HADDONFIELD – More than 100 people recently came together to venerate a first-class relic of Blessed Father Michael J. McGivney and ask for intercessory prayers of the Knights of Columbus’ founder.
“The lives of holy women and men like Michael McGivney, who made God the center of his life, encourage us to do the same,” said Dolores Mozzillo, director of religious education at Christ the King Parish. The church hosted a Votive Mass on April 26 that was celebrated by Father Walter Norris, a retired priest of the Diocese.
PHOTO GALLERY: Father McGivney Relic
Mozzillo helped organize the Mass and visit of the relic, which arrived in mid-April from the Knights of Columbus Supreme Council in New Haven, Conn. In addition to the Mass, the relic was present during a prayer service held April 27 at the church for a parishioner with cancer. It was also present during a prayer service for an ill Knights of Columbus member at his nursing home. Both prayer services were led by Father Norris.
Raymond Sands, New Jersey State Deputy for the Knights of Columbus, was among those at the Votive Mass. “We gather tonight to request our founder’s miraculous intervention to heal physical and psychological ailments,” he said.
The Catholic Church declared Father McGivney “blessed” in October 2020 after a miracle was attributed to him concerning the health of a boy in his mother’s womb. Blessed McGivney is now one step from canonization as a saint. For more information, visit fathermcgivney.org.