Pope Francis has announced the ‘Year of St. Joseph.’
The Holy Father’s decision marked the second surprise to faithful on this Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, following first his 7am visit to central Rome’s Spanish Steps to entrust the city and world to the Blessed Virgin.
Within a few hours, the Holy See Press Office would publish the Apostolic Letter “Patris corde – With the heart of a Father,’ which commemorates the 150th anniversary of the declaration of Saint Joseph as Patron of the universal Church.
For the occasion, a special “Year of St. Joseph” will be held from today through Dec. 8, 2021.
To Read or download the full text as a PDF Click Here:
Pope Francis writes concerning St. Joseph: “I would like to share some personal reflections on this
extraordinary figure, so close to our own human experience. For, as Jesus says, “out of the
abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Mt 12:34).
My desire to do so increased during these months of pandemic, when we experienced, amid the crisis, how “our lives are woven together and sustained by ordinary people, people often overlooked. People who do not appear in newspaper and magazine headlines, or on the latest television show, yet in these very days are
surely shaping the decisive events of our history.
Doctors, nurses, storekeepers and supermarket workers, cleaning personnel, caregivers, transport workers, men and women working to provide essential services and public safety, volunteers, priests, men and women religious, and so very many others. They understood that no one is saved alone… How many people daily exercise patience and offer hope, taking care to spread not panic, but shared responsibility. How many
fathers, mothers, grandparents and teachers are showing our children, in small everyday ways,
how to accept and deal with a crisis by adjusting their routines, looking ahead and encouraging the
practice of prayer. How many are praying, making sacrifices and interceding for the good of all”.[6]
Each of us can discover in Joseph – the man who goes unnoticed, a daily, discreet and hidden
presence – an intercessor, a support and a guide in times of trouble. Saint Joseph reminds us that
those who appear hidden or in the shadows can play an incomparable role in the history of
salvation. A word of recognition and of gratitude is due to them all.“