On 19 March, in the middle of Lent, the Catholic Church celebrates with a solemnity one of the most silent saints of the Gospel: Saint Joseph, the spouse of the Virgin Mary and the foster father of Jesus[1]. It is the principal of the two feasts dedicated to him in the Roman calendar, the other being that of Saint Joseph the Worker on 1 May[2].
This date owes nothing to chance: it honours the man to whom God entrusted the beginnings of salvation, the Christ child and his Mother, and whom Pius IX therefore declared patron of the Universal Church on 8 December 1870[3]. 19 March is thus a feast of watchful fatherhood: that of a carpenter of Nazareth who left not a single word in the Gospels, but each of whose acts — taking Mary into his home, fleeing into Egypt, seeking the lost child — kept Christ safe[4].
This article deals with the liturgical feast: where the date of 19 March comes from, how it became a solemnity, what is celebrated and sung on that day, and what happens when 19 March falls on a Sunday or in Holy Week. For the meaning of his patronage over the Church, see the specialised article Why is Joseph the patron of the Church?; for Joseph's interior life, see How did Saint Joseph live in the Divine Will?.
Who is celebrated on 19 March?
The spouse of Mary in the Gospels
Everything the Church knows for certain about Saint Joseph fits into a few chapters of Matthew (chapters 1 and 2) and Luke (chapter 2)[5]. Joseph is of the house of David: it is through him, and through his marriage to Mary, that Jesus is legally attached to the Davidic line, fulfilling the promise made to David of an everlasting dynasty[6]. The Gospel presents him as a "righteous man" who, discovering Mary's pregnancy before they lived together, decides to divorce her quietly so as not to expose her to shame[7].
It is then that everything changes, in a dream:
"Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife into your home, for the child conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit."[8]
Joseph obeys without a word: he takes Mary into his home, welcomes the child, then, warned again in a dream, flees into Egypt to shield Jesus from Herod, before returning to settle in Nazareth[9]. Twelve years later, it is still he who, with Mary, seeks the child who stayed behind in the Temple of Jerusalem and brings him back to Nazareth, where Jesus was obedient to them[10]. After this episode, Joseph disappears from the Gospel narrative: the Gospels report neither his death nor any of his words, and tradition sees in this the sign that he died before Jesus' public ministry, in the arms of Jesus and Mary — hence his title of patron of a happy death[11].
What this feast is not
19 March celebrates Joseph the spouse of Mary, within the mystery of Christ's childhood. It must not be confused with two neighbouring celebrations[12]. First, the feast of Saint Joseph the Worker on 1 May, instituted by Pius XII in 1955 to give the world of labour a heavenly patron: it honours the worker, whereas 19 March honours the spouse and the father[13]. Second, the feast of the Holy Family, celebrated on the Sunday after Christmas, which contemplates Jesus, Mary and Joseph together: 19 March, for its part, focuses on the person of Joseph and his own mission[14].
Where does the date of 19 March come from?
A late cult in the West
Saint Joseph is one of the saints whose liturgical cult is the latest in the West[15]. For more than a millennium, East and West alike honoured above all the martyrs, the apostles and Mary; Joseph's "silence" in the Gospels is in a sense prolonged in the liturgy. The earliest Western calendars to inscribe his name on 19 March date from the 10th century, and the devotion seems to have sprouted first in Egypt before spreading to the West[16].
In the early 14th century, the Servites of Mary were among the first to observe his feast on 19 March, the day tradition holds to be that of his death[17]. But at that time, nothing was yet fixed for the whole Church: the feast remained local, carried by religious orders and regional devotions.
The turning point of the 15th century
The great shift came from a handful of theologians and saints who, around 1400, became the advocates of the carpenter of Nazareth[18]. The chancellor of the University of Paris, Jean Gerson (1363–1429), composed an office of the Betrothal of Joseph and Mary as early as 1400 and pleaded his cause with all his authority, notably at the Council of Constance in 1414[19]. At his side, Cardinal Pierre d'Ailly (1351–1420) and the Franciscan Saint Bernardine of Siena (1380–1444), the great preacher of the Name of Jesus, carried the same conviction: the man God had set as guardian of his greatest treasures deserved a feast equal to his mission[20].
Their efforts were rewarded under the pontificate of Sixtus IV (1471–1484): around 1479–1480, the feast of Saint Joseph on 19 March entered the calendar of Rome[21]. The sources hesitate between one year and the other — 1479 or 1480 — but agree on the essential: it is Sixtus IV who gave Joseph his official place in the Roman liturgy, at first with the modest rank of a simple feast[22].
Extension to the whole Church
From Rome, the devotion quickly gained in dignity, at the exact pace of its popularity[23]. Raised to the double rite under Innocent VIII (1484–1492), it was carried in the 16th century by the missionaries who extended it to the universal Church, and by the great Carmelite mystic Saint Teresa of Avila (1515–1582), who became its tireless promoter and placed her first foundation at Avila, in 1562, under the name of Saint Joseph[24].
The decisive step was taken in 1621: Gregory XV made 19 March a holy day of obligation for the whole Church[25]. The rank then kept rising — double of the second class under Clement XI (1700–1721) — and Benedict XIII inscribed the name of Joseph in the Litany of the Saints in 1726[26]. In two and a half centuries, the wordless carpenter of the Gospels had thus become one of the most celebrated saints in Christendom.
- 10th centuryFirst calendars
Several Western calendars already inscribe the name of Joseph on 19 March; the devotion first sprouted in Egypt[27].
- Early 14th centuryThe Servites
The Order of the Servites of Mary observes the feast of Saint Joseph on 19 March, the day held to be that of his death[28].
- 1400–1414Gerson and Constance
Jean Gerson composes an office of the Betrothal of Joseph and Mary (1400) and defends his cult at the Council of Constance (1414), with Pierre d'Ailly and Saint Bernardine of Siena[29].
- 1479–1480Sixtus IV: entry at Rome
- 16th centuryMissionaries and Teresa
Missionaries extend the feast to the universal Church; Saint Teresa of Avila becomes its great promoter[31].
- 1621Gregory XV: holy day of obligation
19 March becomes a feast of obligation for the whole Church[32].
- 1700–1726Clement XI and Benedict XIII
Rank raised under Clement XI; inscription in the Litany of the Saints by Benedict XIII in 1726[33].
Three centuries of growing honours
The patronage of 1870 and its doctrine
On 8 December 1870, on the feast of the Immaculate Conception, a few weeks after the suspension of the First Vatican Council, the Sacred Congregation of Rites published the decree Quemadmodum Deus, by which Blessed Pius IX solemnly declared Saint Joseph patron of the Catholic Church and raised his feast of 19 March to the rank of double of the first class[34]:
"As God appointed the patriarch Joseph, son of Jacob, governor of all Egypt, to secure for the people the wheat needed for life, so […] he chose another Joseph of whom the first was the figure; he set him lord and prince of his house and of his possessions; he committed to his keeping his richest treasures."[35]
The decree proclaims the patronage; it is the encyclical Quamquam pluries of Leo XIII, on 15 August 1889, that gives its fullest doctrinal exposition[36]:
"The divine house which Joseph ruled as with a father's authority contained the first fruits of the nascent Church."[37]
Because he kept the Holy Family, the "first fruits" of the Church, Joseph now keeps the whole Church: "he now covers with his heavenly patronage and defends the Church of Jesus Christ" [38]. For the full case on the patronage — reasons, objections, history — see Why is Joseph the patron of the Church?.
The 20th century: Canon, preface and solemnity
The 20th century heaped unprecedented liturgical honours on Joseph. On 19 March 1937, Pius XI deliberately dated his encyclical against atheistic communism, Divini Redemptoris, from the feast of Saint Joseph, and placed the whole struggle of the Church "under the patronage of the mighty protector of the Church, Saint Joseph"[39]. In 1955, Pius XII instituted the feast of Saint Joseph the Worker on 1 May, without taking anything away from 19 March, which remains the principal feast[40].
The most remarked gesture came from Saint John XXIII: on 13 November 1962, in the midst of the Second Vatican Council, he had the name of Saint Joseph inserted into the Roman Canon of the Mass, just after that of the Virgin Mary[41]. It was a breach in a centuries-old tradition, so intangible had the Canon remained. The reform of the calendar that followed the Council, in 1969, confirmed 19 March at the rank of solemnity — the highest degree of the calendar — under the title of "Saint Joseph, spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary"[42].
The 21st century: 2013 and the year 2020–2021
On 1 May 2013, the first liturgical decree of the pontificate, the Congregation for Divine Worship completed the work of John XXIII: the name of Saint Joseph was added to Eucharistic Prayers II, III and IV, after that of the Virgin Mary[43]. Henceforth, in all Masses or nearly, the name of the carpenter of Nazareth is spoken at the heart of the thanksgiving.
On 8 December 2020, Pope Francis signed the apostolic letter Patris corde ("With a father's heart") and opened a special year dedicated to Saint Joseph, until 8 December 2021, for the 150th anniversary of the patronage of 1870[44]:
"With a father's heart: that is how Joseph loved Jesus, who is called in all four Gospels 'the son of Joseph'."[45]
In 2021, seven new invocations enriched the Litany of Saint Joseph — Guardian of the Redeemer, Servant of Christ, Minister of salvation, Support in difficulties, Patron of exiles, of the afflicted and of the poor[46]. Never had 19 March been preceded by so many honours accumulated in a century and a half.
| Date | Pope | Gesture for Saint Joseph |
|---|---|---|
| 8 December 1870 | Blessed Pius IX | Patron of the Universal Church (Quemadmodum Deus); feast raised |
| 15 August 1889 | Leo XIII | Encyclical Quamquam pluries; doctrine of the patronage; triduum recommended |
| 19 March 1937 | Pius XI | Encyclical Divini Redemptoris, dated from the feast |
| 1955 | Pius XII | Feast of Saint Joseph the Worker (1 May) |
| 13 November 1962 | Saint John XXIII | Name of Joseph inserted into the Roman Canon |
| 1969 | Saint Paul VI | 19 March confirmed as a solemnity in the reformed calendar |
| 15 August 1989 | Saint John Paul II | Exhortation Redemptoris Custos (centenary of 1889) |
| 1 May 2013 | Francis | Name of Joseph in Eucharistic Prayers II, III and IV |
| 8 December 2020 | Francis | Patris corde; Year of Saint Joseph until 8 December 2021 |
A solemnity in the heart of Lent
The rank and its visible signs
19 March is a solemnity, the highest degree of the liturgical calendar: it takes precedence over Lenten ferias and over the memorials of saints that would fall on the same day[47]. In practice, the faithful entering church that day see and hear the difference: the vestments are white, the colour of feasts of the Lord and of non-martyr saints; the Gloria is sung, silent since Ash Wednesday; and the Creed is proclaimed, as on Sundays and great feasts[48]. The Mass has its own proper prayers and a proper preface singing Joseph's mission as guardian of the mysteries of salvation[49].
Another sign that 19 March truly interrupts the Lenten penance: when the solemnity falls on a Friday, the usual Friday abstinence from meat in Lent is lifted. The Code of Canon Law indeed provides that there is no abstinence "whenever a solemnity falls on a Friday" — and several bishops recalled this expressly, by decree, on Friday 19 March 2021, in the midst of the Year of Saint Joseph[50].
When 19 March meets a Sunday or Holy Week
19 March always falls in Lent, sometimes even in the middle of Holy Week. The Church has provided for two scenarios, which must not be confused with a suppression: the feast is never cancelled, it is moved[51].
First scenario: 19 March falls on a Lenten Sunday. But a Lenten Sunday takes precedence over every saints' solemnity: Joseph's feast is then postponed to Monday 20 March. That is what happened in 2023, when 19 March was the fourth Sunday of Lent[52].
Second scenario: 19 March falls during Holy Week, which takes precedence over everything. The solemnity is then brought forward to the Saturday before Palm Sunday, so as not to collide with the Easter Triduum. In 2008, a year when Easter fell on 23 March, one of the earliest possible dates, 19 March was Holy Wednesday: the Congregation for Divine Worship transferred the solemnity to Saturday 15 March, and that of the Annunciation to Monday 31 March[53]. Episcopal conferences more broadly have the faculty to transfer the celebration to another day outside Lent when pastoral circumstances require it[54].
| Year | Situation of 19 March | Actual celebration |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Wednesday of Holy Week | Solemnity brought forward to Saturday 15 March |
| 2021 | Friday in Lent | Solemnity kept on 19 March; abstinence lifted by episcopal decrees |
| 2023 | Fourth Sunday of Lent | Solemnity postponed to Monday 20 March |
| 2024 | Tuesday of the 5th week of Lent | 19 March kept; the Annunciation (25 March, Holy Monday) postponed to 8 April |
The Mass of 19 March
The readings: David, Abraham and the dream
The Liturgy of the Word on 19 March is built as a demonstration: Joseph is the point where the promises made to David and to Abraham converge, and the man of the obeyed dream[55]. The first reading proclaims Nathan's oracle to David: God will raise up a descendant whose reign will have no end[56]. The psalm sings of this everlasting dynasty[57]. The second reading shows in Abraham, who "hoped against hope", the model of Joseph's faith[58]. The Gospel, finally, recounts the Annunciation to Joseph — at the celebrant's choice, either Matthew's dream or Luke's finding of Jesus in the Temple[59]:
| Reading | Passage | What it proclaims |
|---|---|---|
| First reading | 2 Samuel 7:4–5a, 12–14a, 16 | The promise to David: a descendant with an everlasting reign |
| Psalm | Psalm 88 (89) | "His dynasty shall last forever": God's faithfulness |
| Second reading | Romans 4:13, 16–18, 22 | Abraham, who hoped against hope: Joseph's model |
| Gospel (either) | Matthew 1:16, 18–21, 24a | The dream: "do not fear to take Mary into your home" |
| Gospel (either) | Luke 2:41–51a | The lost child found in the Temple; Jesus obedient to Mary and Joseph |
The choice left for the Gospel is not indifferent: Matthew shows Joseph receiving the mystery in the secrecy of the dream, Luke shows him seeking the lost child for three days — two faces of one and the same fatherhood, welcome and quest[60].
The prayers and the preface
The Mass of 19 March has its proper prayers: the collect presents Joseph as the one to whom God entrusted the first mysteries of salvation and asks the Church for the same faithfulness in her service[61]. Above all, the day has its proper preface, reserved for great feasts: where Lenten ferias use the prefaces of the season, 19 March exceptionally sings the glory of the "just man" set as guardian of the Virgin and the Saviour[62]. It is one of the strongest liturgical signs of Joseph's unique place: in the midst of a penitential season, the Church interrupts the fast of words to praise a saint.
The name of Joseph in the Eucharistic Prayer
Since 1962 and then 2013, there is hardly a Mass left in which Joseph's name is not spoken. Saint John XXIII inscribed it in the Roman Canon on 13 November 1962, just after the name of the Virgin Mary[63]. And the decree of 1 May 2013 extended this mention to Eucharistic Prayers II, III and IV, with this formula, after Mary's name: "with Saint Joseph, her spouse"[64]. 19 March therefore only brings to its height a presence that has become daily: every day of the year, at the heart of the thanksgiving, the Church names with Mary the man who kept the child and his mother.
Praying with Saint Joseph around 19 March
The triduum and the seven Sundays
Leo XIII, in his encyclical of 1889, recommends a triduum of prayer in honour of Saint Joseph before his feast of 19 March, with the prayer "To you, O blessed Joseph" recited after the rosary[65]. It is one of the oldest forms of preparation for the feast: three days to place oneself, with the whole Church, under the protection of the one who protected the Christ child.
Another tradition prepares for the feast from further away: the seven Sundays preceding 19 March, in memory of the seven joys and seven sorrows of Saint Joseph[66]. Saint Joseph's Oratory in Montreal, the great Quebec shrine dedicated to the saint, devotes seven Sundays of preaching and pilgrimage to it each year before the solemnity[67].
The table, the sweets and Fathers' Day
In Italy, 19 March is also celebrated at table and in the street. The tradition of the tavola di San Giuseppe — the "table of Saint Joseph" — goes back to the Sicily of famines: families who had prayed to Joseph during the dearth set up, once abundance returned, altars laden with breads, dishes and sweets offered to neighbours and the poor, in thanksgiving[68]. From that same piety were born the zeppole di San Giuseppe, those cream pastries crowned with a cherry still enjoyed every 19 March[69]. 19 March is also, in Italy, Fathers' Day — what could be more fitting than to honour fathers on the day of the foster father of Christ[70]?
The voice of Saint Teresa of Avila
No devotion to Saint Joseph spread without the decisive word of Saint Teresa of Avila. In chapter VI of the Book of Her Life, she recounts how, sick and despairing of doctors, she took Joseph for her advocate — and what followed[71]:
"I took for my advocate and lord the glorious Saint Joseph and earnestly commended myself to him. […] I do not remember having ever asked anything of him, to this day, that he did not grant me."[72]
And she adds this challenge, which has remained famous, to all unbelievers:
"I only beg, for the love of God, those who do not believe me to make the trial; they will see by experience how advantageous it is to commend oneself to this glorious patriarch."[73]
What the feast says about fatherhood
The silence that acts
The most striking trait of Joseph, and the most meditated each 19 March, is his silence: the Gospels report not one word of his[74]. But this silence is not an absence; it is obedience. At each dream, Joseph "did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him" — without arguing, without delay, by night, toward Egypt or toward Nazareth[75]. John Paul II, in Redemptoris Custos, recalls that this silent patronage remains "ever necessary to the Church, not only to defend her against ever-renewed dangers but also and above all to sustain her in her redoubled efforts of evangelising the world"[76].
Dying like Joseph
Finally, 19 March prepares us to die well. Tradition, which has Joseph die in the arms of Jesus and Mary, has made him the patron of a happy death: the one who stood by Christ at Bethlehem and kept him at Nazareth assists, it is said, at the final hour those who invoke him[77]. That is why so many Christians end their day, and so many dying end their life, with a prayer to Joseph — and why 19 March, in the heart of Lent, already speaks of Easter: the guardian of the Bethlehem manger, if one may say so, is also the guardian of the passage.
Further reading
- Why is Joseph the patron of the Church? — the complete case on the 1870 patronage: reasons, Leo XIII's doctrine, objections and answers.
- How did Saint Joseph live in the Divine Will? — Joseph's interior life in the light of the writings of Luisa Piccarreta.
- The Annunciation of the Lord (25 March) — the neighbouring solemnity, nine months before Christmas, and its own transfers in Holy Week.
- Christmas — the Nativity, whose first fruits the feast of 19 March keeps.
- The Presentation of the Lord (2 February) — Joseph at the Temple, offering the promised child with Mary.
- Ash Wednesday — the entry into the Lent at whose heart 19 March falls.
Notes and References
General Roman Calendar: Solemnity of Saint Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 19 March. Official Latin title: Sollemnitas Sancti Ioseph, Sponsi Beatae Mariae Virginis.
1Besides 19 March, the Roman calendar celebrates Saint Joseph the Worker on 1 May, instituted by Pius XII in 1955 to give the world of labour a heavenly patron. 19 March remains the principal feast, that of the spouse of Mary.
2Decree Quemadmodum Deus, Sacred Congregation of Rites, 8 December 1870, by which Blessed Pius IX declared Saint Joseph patron of the Universal Church and raised his feast of 19 March to a double of the first class.
3 34The four Gospels report not one word of Saint Joseph: neither in the infancy narratives (Mt 1–2; Lk 2), nor in the rare later mentions (Lk 3:23; Jn 1:45; Jn 6:42). It is a textual fact verifiable with any concordance.
4 74Matthew 1–2 (dreams, flight into Egypt, return to Nazareth) and Luke 2 (census, birth, presentation, pilgrimage at twelve); indirect mentions in Lk 3:23, Jn 1:45 and Jn 6:42.
52 Samuel 7:12–16: Nathan's oracle promises David a descendant whose "kingdom shall stand forever". Joseph, "son of David" (Mt 1:20), legally transmits this filiation to Jesus.
6Matthew 1:19: "Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly."
7Matthew 1:20–21: "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife into your home, for the child conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit; she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus."
8Matthew 2:13–14 (flight into Egypt), 2:19–23 (return and settling in Nazareth). Each time, the text stresses immediate obedience: "Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night." (Mt 2:14).
9Luke 2:41–52: the yearly pilgrimage to Jerusalem, the child left behind in the Temple, three days of searching, then the return to Nazareth where Jesus "was obedient to them". Joseph's last appearance in the Gospels.
10The tradition of the patronage of a happy death rests on the conviction, constant since the early centuries, that Joseph died in the presence of Jesus and Mary — the gentlest of deaths, in the arms of the Saviour and his Mother. No Gospel text recounts his death; it is a traditional reading, never defined, but universally received in popular piety.
11 77The Roman calendar distinguishes three celebrations: Saint Joseph spouse of Mary (19 March), Saint Joseph the Worker (1 May) and the Holy Family (Sunday after Christmas). Each has its own proper, rank and theology.
12Pius XII instituted in 1955 the feast of Saint Joseph the Worker on 1 May, as a Christian counterpart to Labour Day, to offer workers the model of the carpenter of Nazareth.
13 40The feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph is celebrated on the Sunday after Christmas (or 30 December): it contemplates the common life of Nazareth, whereas 19 March honours the person and mission of Joseph.
14Unlike the martyrs and apostles, honoured from the early centuries, Saint Joseph has no attested liturgical cult in Christian antiquity in the West. The Catholic Encyclopedia (art. "St. Joseph", vol. 8, 1910, newadvent.org) begins the Roman account with the efforts of Gerson and his contemporaries, rewarded under Sixtus IV.
15Several Western calendars of the 10th century already commemorated Joseph on 19 March; cf. the liturgical calendar of the Diocese of Crookston (USA), notice for 19 March: "Several Western calendars dating from the tenth century commemorated Joseph on March 19. In 1479 his feast was introduced at Rome and in 1621 was extended to the universal calendar."
16 27The Order of the Servites of Mary, founded in the 13th century, observed the feast of Saint Joseph on 19 March from the early 14th century, the date tradition holds to be that of his death; cf. Encyclopaedia Britannica, art. "St. Joseph".
17 28Jean Gerson, Cardinal Pierre d'Ailly and Saint Bernardine of Siena are the three great promoters of the public cult of Saint Joseph around 1400, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia (art. "St. Joseph", newadvent.org).
18Jean Gerson (1363–1429), chancellor of Paris, composed in 1400 an office of the Betrothal of Joseph and Mary and defended the cult of Saint Joseph at the Council of Constance (1414); cf. Catholic Encyclopedia, art. "St. Joseph".
19 29Saint Bernardine of Siena (1380–1444), Franciscan, preacher of the Holy Name of Jesus, ranks among the promoters of the cult of Saint Joseph in the 15th century, with Pierre d'Ailly (1351–1420); cf. Catholic Encyclopedia, art. "St. Joseph".
20It is under the pontificate of Sixtus IV (1471–1484) that the feast of Saint Joseph on 19 March entered the Roman calendar: 1479 according to several diocesan calendars, 1480 according to Vatican News ("Solemnity of Saint Joseph", vaticannews.cn) which notes that it became obligatory under Gregory XV in 1621.
21 30The feast entered at first as a simple feast (festum simplex), before being raised to the double rite under Innocent VIII (1484–1492); cf. Catholic Encyclopedia, art. "St. Joseph".
22"From that time the devotion acquired greater and greater popularity, the dignity of the feast keeping pace with this steady growth." — Catholic Encyclopedia, art. "St. Joseph".
23Saint Teresa of Avila (1515–1582), reformer of Carmel, great promoter of devotion to Saint Joseph in the 16th century; her first reformed foundation, at Avila in 1562, was placed under the patronage of Saint Joseph. Cf. Life Written by Herself, chap. VI.
24 31Gregory XV made 19 March a holy day of obligation in 1621; cf. Catholic Encyclopedia, art. "St. Joseph", and Vatican News, "Solemnity of Saint Joseph".
25 32Feast raised to a double of the second class under Clement XI (1700–1721), then the name of Joseph inserted into the Litany of the Saints by Benedict XIII in 1726; cf. Catholic Encyclopedia, art. "St. Joseph".
26 33Decree Quemadmodum Deus, 8 December 1870: the text opens with the parallel between Joseph of Egypt (Gn 41) and Joseph of Nazareth, established "lord and prince" of God's house and keeper of his "richest treasures", Jesus and Mary.
35Leo XIII, encyclical Quamquam pluries on devotion to Saint Joseph, 15 August 1889 (vatican.va).
36Leo XIII, Quamquam pluries, 15 August 1889: "The divine house which Joseph ruled as with a father's authority contained the first fruits of the nascent Church."
37Leo XIII, Quamquam pluries, 15 August 1889: "It is therefore natural and most worthy of Blessed Joseph that, even as he once supplied all the needs of the family of Nazareth and girt it about with his protection, he should now cover with his heavenly patronage and defend the Church of Jesus Christ."
38Pius XI, encyclical Divini Redemptoris on atheistic communism, given "on the feast of Saint Joseph, patron of the Universal Church, 19 March 1937", n. 81: "[…] We place the great action of the Catholic Church against world atheistic communism under the patronage of the mighty protector of the Church, Saint Joseph." (vatican.va, verified text).
39On 13 November 1962, in the midst of the Second Vatican Council, Saint John XXIII had the name of Saint Joseph inserted into the Roman Canon, after that of the Virgin Mary. The 2013 decree (Congregation for Divine Worship, 1 May 2013, vatican.va) itself recalls this precedent: "Already on November 13, 1962, Pope John XXIII had inserted the name of St. Joseph into the first Eucharistic Prayer (the Roman Canon)."
41 63The reform of the Roman calendar (1969), following the Second Vatican Council, kept 19 March at the rank of solemnity under the title of "Saint Joseph, spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary" (Sollemnitas Sancti Ioseph, Sponsi Beatae Mariae Virginis).
42Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, decree of 1 May 2013 (published 20 June 2013), by faculties granted by Pope Francis: the name of Saint Joseph, spouse of the Virgin Mary, is added to Eucharistic Prayers II, III and IV (vatican.va).
43Francis, apostolic letter Patris corde, 8 December 2020, on the 150th anniversary of the declaration of Saint Joseph as patron of the Church; special Year of Saint Joseph from 8 December 2020 to 8 December 2021 (vatican.va).
44Francis, Patris corde, 8 December 2020, opening: "With a father's heart: that is how Joseph loved Jesus, who is called in all four Gospels 'the son of Joseph'." (vatican.va).
45In 2021, Pope Francis approved seven new invocations in the Litany of Saint Joseph: Guardian of the Redeemer, Servant of Christ, Minister of salvation, Support in difficulties, Patron of exiles, of the afflicted and of the poor; cf. Vatican News, "Solemnity of Saint Joseph".
4619 March stands in the General Roman Calendar at the rank of solemnity, which takes precedence over Lenten ferias and saints' memorials.
47White vestments, the singing of the Gloria and the proclamation of the Creed: the three visible marks of a solemnity in the middle of Lent, unknown to ferias (cf. Roman Missal, proper of 19 March).
4819 March has its own proper preface of Saint Joseph, whereas Lenten ferias use the prefaces of the season (cf. Roman Missal, Mass of 19 March).
49 62Code of Canon Law, can. 1251: no abstinence when a solemnity falls on a Friday. In 2021, when 19 March was a Lenten Friday, several bishops (e.g. Atlanta, Camden) recalled this by decree in the midst of the Year of Saint Joseph.
50When a solemnity is impeded by a celebration of higher rank (Lenten Sunday, Holy Week, Easter octave), it is not suppressed but transferred to another day, according to the Universal Norms on the Liturgical Year and the Calendar.
51In 2023, 19 March fell on the fourth Sunday of Lent: the solemnity of Saint Joseph was celebrated on Monday 20 March throughout the Latin Church.
52In 2008 (Easter on 23 March), 19 March fell on Holy Wednesday: the Congregation for Divine Worship transferred the solemnity of Saint Joseph to Saturday 15 March, and that of the Annunciation to Monday 31 March; cf. Archdiocese of Baltimore (2008) and the 2008 liturgical calendar of the American conference.
53Conferences of bishops have the faculty to transfer the celebration of 19 March to another day outside Lent for pastoral reasons; cf. liturgical calendar of the Diocese of Crookston: "the Conferences of bishops have permission to transfer this celebration to another day outside Lent."
54Lectionary of the solemnity of 19 March: 2 Sm 7:4–5a, 12–14a, 16; Ps 88; Rom 4:13, 16–18, 22; Mt 1:16, 18–21, 24a or Lk 2:41–51a.
552 Samuel 7:4–5a, 12–14a, 16: Nathan's oracle to David — "I will raise up your offspring after you… I will establish his kingdom forever."
56Psalm 88 (89): psalm of God's faithfulness to the Davidic covenant — "His dynasty shall last forever."
57Romans 4:13, 16–18, 22: Abraham "hoped against hope" and "believed, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness" — the model of Joseph's obedient faith.
58The lectionary offers two Gospels to choose from for 19 March: Matthew 1:16, 18–21, 24a (the dream) or Luke 2:41–51a (the child in the Temple).
59Matthew shows Joseph's fatherhood as welcome of the mystery; Luke shows it as quest for the lost child. Both readings converge on the same mission: keeping Christ.
60The collect (opening prayer) of 19 March presents Joseph as the one to whom God entrusted the first mysteries of salvation (cf. Roman Missal, Mass of 19 March).
61Decree of 1 May 2013: in Eucharistic Prayer II, "with the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, with Saint Joseph, her spouse, the blessed apostles…"; equivalent formulas in Prayers III and IV (English translation of the Roman Missal).
64A triduum in honour of Saint Joseph before his feast of 19 March, with the prayer "To you, O blessed Joseph" after the rosary, is recommended by Leo XIII in the encyclical Quamquam pluries of 15 August 1889; cf. Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. 15 (1912), art. "Triduum".
65The devotion of the seven Sundays of Saint Joseph meditates his seven joys and seven sorrows in the weeks preceding 19 March.
66Saint Joseph's Oratory in Montreal (Quebec), founded by Saint Brother André, celebrates each year the seven Sundays preceding the feast of 19 March with services and pilgrimages (February–March).
67The Sicilian tavola di San Giuseppe: altars laden with breads, dishes and sweets, offered to neighbours and the poor in thanksgiving after famines, when families had prayed to Joseph during the dearth; cf. National Catholic Register, "Sweet Treats for a Saint" (zeppole and the table of Saint Joseph).
68The zeppole di San Giuseppe, cream pastries crowned with a cherry, are traditionally enjoyed each 19 March in Italy; cf. National Catholic Register, "Sweet Treats for a Saint".
69In Italy, 19 March is also Fathers' Day (festa del papà), attached to the feast of the foster father of Christ.
70Saint Teresa of Avila, Book of Her Life (autobiography), chapter VI (from the Spanish text: "Tomé por abogado y señor al glorioso San José y encomendeme mucho a él. […] No me acuerdo hasta ahora haberle suplicado cosa que la haya dejado de hacer.").
71Saint Teresa of Avila, Book of Her Life, chap. VI: "I took for my advocate and lord the glorious Saint Joseph and earnestly commended myself to him. […] I do not remember having ever asked anything of him, to this day, that he did not grant me."
72Saint Teresa of Avila, Book of Her Life, chap. VI: "I only beg, for the love of God, those who do not believe me to make the trial; they will see by experience how advantageous it is to commend oneself to this glorious patriarch."
73Matthew 1:24: "When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him."; cf. Mt 2:14 and 2:21 for the night departures to Egypt and then to Nazareth.
75John Paul II, apostolic exhortation Redemptoris Custos on Saint Joseph, 15 August 1989 (centenary of Quamquam pluries): "This patronage must be invoked, and it is ever necessary to the Church, not only to defend her against ever-renewed dangers but also and above all to sustain her in her redoubled efforts of evangelising the world." (n. 29, vatican.va).
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