Year of St. Joseph

Hail, Guardian of the Redeemer,
Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
To you God entrusted his only Son;
in you Mary placed her trust;
with you Christ became man.

Blessed Joseph, to us too,
show yourself a father
and guide us in the path of life.
Obtain for us grace, mercy, and courage,
and defend us from every evil.  Amen.

 

 

Church grants plenary indulgence for the year of St. Joseph

Individual Consecration to St. Joseph

 

Suggested Articles

 

Suggested Books

 

Videos

 

Lay Groups and Initiatives

 

Saints’ Quotes on Saint Joseph 

(please note, not all are cited)

Saints

  • Saint Alphonsus Liguori – “We should, indeed, honor St. Joseph, since the Son of God Himself was graciously pleased to honor him by calling him father…If, then, the King of Kings was pleased to raise Joseph to so high a dignity, it is right and obligatory on our part to endeavor to honor him as much as we can.”
  • Bernadette Soubirous – “If anyone cannot find a master to teach him how to pray, let him take this glorious saint as his master, and he will not go astray.”
  • Saint Bernard of Clairvaux – “St. Joseph was chosen among all men, to be the protector and guardian of the Virgin Mother of God; the defender and foster-father of the Infant-God, and the only co-operator upon earth, the one confidant of the secret of God in the work of the redemption of mankind.”
  • Saint Bernardine of Siena – “He was chosen by the eternal Father as the trustworthy guardian and protector of his greatest treasures, namely, his divine Son and Mary, Joseph’s wife. He carried out this vocation with complete fidelity until at last God called him, saying: ‘Good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Lord.”
  • Saint Faustina Kowalska – “St. Joseph urged me to have a constant devotion to him. He himself told me to recite three prayers [the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory be] and the Memorare once every day. He looked at me with great kindness and gave me to know how much he is supporting this work [of mercy]. He has promised me this special help and protection. I recite the requested prayers every day and feel his special protection.”
  • Saint Gregory Nazianzus – “The Lord has arrayed Joseph, like with a sun, in all which the saints possess together in regard to light and splendor.”
  • Pope Saint John Paul II – “Saint Joseph was a just man, a tireless worker, the upright guardian of those entrusted to his care. May he always guard, protect and enlighten families.”
  • Saint Josemaria Escriva – “In human life, Joseph was Jesus’ master in their daily contact, full of refined affection, glad to deny himself to take better care of Jesus. Isn’t that reason enough for us to consider this just man, this holy patriarch, in whom the faith of the old covenant bears fruit, as a master of the interior life? Interior life is nothing but continual and direct conversation with Christ, so as to become one with him. And Joseph can tell us many things about Jesus.
    Therefore, never neglect devotion to him—Ite ad Ioseph: ‘Go to Joseph’—as Christian tradition puts it in the words of the old testament (Gen 41:55).” (Christ is Passing By, no. 56)
  • Joseph Marello – “Be in good spirits under the fatherly mantle of St. Joseph, a place of safest refuge in trials and tribulations.”
  • Saint Padre Pio – “Ite ad Joseph. Go to Joseph with extreme confidence, because I do not remember having asked anything from St. Joseph, without having obtained it readily.”
  • Saint Teresa of Avila – “Would that I could persuade all men to be devout to this glorious Saint; for I know by long experience what blessings he can obtain for us from God. I have never known anyone who was really devout to him, and who honored him by particular services, who did not visibly grow more and more in virtue; for he helps in a special way those souls who commend themselves to him.” (Autobiography of St. Teresa of Avila, chapter 6)
  • Saint Thomas Aquinas – “Some Saints are privileged to extend to us their patronage with particular efficacy in certain needs, but not in others; but our holy patron St. Joseph has the power to assist us in all cases, in every necessity, in every undertaking.”

Blesseds

  • Blessed Conchita – “How greatly you suffered at the vision of her [Mary’s] martyrdom without you, the solitude of the wife whom you loved so well. Oh what martyrdom wracked your soul at the fore-vision of the Passion and the seven swords which would pierce the Immaculate Heart of Mary. You dreamed of her alone, alone without Jesus — and this affliction embittered your happy life.”
  • Blessed William Joseph Chaminade – “To give life to someone is the greatest of all gifts. To save a life is the next. Who gave life to Jesus? It was Mary. Who saved his life? It was Joseph. Ask St. Paul who persecuted him. Saint Peter who denied him. Ask all the saints who put him to death. But if we ask, “Who saved his life?” Be silent, patriarchs, be silent, prophets, be silent, apostles, confessors and martyrs. Let St. Joseph speak, for this honor is his alone; he alone is the savior of his Savior.”

Venerables

  • Venerable Margaret of the Most Holy Sacrament – “I am delighted to find you installed in your present post. I conjure you to unite yourself to our dear and amiable Child Jesus, who, in St. Joseph’s workshop, did not consider Himself the master, but merely as an assistant. Unite your labors to those of that Blessed Child: accustom yourself to look upon the sister whom you have been appointed to assist, in the same light as that in which He considered St. Joseph. I am also an assistant to one of our sisters, and I will endeavor to be faithful to the practices which I now recommend to you.” (A Manual of Practical Devotion to the Glorious Patriarch St. Joseph, pp. 89-90)