St. Joseph

The Patron Saint of Vatican II

By: Louise Perrotta

The unassuming "just man" who once took the child Jesus and his mother into his care and protection now watches over the whole Body of Christ in his characteristically vigilant but background manner. As Pope Pius IX declared on December 8, 1870, St. Joseph is "Patron of the Universal Church." And though even fewer Catholics are aware of it, St. Joseph is also intimately connected with the Second Vatican Council.

The connection came about because of Pope John XXIII’s deep devotion to Jesus’ earthly father. “I love him very much,” he used to say, and liked to tell people that his baptismal name was Angelo Giuseppe (“Angel Joseph” in Italian). He would have chosen to go down in history as Pope Joseph I, he confided, but was concerned that the name might seem too great a break with tradition.

Pope John’s devotion found a magnificent public outlet on March 19, 1961, when he issued an apostolic letter proclaiming St. Joseph patron of Vatican II. In view of the need “to obtain from heaven that divine power by which it seems destined to mark an epoch in the history of the Church,” wrote the pope, the council “could not be entrusted to a better heavenly protector than St. Joseph, the venerable…

Comments

Special Offers

• Subscription Offers »
• Renewal Offers »
• Gift Subscriptions »