Pope Francis’s devotion to the figure of Mary’s husband dates back to the Pontiff’s youth and leads directly to the heart of his priestly vocation, as well as to the beginning of his Petrine ministry. It was in the church of San José in Buenos Aires that, in 1953, seventeen-year-old Jorge Mario Bergoglio discovered his vocation to the priesthood. And it was on March 19, 2013, that he inaugurated his Pontificate with a homily focused on the role of guardian played by Jesus’ Davidic father: «Joseph is a “guardian” – he said – because he knows how to listen to God, allows himself to be guided by His will, and for this very reason is even more sensitive to the people entrusted to his care. He knows how to read events realistically, is attentive to what surrounds him, and knows how to make the wisest decisions».
It is therefore no surprise that he decided to dedicate the apostolic letter “Patris corde” to the saint and to proclaim a Special Year of Saint Joseph, to which several plenary indulgences are linked.
On January 16, 2015, at the meeting with families in Manila, he said: «I love Saint Joseph very much because he is a strong and silent man. On my desk I have an image of Saint Joseph sleeping, and when I have a problem or a difficulty, I write a note on a piece of paper and place it under the statue of Saint Joseph so that he can dream about it. (…) But like Saint Joseph, once we have heard God’s voice, we must wake up from our sleep; we must get up and act». For Pope Francis, the husband of Our Lady is a truly special saint, who protects and helps even while he sleeps.
The depiction of Sleeping Saint Joseph has very deep roots. It refers to the Gospel of Matthew, which recounts four dreams concerning Joseph. In his sleep, the angel of the Lord appears to him to reveal God’s plan. Joseph allows himself to be guided and thus receives a new fatherhood, which asks him to set aside all his own plans: to take Mary, his wife, into his home, because what has been conceived in her comes from the Holy Spirit (Mt 1:20-21). In his sleep, Joseph is warned of the danger posed by King Herod and promptly obeys (Mt 2:19-20). In his sleep, an angel of the Lord tells Joseph to leave Egypt (Mt 2:19). In his sleep, the angel tells him to go to Nazareth, where he takes up permanent residence (Mt 2:22).
This beautiful devotion developed in Italy thanks to the Holy Father, who helped us discover this new aspect of Saint Joseph, husband of Mary. In many homes today, we can see statues of Joseph sleeping, alongside the classic statues in which the great Saint is depicted holding the Child Jesus and the lily.
Finally, in a brief note halfway through the letter “Patris corde,” the Pope recalls his “challenge,” renewed every day for 40 years: after praying the Lauds, he recites an old prayer found in a nineteenth-century French book of devotions. The recipient of that daily “challenge” is Saint Joseph because, after entrusting everything to him, “serious situations and difficulties,” that old prayer ends as follows: “Let it not be said that I have called upon you in vain.”
All that remains is to implore Saint Joseph with the prayer shared by the Pope in his letter “Patris corde”:
Glorious Patriarch Saint Joseph,
whose power can make impossible things possible,
come to my aid in these moments of anguish and difficulty.
Take under your protection the very serious and difficult situations that I entrust to you,
so that they may have a happy outcome.
My beloved Father, all my trust is placed in you.
Let it not be said that I have called upon you in vain,
and since you can do everything with Jesus and Mary,
show me that your goodness is as great as your power. Amen.
A wonderful prayer that kindles our hearts and makes us feel the hope of being helped and supported by this great Saint, who is often forgotten.
Have a blessed journey!
