On December 8, 2020, on the feast of the immaculate conception, His Holiness, Pope Francis, issued an apostolic letter entitled Patris Corde. The Holy Father writes that “the aim of this Apostolic Letter is to increase our love for this great saint, to encourage us to implore his intercession and to imitate his virtues and his zeal.”[i] The Holy Father exhorts us to implore the intercession of Saint Joseph as a powerful intercessor for conversion in our lives with the following prayer:
Hail, Guardian of the Redeemer,
Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
To you God entrusted his only Son;
in you Mary placed her trust;
with you Christ became man.
Blessed Joseph, to us too,
show yourself a father
and guide us in the path of life.
Obtain for us grace, mercy and courage,
and defend us from every evil. Amen.[ii]
“The Apostolic Penitentiary also issued a decree granting special indulgences for the duration of the special year to celebrate the anniversary and ‘to perpetuate the entrustment of the whole Church to the powerful patronage of the Custodian of Jesus.’”
Conditions for the plenary indulgence
“The plenary indulgence is granted to the faithful under the usual conditions (sacramental confession, Eucharistic Communion, and prayer for the Pope’s intentions) to Christians who, with a spirit detached from any sin, participate in the Year of St. Joseph on these occasions and manners indicated by the Apostolic Penitentiary:
– The plenary indulgence is granted to those who will meditate for at least 30 minutes on the Lord’s Prayer, or take part in a Spiritual Retreat of at least one day that includes a meditation on St. Joseph. “St. Joseph, an authentic man of faith, invites us”, the decree reads, ‘to rediscover our filial relationship with the Father, to renew fidelity to prayer, to listen and correspond with profound discernment to God’s will.’
– The indulgence can also be obtained by those who, following St. Joseph’s example, will perform a spiritual or corporal work of mercy. St. Joseph ‘encourages us to rediscover the value of silence, prudence and loyalty in carrying out our duties,’ the decree notes.
– The recitation of the Holy Rosary in families and among engaged couples is another way of obtaining indulgences, in order that ‘all Christian families may be stimulated to recreate the same atmosphere of intimate communion, love and prayer that was in the Holy Family.’
– Everyone who entrusts their daily activity to the protection of St. Joseph, and every faithful who invokes the intercession of St. Joseph so that those seeking work can find dignifying work can also obtain the plenary indulgence. On 1 May 1955, Pope Pius XII instituted the feast of St. Joseph “with the intent that the dignity of work be recognized by all, and that it inspires social life and laws, based on the fair distribution of rights and duties.”
– The plenary indulgence is also granted to the faithful who will recite the Litany to St. Joseph (for the Latin tradition), or the Akathistos to St. Joseph (for the Byzantine tradition), or any other prayer to St. Joseph proper to the other liturgical traditions, for the persecuted Church ad intra and ad extra, and for the relief of all Christians suffering all forms of persecution. Because, the decree notes, ‘the flight of the Holy Family to Egypt shows us that God is there where man is in danger, where man suffers, where he runs away, where he experiences rejection and abandonment.’”[iii]
Read Patris Corde
Read the article from the Vatican News
[i] “Apostolic Letter Patris Corde of the Holy Father Francis on the 150th Anniversary of the Proclamation of Saint Joseph as Patron of the Universal Church (8 December 2020): Francis.” Apostolic Letter Patris Corde of the Holy Father Francis on the 150th Anniversary of the proclamation of Saint Joseph as Patron of the Universal Church (8 December 2020) | Francis, December 8, 2020. http://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_letters/documents/papa-francesco-lettera-ap_20201208_patris-corde.html.
[ii] Ibid.
[iii] “Church Grants Plenary Indulgence for Year of St. Joseph.” Vatican News, December 8, 2020. https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2020-12/apostolic-penitentiary-plenary-indulgence-year-st-joseph.html.
