Doctor John McDevitt was the eleventh Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus

Knights of Columbus

The Knights of Columbus is the world's largest Catholic fraternal service organization. Founded in the United States in 1882, it is named in honor of Christopher Columbus....

 from 1964 to 1977.

Dr. McDevitt was the Superintendent of Schools in Waltham

Waltham, Massachusetts

Waltham is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, was an early center for the labor movement, and major contributor to the American Industrial Revolution. The original home of the Boston Manufacturing Company, the city was a prototype for 19th century industrial city planning,...

, Massachusetts from 1942 to 1960. The School Street Middle School was named after him in Waltham.

He was elected the eleventh Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus in 1964 and in 1971 was honored by Pope Paul VI

Pope Paul VI

Paul VI , born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding Pope John XXIII, who had convened the Second Vatican Council, he decided to continue it...

 with the Order of Pius IX

Order of Pius IX

The Order of Pius IX , also referred as the Pian Order , is a Papal order of knighthood founded on 17 June 1847 by Pope Pius IX.-Classes:The Order comprises five classes:...

, the highest papal honor which can be conferred on a Catholic layman who is not a head of state.

In 1998 after his death the Delegates at the Supreme Council meeting established a scholarship fund in his name.