Father Michael McGivney was born in Waterbury on August 12, 1852, the oldest of thirteen children of Irish immigrants Patrick and Mary (Lynch) McGivney. Michael learned early about sorrow and the harsh grip of poverty as well as love, faith, and family fortitude. Six of his siblings died in infancy or childhood. He left school at the age of thirteen to provide his family extra income. He worked in the spoon making department of a brass factory. When he reached the age of sixteen, he traveled to Quebec, Canada with his Waterbury pastor and registered at the French-run College of St. Hyacinthe. He worked hard on subjects that would prepare him to apply for seminary admission with the priesthood clearly in mind. Michael studied two additional years at Our Lady of Angels Seminary in Niagara Falls, New York. He then moved to Montreal to attend seminary classes at the Jesuit-run St. Mary's College.

When his father died in June of 1873, Michael went home for the funeral. Concerned for his family's welfare, he lingered awhile in Waterbury. Then, at the request of the bishop of Hartford, he entered St. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore, Maryland. On December 22, 1877, Fr. Michael J. McGivney was ordained in Baltimore's historic Cathedral of the Assumption by Archbishop (later Cardinal) James Gibbons. A few days later, he said his first Mass at Immaculate Conception Church in Waterbury. Father McGivney began his priestly ministry on Christmas Day in 1877 as curate at St. Mary's Church in New Haven. It was the city's first established parish. A stone church had been newly built after the old wooden structure was destroyed by fire. The new sanctuary stood in one of New Haven's finest residential streets, Hillhouse Avenue. There was neighborhood objection over the parishes location. Even the New York Times noted the protest in 1879, under the headline: "How An Aristocratic Avenue Was Blemished By A Roman Church Edifice." Father McGivney's priestly ministry in New Haven began with tension and defensiveness among the working-class Irish families he served.

In the late 19th century, Catholics were the despised minority in the United States. The populace and government allowed and in some cases encouraged the systematic exclusion of Catholics from the nation's protective laws. A country which had been discovered, explored, and colonized by Catholics denied them the enjoyment of its blessings. It was an era when Catholics held the most menial and dangerous jobs and received the lowest pay. Catholic families were often left penniless if the main income provider fell ill or died. It was a time when the country's insurance companies refused to sell insurance protection to Catholics.

Father McGivney worked closely with the young people of St. Mary's parish, holding catechism classes and organizing a total abstinence society to fight alcoholism. In 1881, he began to explore the idea of a Catholic, fraternal benefit society with various laymen. In an era when parish clubs and fraternal societies had wide popular appeal, the young priest felt there should be some way to strengthen religious faith while providing for the financial needs of families overwhelmed by illness or death. He discussed this concept with Bishop Lawrence McMahon of Hartford, and received the bishop's approval. Father McGivney traveled to Boston to talk with the Massachusetts Catholic Order of Foresters, and to Brooklyn to consult the Catholic Benevolent Legion. He met with other priests of the diocese. Wherever he could, he sought information that would help the Catholic laymen to organize themselves into a benefit society.

William Geary, one of the Order's charter members, said that at the first council meeting in 1882, that Father McGivney was "acclaimed as founder by 24 men with hearts full of joy and thanksgiving, recognizing that without his optimism, his will to succeed, his counsel and advice they would have failed." Father McGivney had suggested "Sons of Columbus" as a name for the new Order. This would bind Catholicism and Americanism together through the faith and bold vision of the New World's discoverer. The word "knights" replaced "sons" because key members of the organizing group who were Irish-born Civil War veterans, felt it would help to apply a noble ritual in support of the emerging cause of Catholic civil liberty.

In the first public reference to the Order on February 8, 1882, the New Haven Morning Journal and Courier said the Knights of Columbus' initial meeting had been held the night before. On March 29, the Connecticut legislature granted a charter to the Knights of Columbus, formally establishing it as a legal corporation. The Order's principles in 1882 were "Unity" and "Charity." The concepts of "Fraternity" and "Patriotism" were added later. Each of these ideals played a major role in Ceremonials from the beginning. "The Columbus-linked themes," says historian Christopher J. Kauffman, "reverberated with pride in the American promise of liberty, equality and opportunity." 

In April of 1882, Father McGivney, with the permission of Bishop McMahon, wrote to all the pastors of the Diocese of Hartford. He wrote that the Order's primary objective was to dissuade Catholics from joining non-sanctioned, secret societies, such as the Free Masons, by providing them better advantages at times of death or sickness. He urged each pastor to exert influence "in the formation of a Council in your parish." Father McGivney personally installed the first officers of San Salvador Council No. 1 in New Haven, in May of 1882.

By May 1883, Council No. 2 had been instituted in Meriden, Connecticut. Bishop McMahon, so impressed with the organization, became a member of Council No. 11 in 1884, and served as council chaplain. By the end of 1885, there were 31 councils in Connecticut.

Father McGivney's dedication to the Order was evidenced in trips he made to all parts of Connecticut and in handwritten correspondence about "K of C" business. Unfortunately, little of these correspondences survive. At St. Mary's, he continued serving as the energetic curate with constant concern for every parishioner's problems. Then in November of 1884, he was named pastor of St. Thomas Church in Thomaston, Connecticut, a factory town 10 miles from his hometown. It was a factory parish, heavily in debt, serving working-class parishioners with few resources beyond their faith. His New Haven parishioners, declared that despite burdens and afflictions, his courtesy, his kindness, and the purity of his life had "secured the love and confidence of the people of St. Mary's, which will follow him in every future field of labor." With prayerful acceptance, Father McGivney put his seven years at St. Mary's behind him.

In six subsequent years at St. Thomas, he wrestled with the church debt and built the same close ties of devotion and charitable concern he had developed in New Haven. He continued to serve the Knights of Columbus as supreme chaplain, personally involved in helping the Order to extend its membership into Rhode Island. From 1901 to 1939, his younger brothers, Monsignors Patrick and John J. McGivney, also served the Order as supreme chaplains.

Never robust in health, Father McGivney was suddenly stricken with a serious case of pneumonia in January 1890. Despite various treatments for consumptive, the illness continued to grip Father McGivney. His health steadily declined. The young priest lost physical strength just as the Order he founded was moving toward new vitality. On August 14, 1890, Father Michael J. McGivney died at the age of 38. In his thirteen brief years as a priest, Father McGivney's piety and compassion had won the love of those whom he served as curate and pastor. His Christian inspiration, leadership and administrative drive had brought him the loyalty and affection of thousands who knew him as the founder of the Knights of Columbus.

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