The Apostolic Letter "Patris Corde" in memory of St. Joseph
Published : 03/18/2021 12:46:37
Categories : News
We remember St Joseph the Bridegroom through the words of Pope Francis contained in the Apostolic Letter issued on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the declaration of St Joseph as Patron of the Universal Church by Blessed Pius IX on 8 December 1870.
The Apostolic Letter "Patris corde" ("With a Father's heart") offers the opportunity to look at the man whom the Gospels present to us as Mary's husband and father of Jesus. A man who welcomed Mary by trusting in the Angel's words, without any pre-conditions. One aspect that characterises St Joseph," writes Pope Francis, "and which has been highlighted since the time of Leo XIII's first social encyclical, "Rerum novarum", is his relationship with work. St Joseph was a carpenter who worked honestly to ensure the sustenance of his family. From him Jesus learned the value, the dignity and the joy of what it means to eat the bread that is the fruit of one's labour".
"Patris corde" puts the importance of the task of fatherhood back at the centre and, precisely in this time marked by the Covid-19 pandemic, highlights the importance of ordinary people "who do not appear in the headlines of newspapers and magazines or in the big catwalks of the latest show but, without a doubt, are writing the decisive events of our history today: doctors, nurses and nurses, supermarket workers, cleaners, carers, transporters, law enforcement officers, volunteers, priests, women religious and many, many others who have understood that no one is saved alone".
In the letter, Pope Francis emphasises how in St Joseph one can find "the man who goes unnoticed, the man of daily presence, discreet and hidden, an intercessor, a support and a guide in moments of difficulty. St Joseph reminds us that all those who are apparently hidden or in the "second line" have an unparalleled protagonism in the history of salvation".
"Patris Corde" is available in bookshops and online stores in the following languages: Italian, French, English, German, Spanish and Portuguese. You can get more information either by visiting our website www.libreriaeditricevaticana.va or by clicking on the tile "L'angolo della LEV" (The corner of the LEV) from 19 March on the Vatican News portal (www.vaticannews.va).
