Year of St. Joseph concludes Dec. 8

November 30, 2021

Since Dec. 8, 2020, the Church has marked the 150th Anniversary of Pope Pius IX’s decree, Quemadmodum Deus, naming St. Joseph, husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary and foster-father of Jesus, as the Patron of the Universal Church.

To commemorate that anniversary and recognize the fitting time for the Church to invoke the intercession of this guardian, the Church has celebrated the “Year of St. Joseph,” as declared by Pope Francis, which will conclude on Dec. 8, the feast of the Immaculate Conception.

“St. Joseph is very much a man of faith,” Daniel Cardinal DiNardo said. “We look to St. Joseph as a heavenly patron for guardianship or protection.”

 

Plenary indulgences: An explainer

Catholics can embrace St. Joseph in prayer and receive a plenary indulgence. The plenary indulgence is granted under the usual conditions (sacramental Confession, Eucharistic Communion and praying for the pope’s intentions) to the faithful who, with a spirit detached from any sin, participate in the Year of St. Joseph on the occasions and in the manner indicated by the Apostolic Penitentiary.

These include: meditating for at least 30 minutes on the Our Father; participating in a spiritual retreat of at least one day that includes a meditation on St. Joseph; performing a corporal or spiritual work of mercy; praying the Rosary in families and between a husband and wife; entrusting daily work to the protection of St. Joseph and to all believers who invoke with their prayers the intercession of the worker of Nazareth; praying the Litany of St. Joseph, or other prayers to St. Joseph, for the persecuted Church and for the relief of all persecuted Christians.

The gift of plenary indulgence extends particularly to the elderly, sick and dying, and those who cannot leave their homes. To learn more about the Year of St. Joseph and to explore special online resources, visit www.archgh.org/stjoseph.