishioners’ theatrical plays. The early courts of the Catholic Daughters of the Americas took up this tradition and hosted hundreds of picnics, banquets, and plays.

Susan: How do you think McGivney serves as a role model for female laity today, and why is this important?

Dr. Ulrickson: Fr. McGivney saw firsthand how disease, poverty, and an unsympathetic state affected widowed women in his community. His particular empathy for widows inspired the founding of the Knights of Columbus. During his lifetime, Fr McGivney also acted as the spiritual father and friend of a highly-educated daughter of an Episcopal clergyman. Their friendship is a testament to Fr. McGivney’s respect for women’s education. Fr McGivney’s legacy can be seen in the work of the Catholic Daughters of the Americas. Their courts (the term for a local chapter) served as sites of Christian fraternity and charity. Members of the early Catholic Daughters also developed and circulated ideas of the Catholic woman citizenship and the Catholic woman in the workforce alongside a new notion of the Catholic mother and wife.

Conclusion

As you can see, from the depths of knowledge that Dr. Ulrickson has about Fr. McGivney, this is a Saint for our times.  Fr. McGivney organized men and women, helped the poor, and reached out beyond the borders of his church even to his Protestant neighbors.  He is a shining example of what a parish Priest can be, and of what Sainthood can look like.  I hope Fr. McGivney touches your heart as much as he did mine.