Confessor of Souls
Fr. McGivney always put his priestly work of celebrating the Mass and the sacraments, of ministering directly to his people, before everything else. His abundant charity flowed from his daily Mass, his personal prayer and frequent confession.
Fr. McGivney’s priestly mission was primarily spiritual. Even his works of charity, particularly his monumental task of establishing the Knights of Columbus, had as their source and goal a life of eternal communion with God. Concern for the widow and orphan, and for the moral well-being of young Catholics, was not simply an expression of Fr. McGivney’s desire to build a better world (though build mightily he did). His primary concern was to prepare his people for heaven.