Blessed Michael J. McGivney, founder of the Knights of Columbus, almost didn’t become a priest. His father died while he was in seminary, and the need for young Michael McGivney to step into the role of financially supporting his mother and family would have meant abandoning his pursuit of the priesthood. That would have meant that the Catholic fraternal organization he founded as a young parish priest in Connecticut would never have existed.
Fortunately, the bishop of Hartford at the time, seeing great potential in the young, bereaved seminarian, stepped in and provided a scholarship.
Today, the Knights of Columbus are actively supporting seminarians and religious, many of whom could use a little financial help in their path toward priesthood or consecrated life.
A program that the Knights launched in 1981, in response to a “vocations crisis” that was plaguing the Church in North America in the years after the Second Vatican Council, is still going. And the Knights announced this week that it has reached a milestone.
The program is known as the Refund Support Vocations Program (RSVP), and throughout the United States and Canada, local councils have helped to donate more than $100 million directly to seminarians, postulants, and novices.
“RSVP encourages Knights to stand in solidarity with men and women pursuing religious vocations by providing financial, moral, and spiritual support,” the Knights said in a statement November 8. “Last year, more than 2,700 local councils donated $4.1 million, an all-time high since the program began.”
Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly stated, “For more than 40 years, RSVP has supported tens of thousands of men and women as they answer the Lord’s call to serve the Church and the people of God. Our support for vocations speaks to the love Knights of Columbus have for the Eucharist, our parishes, and the Church.”
Were it not for the Hartford, Connecticut, bishop who stepped in to support Blessed Michael McGivney during his own formation, Kelly said, “the Knights of Columbus would not exist. So RSVP and our other vocation scholarships are really our way of paying that forward, and supporting the next generation of priests and religious.”
Through RSVP, for every $500 that a local council provides to a seminarian, postulant, or novice, the Knights of Columbus Supreme Council refunds to the council $100 (up to $400 for $2,000 donated) as an incentive. The council must also provide non-financial support such as correspondence, personal visits to the seminary or religious residence, or an invitation to the seminarian, postulant, or novice to attend a council event. Councils and their members have formed strong and long-lasting bonds with thousands of priests and religious thanks to RSVP.
Councils and Fourth Degree assemblies raise funds through a variety of ways, such as pancake breakfasts, fish fries, bottle collections, and direct donations.
