LIVE from the Knights of Columbus Supreme Convention, Hour 3, Day 2

**SPEAKER_1** (0:00)
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**Drew Mariani** (0:21)
Well, good afternoon, welcome back. I think it is great to be here with you. I'm broadcasting today for the 144th Supreme Convention for the Knights of Columbus. And I know you might be saying, hey, how's this relevant to me? You know, when you hear the words Knights of Columbus, you probably think, at least I would, charity and faith and serving in your parish, that's kind of where you're seeing. But behind one of the world's largest Catholic organization is a young parish priest whose dream was surprisingly simple.
And his vision was just to protect families and strengthen men and to bring people closer to Christ. And we're talking about Bl. McGivney. He's now a step away from sainthood. He was only 29 years old when he founded the Knights of Columbus in a basement, St. Mary's Church in New Haven, Connecticut back in 1882 And you know the story. We're going to talk a little bit about it.
Today, there are over 2 million Knights from around the world. And this mission, as we've been talking about over the past two days here, has covered everything from disaster relief to aid to the poor, to the unborn, to coats for kids, or ultrasound initiatives and so much more. And yet, Father McGivney himself remained largely hidden from history until recent years. His beatification, he was beatified in 2020 It really reminded the world of the fact that holiness is not reserved for famous saints. Sometimes it looks like an ordinary parish priest who just loved God and loved people and wanted to serve them. And that's why the Knights of Columbus Museum is such a treasure. And it doesn't simply preserve artifacts. It tells the story of a man whose vision continues to reshape the church today. And I thought I'd introduce you, for those of you just joining me right now, maybe you've not been plugged in a little bit into the extraordinary life of Blessed McGivney.
There's a powerful miracle that has taken place for his intercession. You may want to turn to him, too, if you are in need of a real special intercession and get you plugged into this museum, which I just discovered, too, on this trip. I'm joined today by Peter Sonski. He's director of the Knights of Columbus Museum in New Haven, Connecticut, where he oversees the exhibits that preserve the life and legacy of this future saint. It's great to have you with us today. Peter, good afternoon.

**Peter Sonski** (2:27)
Drew Mariani, great to have Relevant Radio and you here in Denver.

**Drew Mariani** (2:30)
Love having you here. Thank you so much. Viva Jesus, as we say. Viva, Viva Jesus. It's great to have you with me. Thank you. Let's talk a little bit about McGivney for those who don't know. I've been talking about him on and off in his story, but bring us back. You oversee the museum right now, but his life.
What motivated this 29-year-old priest to do what he's done? I don't think he'd ever envision what this thing has grown to.

**Peter Sonski** (2:51)
It's really fascinating. He grew up in a time, obviously, his son of immigrants, his mom and dad had both immigrated here during the potato famine. They came from the same county, County Cavern in the northern portion of Ireland, met here in Connecticut. They both had migrated to Waterbury, Connecticut. Waterbury, Connecticut was an industrial city, a manufacturing city. It had a lot of opportunity for employment, so it naturally attracted a lot of people who were looking for work when they arrived here. Mom and dad met, were married, and Michael was born two years later, first of, ultimately, 13 children. So he grew up in a setting where he realized the plight of the immigrants. They had to struggle to find work and to sustain their families.
And he also grew up in a time when, well, Catholics weren't so welcome in the United States, especially in New England.

**Drew Mariani** (3:49)
Right. That's where my Italian grandfather settled, too.

**Peter Sonski** (3:53)
In Waterbury.

**Drew Mariani** (3:53)
No, not in Waterbury. He was outside of Rockford.

**Peter Sonski** (3:56)
Okay, but in that area. So I guess these things were a part of his upbringing. They were experiences that shaped him in his youth.
And one of the things that I often say, Drew, is that the Knights of Columbus has done a very good job of talking about the New Haven chapter of Fr. McGivney's life. That six years from the time he was ordained a priest, founded the Knights of Columbus, but then he moved on and was a pastor later. It's those formative years. It's those early years of his upbringing and then his seminary education, his priestly formation that I think really led to his ultimately founding the Knights of Columbus.