Year of St Joseph announced

Pope Francis has proclaimed a year-long celebration dedicated to the foster father of Jesus.

The Year of St Joseph was announced on December 8, 2020 and marks 150years since St Joseph was named patron saint of the Universal Church.

The special Year of St Joseph will conclude on December 8 this year.

Pope Francis noted that devotion to St Joseph has gained momentum over recent years.

“The Magisterium of the Church continues to reveal great things, old and new, in this treasure that is Saint Joseph,” the Pope said.

The Vatican’s Apostolic Penitentiary has issued a decree declaring special indulgences for the Year of St Joseph.

The decree said the Year of St Joseph was an opportunity for the faithful “to obtain, with the help of St Joseph, comfort and relief from the serious human and social tribulations that besiege the contemporary world today.”

A special indulgence in the Year of St Joseph can be received several ways. These include meditating for at least 30 minutes on the Lord’s Prayer or attending a spiritual retreat, entrusting one’s daily work to St Joseph or praying for the unemployed, reciting the rosary as a family or engaged couple, performing a corporal or spiritual work of mercy, praying for persecuted Christians or reciting any legitimately approved prayer or act of piety in honour of St Joseph, especially on the 19th of each month and every Wednesday.

March 19 is the feast of St Joseph, and Wednesday’s are traditionally associated with devotion to St Joseph.

The decree also noted that, against the current backdrop of the pandemic, “The gift of the Plenary Indulgence is particularly extended to the elderly, the sick, the dying and all those who for legitimate reasons are unable to leave the house.”