[4] McDevitt taught history at Lincoln Junior High School in Malden, and was then made principal on December 17, 1935.
[6] In 1932, McDevitt joined the Santa Maria Council of the Knights of Columbus in Malden.
[4] McDevitt was largely responsible for getting a law passed by the Great and General Court of Massachusetts allowing fraternal societies such as the Knights of Columbus to sell insurance in the Commonwealth.
In 1973, after the Roe v. Wade ruling, the Supreme Convention passed a resolution supporting an anti-abortion constitutional amendment.
McDevitt denounced Roe v. Wade as "shocking and unfortunate", and urged councils to take local action to "offset the harmful effects of this lamentable decision."
[3][7] Pope Paul also placed McDevitt on the advisory board for Vatican City and gave him several other honors.
In 1998, after his death, the delegates at the Supreme Council meeting established a scholarship fund in his name.