Parish Priest: Father Michael McGivney and American Catholicism (Hardcover)

~ Douglas Brinkley (Author), Julie M. Fenster (Author)
Key Phrases: chief ranger, New Haven, Knights of Columbus, Father Murphy (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Fr. Michael McGivney (1852–1890) is under consideration for sainthood in the Roman Catholic Church. So why has almost no one heard of this Connecticut parish priest who helped to transform American Catholicism? McGivney entered seminary when he was just 16 and studied there until his father's unexpected death forced him, the eldest child, to abandon his studies and support his family. Although the diocese eventually came through with a scholarship, McGivney never forgot the devastation of his family's sudden poverty and devoted much of his priestly life to helping the Catholic poor. He founded the Knights of Columbus, an organization that simultaneously met two critical needs of Catholics in the late 19th century: it was an insurance policy for the indigent, and its devotion to America and patriotic ideals helped to assuage anti-Catholic prejudice. Brinkley and Fenster offer a popular history that is accessible in style and respectful, albeit at times hagiographic, in tone. (Jan.)
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Product Description

"Father McGivney's vision remains as relevant as ever in the changed circumstances of today's church and society."—Pope John Paul II

Is now the time for an American parish priest to be declared a Catholic saint?

In Father Michael McGivney (1852-1890), born and raised in a Connecticut factory town, the modern era's ideal of the priesthood hit its zenith. The son of Irish immigrants, he was a man to whom "family values" represented more than mere rhetoric. And he left a legacy of hope still celebrated around the world.

In the late 1800s, discrimination against American Catholics was widespread. Many Catholics struggled to find work and ended up in infernolike mills. An injury or the death of the wage earner would leave a family penniless. The grim threat of chronic homelessness and even starvation could fast become realities. Called to action in 1882 by his sympathy for these suffering people, Father McGivney founded the Knights of Columbus, an organization that has helped to save countless families from the indignity of destitution. From its uncertain beginnings, when Father McGivney was the only person willing to work toward its success, it has grown to an international membership of 1.7 million men.

At heart, though, Father McGivney was never anything more than an American parish priest, and nothing less than that, either—beloved by children, trusted by young adults, and regarded as a "positive saint" by the elderly in his New Haven parish.

In an incredible work of academic research, Douglas Brinkley (The Boys of Pointe Du Hoc, Tour of Duty) and Julie M. Fenster (Race of the Century, Ether Day) re-create the life of Father McGivney, a fiercely dynamic yet tenderhearted man. Though he was only thirty-eight when he died, Father McGivney has never been forgotten. He remains a true "people's priest," a genuinely holy man—and perhaps the most beloved parish priest in U.S. history. Moving and inspirational, Parish Priest chronicles the process of canonization that may well make Father McGivney the first American-born parish priest to be declared a saint by the Vatican.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow (January 10, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060776846
• ISBN-13: 978-0060776848
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (70 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #237,062 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

72 of 75 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The short life of a parish priest, January 10, 2006

By	Paul (New York) - See all my reviews

As a lifelong Catholic, I was intrigued by this book and read it in less than one day. It is about one priest, Michael McGivney, how he came to be a priest and what it was like for priests in the 1800's. It is well-researched and very well-written, drawing me right into the story. There was a tremdendous amount of prejudice against Catholics in the U.S. in the 19th century and this book describes what McGivney tried to do about it. It is also about the people around him. Michael McGivney is a good subject for a book, since he lived at an exciting time. All in all, a must read for American Catholics.

35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pleasant, inspirational story of positive priest, January 27, 2006

By	Peter Lorenzi (Maryland, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Let's face it. American priests today, especially parish priests, have an image problem. While fifty years ago, even twenty-five years ago, the local parish priest could serve as a source of wisdom and spirituality, today people are more likely to hear bad jokes about priests as pedophiles and homosexual predators. The idea of sending your young sons off for a summer week at a camp with the parish associate pastor, once seen as great education and experience, is now something many Catholic parents would not even consider.

That's what makes this life story of Michael McGivney so nice and so timely. As the other reviewers and publisher notes reveal, McGivney was offered a second chance at seminary due to the largess of the diocese. After his father died, McGivney's original seminary plans collapsed. No widow could afford to support a seminarian's education. He learned at a critical moment in his life that aid to widows not only meant the difference between life and a squalid decline, it also meant that dreams and callings could still come true. Later, using his authority and respect as a priest, McGivney embraced the plight of his fellow Catholics, his flock, at a time when Catholics were not allowed to own land and paid taxes to support a Protestant church (show that to those who think that we have lost the separation of church and state) to first discourage the Irish scourge of alcoholism with a temperance society and then to form the Knights of Columbus as a means for insuring that widows and orphans did not suffer without hope upon the early death of the family breadwinner. From adversity came a priest and a sustaining movement.

The Knights were a transparent 'secret' society, not really secret at all. And McGivney had to fight the biases of his own church to get the Knights up and running and, when he had achieved some level of status in a now flourishing organization, he humbly stepped aside, not wanting to become the symbol of the group.

There are several interesting secondary plots, one including the late conversion of the daughter of perhaps the leading Episcopilian priest in the United States. She was attracted to McGivney's strong, unassuming service and news of her conversion and subsequent funeral service earned lead stories in the news of the day. McGivney also was a big fan of baseball, apparenty a pretty good player in his earlier, healthy days, and the 'executive producer' of plays and other constructive, social diversions and activities that drew young Irish men away from the saloons.

Sadly, like too many terribly overworked priests, McGivney died before he turned forty. Tuberculosis and the other maladies associated with living and working with the poor probably took McGivney's life, just as they took the lives of other young priests in those years.

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Father Michael J. McGivney Biography Reveals Extraordinary Life and Times, January 18, 2006

By	Louis Muro "Louis" (Adamsville, AL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The new biography on the life of the founder of the Knights of Columbus reveals the importance of the parish priest in the Catholic community and paints a picture of Father Michael McGivney as an innovator, a man of compassion and a man who was beloved by all of his parishioners during his short lifetime.

Father McGivney's obsession to do something about the hardships suffered by Catholic families would define his short life and eventually lead the Catholic Church to consider him for sainthood.

While Father McGivney is the founder of the Knights of Columbus, the world's largest Catholic men's fraternal organization, this book is not primarily about the founding of the Knights. This work centers on the extraordinary role of the parish priest in the Roman Catholic community, its importance in the history of our nation, and the relevance of McGivney, not just as a Catholic historical figure, but as a long-overlooked American historical figure.

Michael McGivney was born and lived during a time when prejudice against Catholics was accepted in American society. It was also a time when immigrants from poverty-stricken Ireland came to the United States by the thousands. McGivney's father, Patrick, was one of those. The immigrant explosion created a very real burden on the Catholic Church to provide enough priests to take care of the needs of its exploding parish populations.

It was also an era when disease was rampant and family members of all ages could suddenly be struck down and die within just a few weeks or even days. The sudden death of loved ones is a constant occurrence in this biography and had a great impact on how McGivney viewed the world. His mother and father had 14 children but only seven lived past infancy. While living his lifelong dream of studying for the priesthood in the seminary, McGivney was forced to drop out when his father Patrick died suddenly. There was no money for tuition and he returned to his home in Waterbury, Connecticut.

But the grace of God intervened in the form of Bishop Francis McFarland. He knew about Michael McGivney and his great promise as a Priest and he arranged for the young man to finish his seminary work on scholarship.

Once he became a priest and assigned as an assistant pastor at St. Mary's in New Haven, Father McGivney again saw sickness and death up close. The pastor, Father Patrick Murphy, became very ill, forcing the young priest to take over the day-to-day duties of running St. Mary's.

Father McGivney was a very popular figure at St. Mary's. Children, teenagers and adults all loved him. He was an activist and involved in every aspect of parish life.

With poverty facing many immigrant families, such as the Downes family, Father McGivney knew that something had to be done. Only five percent of women worked at that time and the death of the father and husband usually meant poverty for the rest of the family.

His idea for a Catholic fraternal organization was revolutionary in many ways. During a time when "secret societies" were flourishing, Father McGivney envisioned a society that was not secret and more of a civic organization. He felt that it had to be separate from the Church and run by lay people.

Establishment of the organization was not smooth. Infighting ensued and at one point some members quit (but later returned). Even Father McGivney at one point thought of quitting his role as Secretary and Chaplain. He was concerned that the members were losing sight of the main issue: taking care of Catholic families.

Brinkley and Fenster write, "Father McGivney's role was to keep the founders from losing sight of the horizon, with all of their picayune disputes over regalia and colors-and which one among them wasn't pulling his weight."

The organization finally began to take off when a council in nearby Meriden was formed. Father McGivney's last act before his death at age 38 was to travel to Providence, Rhode Island to establish the first council outside the state of Connecticut.

By 1888 the Knights of Columbus had 4,020 members in 43 councils. At the time of Father McGivney's death, there were 6,000 members. Today, Knights number more than 1.7 million in more than 12,000 councils throughout the world.

In 1997, the process of canonization for Father Michael J.. McGivney was initiated. If sainthood comes, Father McGivney would be the first American-born parish priest to be canonized.

For American Catholics, this book will be a joy to read, especially for those with immigrant roots and who will be able to identify with the people who lived during those times. Little information was known about Michael J. McGivney prior to the publishing of this book. But these historians have done extensive research and uncovered much valuable information on a very important subject.

The authors sum up their purpose in writing this book and why the documentation of such a life as Father Michael McGivney is important: "It is not our purpose as historians to weigh in on whether Father Michael J. McGivney deserves sainthood. That is best left in the hands of the Roman Catholic Church. What we do know, however, is that McGivney has a place even beyond Catholic history. The day is not far off when books of general American history will carry his name in the index, with space devoted to his influence over the development of American values and character."

As a Knight of Columbus myself for 15 years and a current Grand Knight of our council, I had litle information on Father McGivney prior to the publishing of this book. Reading Father McGivney's story and learning about his vision for the Knights has reinforced my pride in being a Knight and a Catholic.