This year is the 150th anniversary of Pope Pius IX making St. Joseph the Patron of the Universal Church back in 1870. The Diocese of St. Augustine had begun a Year of St. Joseph in March of this year to conclude on March 19,2021.

However, on December 8th Pope Francis issued an Apostolic Letter entitled “With a Father’s Heart” on St. Joseph and proclaimed a worldwide “Year of St. Joseph” beginning that day and extending through Dec. 8, 2021. So, we will continue to collaborate with the Diocese in celebrating this year with a theme of “Go to Joseph” through that date.

The theme of “Go to Joseph” came from St. Teresa of Avila, a Spanish Carmelite honored as a Doctor of the Church, who advised people to pray to St. Joseph for almost anything, as she had found him a powerful intercessor to God on her behalf.

During this coronavirus pandemic, when so many people are hurting financially and are at risk of contracting the virus if they are essential workers, St. Joseph, the foster-father of Jesus Christ, and the provider and protector of the Holy Family, is a good saint to remember.

We invite you to join us during the next few months to celebrate the Year of St. Joseph together, and we encourage you to watch our introductory video below to help explain why and how we will partner with you to pray to St. Joseph throughout this special year in the Diocese of St. Augustine.

As we celebrate the Year of St. Joseph, each week we will post a new prayer. To see these videos, click here.

Additionally, below are two holy card with an age-appropriate Prayer to St. Joseph that the congregation distributed to all Catholic school students in grades K-12 in the Diocese of St. Augustine, including school faculty, with the request that they be prayed aloud at least once a week until March 19, 2021.

The prayers as well as the original artwork were done by the Sisters.