Father McGivney was assigned as curate (assistant) of St. Mary's Church, the first Catholic parish in the busy port city of New Haven. There he faced challenges related to a priest shortage, parish debt, illnesses, and hostility toward Catholics. The church became a lightning rod for anti-Catholic derision, expressed in a New York Times headline, “How an Aristocratic Avenue Was Blemished by a Roman Church Edifice.” Against this backdrop, Father McGivney navigated relationships with non-Catholics gracefully, while striving to prevent the culture’s hostility from eroding the faith of his people.
Sought out for his wise counsel, and instrumental in a number of conversions to Catholicism, Father McGivney had a gift for touching hearts and leading souls to God.
In a notable case that gained widespread press coverage, he ministered to James “Chip” Smith, a 21-year-old Catholic who was on death row for shooting and killing a police officer while drunk. Father McGivney visited the condemned man daily to offer guidance, prayer and Mass in the city jail over many months, with a profound effect. The young man’s change of heart was so marked that local newspapers hailed Father McGivney’s ministry.
After Mass on execution day, the priest's grief was profound. Smith comforted him, saying, “Father, your saintly ministrations have enabled me to meet death without a tremor. Do not fear for me, I must not break down now.” Father McGivney walked with him to the end, leading him in prayer and blessing him at the scaffold.
‘A Man of the People’
With a priestly heart, he accompanied those of all ages and walks of life in their suffering and uncertainty, and found practical ways to address their needs. While his first concern was always the faith of his flock, he was attuned to familial, social, financial, civic and societal issues as well. His strong, serene demeanor spoke both of God’s law and mercy, and people were naturally drawn to his reserved yet welcoming manner. Intent on building a dynamic parish for his hard-working and largely poor flock, he staged parish plays, outings and fairs, and he revitalized a group dedicated to overcoming alcoholism within his community.
According to one of his contemporaries, Father McGivney’s “life was an open book, whose pages all might read, and the influences that radiated from his active, energetic and zealous personality, brought many a poor wanderer to the house of God, back to the faith of his childhood, and to the sacred tribunal of penance, where with faith, contrition and humility, he became reconciled to his Heavenly Father. Father McGivney was nothing, if not active. His energy was restless, ever seeking new outlets, and to this disposition are we indebted for the existence of the Knights of Columbus.”
In an article titled “The Personality of Father McGivney,” a fellow priest described his demeanor in almost mystical terms: “It was a ‘priest’s face’ and that explains everything. It was a face of wonderful repose. There was nothing harsh in that countenance although there was everything that was strong.” In a similar vein, a layman wrote of how Father McGivney’s steady and reassuring voice attracted even some non-Catholics to the church to hear him preach.
A man of strategic vision, Father McGivney worked closely with the city’s leading Catholic men, whom he gathered in the basement of St. Mary’s Church to explore the idea of a Catholic fraternal benefit society. The new Order would help men keep their faith; make the case that one could be both a good Catholic and a good American citizen; and provide financial help for families who had lost a breadwinner to stay together, thereby not only protecting their temporal well-being but also helping them avoid a disbanding that could erode their faith as well.
In the words of one parishioner, “He was a man of the people. He was zealous of the people’s welfare, and all the kindliness of his priestly soul asserted itself more strongly in his unceasing efforts for the betterment of their condition.”
Having created a thriving parish community, when Father McGivney was transferred from St. Mary’s Parish in New Haven to become pastor of St. Thomas Parish in Thomaston, the grief among his parishioners was palpable. A journalist covering his last Mass at St. Mary’s described the scene: “Never, it seemed, was a congregation so affected by the parting address of a clergyman as the great audience which filled St. Mary’s yesterday. Some of those present wept aloud and others sobbed audibly.”