Blessed Pius IX declared Saint Joseph Patron of the Catholic Church on December 8, 1870, in the context of Vatican Council I, at a difficult time for the Church. The Pope entrusted the Church to Saint Joseph to guard and protect her from her persecutors, as he did with the Lord in the first years of His Incarnation.
On the commemoration of the 150th anniversary of this proclamation, Pope Francis decreed the holding of an Extraordinary Year dedicated to Saint Joseph, to foster the imitation of the virtues of the Saint of Nazareth, whose heart was always open to hear and obey the Will of God.
On the occasion of this special Year and given the spiritual benefits expected from it, Christians are granted the benefit of receiving the grace of an Apostolic Plenary Indulgence, according to the usual conditions: sacramental Confession of sins, reception of Holy Communion, and personal prayer for the intentions of the Pope.
But, what is a Plenary Indulgence? It’s not about the forgiveness of sins, which can only be obtained through sacramental Confession, but about the cancellation of the temporal punishments due to sins, which do not disappear with Confession.
In the Tradition of the Church, this is one of the tasks received by the Apostles from Christ, in relation with the power to “bind and loose” in reference to the forgiveness of sins. The exercise of this function is carried out concretely in the Catholic Tradition by the Holy Father, who has the power to grant — as an extraordinary grace and as fruit of concrete works of charity and mercy –, the remission of these punishments in the Lord’s Name.
As a prior requisite to the usual practices to obtain the Indulgence we mentioned earlier, a series of activities are established to be carried out, which invite to imitate the virtues and to commemorate the figure of the saint. We suggest them in a list taken from the Decree published by the Vatican on the occasion of this special Year, and which we detail below:
- Participation in a Spiritual Retreat of at least one day, which includes a meditation on Saint Joseph or at least a half-hour meditation on the Our Father (Saint Joseph and his dimension as Father).
- The carrying out of a corporal or spiritual work of mercy (Saint Joseph and charity).
- The praying of the Holy Rosary in the family or by those who are engaged but not married (Husband of Holy Mary).
- The entrusting of oneself in personal prayer to Saint Joseph’s patronage and his intercession for workers (The Worker).
- The praying of the Litanies of Saint Joseph (for the Latin rite) or the Akathistos to Saint Joseph (for the Oriental rite) or some liturgical prayer dedicated to Saint Joseph for the persecuted Church in the world (Saint Joseph persecuted and migrant).
- The Apostolic Penitentiary grants the Indulgence also in an extraordinary way to all those that pray any prayer or carry out an act of piety legitimately approved in honor of Saint Joseph, on the 19th of every month and every Wednesday (a day dedicated to Saint Joseph in the Latin rite) and, especially, on the 19th of March and the 1st of May, commemorations of Saint Joseph in the calendar.
- Taking into account the difficulty caused by the pandemic, the elderly, the sick, the dying, and, in general, all those who for some reason are impeded from leaving their home, the grace of the Indulgence is extended as long as they fulfill the usual conditions of Confession, Communion, and Prayer when conditions allow it.
Finally, we remind that the possibility of obtaining the Indulgence is not an end in itself, but one more fruit of this Year, in which Pope Francis invites us to turn our gaze to Saint Joseph, to imitate his virtues and stimulate trust in God the Father and His Will for us, reminding us that at all times, especially in difficult ones, God helps us and guides our steps. Like Joseph, we must have an open heart to perceive His presence and a willing spirit to allow ourselves to be guided by Him in life’s journey, each one from the vocation received.
Saint Joseph, Patron of the universal Church, pray for us.
