Beatification Mass of Father McGivney | October 31, 2020

As we celebrate All Saints Day, we especially give thanks for the Beatification of Blessed Michael McGivney, founder of the Knights of Columbus who own and operate the Saint John Paul II National Shrine. Venerable Michael McGivney will be beatified on October 31, 2020 at Saint Joseph’s Cathedral in Hartford, Connecticut. Beatification is the penultimate stage in the process of a cause for canonization. After a candidate has been declared a Venerable Servant of God, a miracle attributed to the intercession of the candidate for sainthood must be documented, studied by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, determined to be medically inexplicable by a board of impartial medical experts, and approved by the pope. The title Blessed is bestowed on the holy person, who is then accorded limited liturgical rites, usually with a date being added on the calendar of a diocese or region, such as an entire nation. A Blessed, however, is not given a feast day for veneration by the universal Church until canonization. Father McGivney was recognized as a Servant of God when the Vatican accepted his cause for canonization in September 1997. The cause was officially opened on Dec.18 of that year by Archbishop Daniel A. Cronin of Hartford, upon the request of then-Supreme Knight Virgil C. Dechant, and the Knights of Columbus became the “actor,” or promoter, in the cause. The Archdiocese of Hartford compiled all historical records pertaining to Father McGivney’s life and reputation for holiness and virtue. Father Gabriel B. O’Donnell, O.P., was appointed as the postulator to oversee the cause and prepare a Positio—a 1,000-page document that makes the case for Father McGivney’s canonization. After exhaustive study of the Positio by the Vatican’s Congregation for the Causes of Saints, Pope Benedict XVI authorized a decree recognizing Father McGivney’s heroic virtue on March 15, 2008. This decree advanced Father McGivney to the next stage of the canonization process as a Venerable Servant of God, stating, in part: “Concerning the theological virtues of Faith, Hope, and Love both toward God and neighbor as well as the cardinal virtues of Prudence, Justice, Temperance, and Fortitude, and those others joined to them, they existed to a heroic degree in the Servant of God Michael McGivney, Diocesan Priest and Founder of the Fraternal Order the Knights of Columbus.” On May 26, 2020, Pope Francis approved a miracle attributed to the intercession of Father McGivney, opening the way for him to be beatified, after which time he will be known as Blessed Michael McGivney. The beatification ceremony will take place Oct. 31 in the Cathedral of Saint Joseph in Hartford. Another approved miracle is required for Father McGivney to be canonized, at which time he would be enrolled as a saint of the Catholic Church. The second miracle must occur after the decree recognizing the first miracle. Those who are devoted to Father McGivney are asked to pray to him in times of need and to report any favors received through his intercession to the Father McGivney Guild. Permission to podcast / stream the music in this service obtained from ONE LICENSE with license # A-726735. All rights reserved. - - - - - - - - - - - - Subscribe to our channel here: https://www.youtube.com/c/SaintJohnPa... Stay connected on social media: @jp2shrine   / jp2shrine     / jp2shrine     / jp2shrine   Visit us at: http://jp2shrine.org Plan your visit on Trip Advisor: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractio...