IWKnights Corner for September 25, 2022 — 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time      

Did you know this about the IW Knights of Columbus? 

The Knights of Columbus held our 140th Supreme Convention early in August in Nashville TN.  We continue with a review of the Order’s annual resolutions.  The following resolution is entitled: RESOLUTION HONORING THE ORDER OF PREACHERS.  However, space limitations preclude publishing the entire document – several of the WHEREAS paragraphs have been omitted - see the final paragraph below to find the links to view the full article.

WHEREAS, in 1886, the Most Reverend Lawrence S. McMahon, Bishop of Hartford, entreated the Province of St. Joseph of the Order of Preachers to take on the administration of the parish where Father Michael J. McGivney founded the Knights of Columbus four years earlier, writing to the Dominican superiors that it was “advisable in the interest of the ‘Catholic’ religion to establish a religious community over the Church and Congregation of St. Mary’s, New Haven, CT” and declaring, “I hereby offer your Order as a new foundation in the diocese of Hartford… [and] I will notify the local clergy that your Fathers will take possession of the Church on or before Sunday May 16^th”; and

WHEREAS, the Dominican Friars were close spiritual companions to Father McGivney during his life, so much so that a Dominican priest preached at the Requiem Mass following his death on August 14, 1890, when our Founder was vested in a Dominican Scapular before his burial; and

WHEREAS, for 135 years, the Dominican Friars served as faithful pastors of St. Mary’s Church, practicing the care of souls to all who came to the church or sought spiritual guidance and temporal assistance at the Dominican Priory; and

WHEREAS, the Dominican Friars have, from the beginning of their presence in New Haven, served as spiritual fathers for the Knights of Columbus at the birthplace of the Order and later at the Supreme Council’s headquarters; and

WHEREAS, a Dominican priest, Father James J. Cunningham, O.P., pastor of St. Mary’s from 1979 to 1985, rendered invaluable service during the Order’s centennial in 1982, opening the church to special Masses and welcoming Knights from many different states, as well as providing spiritual guidance for the transfer of the earthly remains of Father McGivney to the granite sarcophagus near the entrance of the church, and serving as a witness to the sacred proceedings; and…

WHEREAS, Father John Paul Walker, O.P., the last Dominican Pastor of St. Mary’s Church from 2015 to 2021, was a steadfast friend to the Order who cared for souls and families in the finest traditions of our Founder, who also guided the artistic restoration of the Order’s Mother Church, hosted the 138^th and 139^th Supreme Conventions held virtually in New Haven amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and whose efforts made possible the return of San Salvador Council No. 1 to St. Mary’s Parish after forty years through the merger of Council No. 10705 and Council No. 1, returning Father McGivney’s own council to its historic home after a decades long absence; and

WHEREAS, in December 2021, the Dominican Friars concluded their historic ministry at St. Mary’s Parish at the request of the Archbishop of Hartford, occasioned by the Archdiocese’s plan of municipal parish consolidation in the City of New Haven under the pastor-ship of diocesan priests based at St. Mary’s;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Supreme Officers, Supreme Directors and all Knights throughout the Order extend their heartfelt and prayerful appreciation to the Dominican Friars for their long- standing, steadfast friendship and spiritual fatherhood to us and to all the faithful in New Haven; and

FURTHER RESOLVED, that we look forward to continued collaboration with the Dominican Friars in New Haven and beyond through their ministry of preaching, for the good of the Order, the Church and the world.

     The above column originally appeared on the KofC.org web site.  You can view the entire article or find more information about the IW Knights on IWKnights9981.com/bulletin on facebook.com/IWknights9981 and NOW on Twitter at twitter.com/IwKnights or by contacting Rob Schultz at (314) 973-2373.

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