- Michael will you sing us a song?
(mumbles)
- [Woman] Sing "Hail Mary"
♪ Hail Mary ♪
♪ Full of grace ♪
- God writes the best stories
and we didn't realize what he was doing in our lives
or what he was doing in the world
while this was going on.
Only looking back on it did we see all of those things
that lined up to bring us to this day,
and we sit there with our mouth hanging open.
- Michael, he's always been a miracle to us,
we've always called him a miracle,
but then there's a part of you that doesn't realize
the gravity of the miracle.
- You can tell that God is a real player in their family,
He's not a hobby,
He's actually a person who lives in their house with them.
- I started with the Knights in 2005
and I decided I would look into being
a Knights of Columbus Insurance agent
after reading "Parish Priest."
Because I really felt like coming into this business,
I have to be an apostle Father McGivney.
Latching onto his mission and seeing how important it was
that we take care of Catholic families.
And that's when our family kind of started developing
a devotion to Father McGivney.
It was December 31st, that we had the ultrasound
that revealed the Down syndrome.
We didn't have a problem with the Down syndrome at all.
In fact, I told Michelle, I said,
what a blessing for our children to be able to grow up
around someone like that.
We were advised that we probably needed
to get some additional testing done.
They shuffled us into a small room,
pulled the ultrasound up on the screen,
showing us how his body looked like
it was completely full of fluid, like a little balloon.
He said, well, this is gonna be terminal.
He has fetal hydrops diagnosis,
you have basically two options.
One would be to go ahead and terminate the pregnancy now,
or you can wait for him to die on his own,
and then we'll just induce a stillbirth labor.
- The day that I was given 0% chance of the baby surviving,
I kneeled down and I told God, if you let him die,
I will still love you Lord,
but it'll take me a while to forgive you,
but I promise to still love you.
- I kind of just had an agony in the garden moment
and I said, Father McGivney if you'll pray for him,
then we will change his name
and I will name him after you.
Every year the Knights of Columbus puts on an incentive trip
for their agents.
So in January of 2014, it was announced
that we were going with a pilgrimage to Fatima.
- So they had told me that they were there praying
for the health of their baby,
and that would probably require a miracle.
So praying, especially to Father Michael J. McGivney
for that made perfect sense to me.
- Daniel and I asked all of our friends that were close
to please pray through the intercession of Father McGivney
on the day that we were in Fatima.
I just kept thinking, Lord, let this baby be the miracle!
If he's Father McGivney's miracle, then he will live.
- The reading of the day it just hit us both pretty hard,
when Jesus says to the man that comes
and asks him to heal his son,
"Go forth your son will live."
I remember looking at Michelle with my mouth hanging open,
thinking, wow, how powerful is that!
- Physically, I felt like a veil was lifted.
The brokenness in my heart was softened
probably from the words,
"You may go in peace, your son will live."
Then we came home and I went to the appointment
for the ultrasound to see where the baby was.
- She came in and read the ultrasound
and everything looked like a normal Down syndrome baby,
and that's when the doctor realized
and had to flip through the charts and say,
"Oh, I know who you are now."
She didn't realize from looking at the ultrasound
that we were the family with hydrops.
That is the moment where you have to acknowledge
that something has happened here that was miraculous.
- When doctor printed off one of the little sheets
on ultrasound she said,
"Look at this picture of this baby,
"this is the prettiest baby I have ever seen in my life."
- He was born on May 15th,
and that is actually the day that council one
of the Knights of Columbus was founded.
- And then the first doctor who told me
that Michael wouldn't live came in
and I never will forget as long as I live.
She said, "Michelle, I never thought we would be here,
"it has been the honor of my life to deliver
"your little precious baby."
- I think there are times in your life you think
you've seen a miracle.
And when somebody tells you that you have
it's even more special.
And he is a miracle
in a lot of ways,
but he came to the right family.
- I think Michael definitely has changed our family
for the better.
He's taught us how to love someone
who doesn't have to earn your love.
I think he's taught us how to help people who are helpless,
and he's just brought so much joy to our family
and everything that he does.
(bright upbeat music)
- I just walked downstairs one day
and everyone was all screaming like, oh, it's approved.
It's still mind blowing to me that the Pope approved it,
that God used our family in this way.
Like, I can't even comprehend all of the people
that this could touch and help out,
and it's just really amazing.
- If there's a child that Father McGivney would wanna help,
this is the one, he's the youngest of 13,
Father McGivney was the oldest of 13.
The Knights of Columbus is very deep into the movement
of those with special needs.
He's one of the most loving children I've ever seen.
And he has true joy that makes everyone feel loved.
- God wrote this story.
God chooses the miracles,
God chooses who is beatified.
He chooses who is canonized.
He wants Father McGivney to be honored,
and so he shall be.
(bright upbeat music)