Knights of Columbus founder Blessed McGivney honored with a park in Parañaque

October 16, 2021. It was a sunny Saturday morning for Knights of Columbus' Council 7147 of the Resurrection of Our Lord Parish at BF Homes in Parañaque City. At last! the lockdown was lifted and the face-to-face celebration of Blessed Michael J. McGivney Day was allowed by the local government.

Although the celebration was delayed it was a monumental milestone for the Council 7147. The highlight of the program was the inauguration and dedication of the Blessed Michael J. McGivney Plaza. It prominently overlooks the Resurrection of Our Lord parish and is oriented toward its facade. Parish priest Fr. Lamberto Legaspino, the council chaplain, was assisted by Fr. Robert Banas in the blessing of the park and the statue of concrete rendered in bright gold color. Several past Grand Knights were in attendance as well as some of the newer recruits of Council 7147.

The Blessed Michael J. McGivney Plaza represents the collective effort of the officers and members of Council 7147 to honor its beloved founder. This is a project initiated by Past Grand Knight Patricio Nilo Erni, from the previous Columbian Year 2020-21 and was the priority project of Grant Knight Emmanuel Malinao of the current Columbian Year.

The completion of the Blessed Michael J. McGivney was a combined effort of the BMJM Committee headed by PGK Eduardo Banes; the Infrastructure Committee headed by PGK Rodulfo Diaz and Sir Knight Victor Buitizon; and members who contributed their time, efforts, resources and abilities.

The Philippines is the most predominantly Catholic nation in Asia, and third worldwide with an estimated 85 million, or 81% of its population who profess the faith. It will celebrate its 500 years of Christianity in March of 2022. The Blessed Michael J. McGivney Plaza is a testament to Council 7147’s commitment to supporting its home parish which will mark its 50th foundation anniversary in February 2022.

The Knights of Columbus established its Philippine presence in 1905, due to the efforts of some Catholic servicemen from its American occupation.

It was the Brooklyn-born Jesuit, now a Servant of God, Fr. George Willman, however, who cemented its organization after World War II with his leadership. He is acknowledged as the “Father of the Knights of Columbus in the Philippines.”

Fr. George died in the United States on Sept. 14, 1977. He requested that his remains were to be repatriated and buried at the Jesuit Cemetery in Novaliches, Quezon City. He had been granted citizenship on July 1, 1975, for his “virtuous acts, compassionate and loving service to the Filipino people.” Perhaps, a plaque in his honor will someday soon be placed on a wall of the Michael J. McGivney Plaza.

It is only befitting that Council 7147 immortalizes the originator of our order as we celebrate his life, achievements and sacrifices and prepare for his canonization. It is of great importance that we as Knights by this statue share in our community the knowledge, the story and the life of this person who unselfishly served his community during his time and lived by the principles of the order, a true model for our times, as the display at the plaza reads.

While what the Council 7147 has now is only a new concrete monument to honor our founder, it is the council’s hopes, dreams, and aspirations for its present membership, that plaza will be the venue of the "Faith in Action" programs led by DGK Eduardo Akiate. 

More importantly, we dedicate, and we consecrate this monument and its surroundings, that forever after now that it was blessed by the Resurrection of Our Lord Parish. We dedicate and consecrate it to the Knights that have gone before us and to the Knights that will come after us; we most fervently pray for the generation yet to come, will also honor Blessed Michael in their conduct as true and practicing Catholic gentlemen, that in their “Service to One and Service to All," they will always serve in faithfulness to the four pillar advocacies of our order: charity, unity, fraternity and patriotism.