The Connecticut priest who founded the Knights of Columbus will be beatified in Hartford in October.
Beatification is a step toward sainthood for Father Michael McGivney. McGivney grew up in Waterbury, Connecticut, and founded the group in 1882 while he was a priest in New Haven.
The Knights of Columbus is a Catholic men’s charity organization -- one of the largest in the world. It is also one of the largest insurers in the world. McGivney would be the first U.S. parish priest to be canonized.
The announcement came at the Knights of Columbus’s annual convention, held virtually due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The beatification is set for October 31 at the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Hartford.