Keeping the Faith
Father McGivney not only lived a life devoted to the Catholic faith; he also focused all his spiritual, mental and physical energies on helping others persevere and grow in that faith, and he guarded against whatever might diminish the practice of Catholicism.
For Father McGivney’s newly formed Knights, protecting the faith of Catholics was the prime concern, and this quickly took three forms.
First, the Knights would serve as an antidote to those secret societies that lured Catholic men away from their faith by offering financial benefits.
Second, the Order’s insurance program would help keep Catholic families together when a breadwinner died; this would also help prevent a loss of faith among widows and orphans forced to live in state institutions or with non-Catholic relatives or adoptive families.
Third, the Knights would champion the full rights of American citizenship for Catholics. This, too, would support the Church, since ensuring equal rights for Catholics would help limit the social or civil pressure on them to abandon their faith.
