With a father’s heart

Fr. Livio Tonello, director

The apostolic letter on Saint Joseph begins with the words “with a father’s heart” that is how “the patriarch of Nazareth” loved Jesus whom all four Gospels refer to as the “son of Joseph”. This apostolic letter published on 8 December 2020 brings the memory of the Church back to Pope Pius IX who, on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception in 1870, proclaimed St Joseph the Patron of the Universal Church. The Apostolic Penitentiary issued a Decree by mandate of the Holy Father granting plenary indulgences to the faithful for the duration of this special year of St. Joseph proclaimed by the Pope. The plenary indulgence is granted to the faithful under the usual conditions to Christians who participate in the Year of St. Joseph on these occasions and manners indicated by the Apostolic Penitentiary following St Joseph example performing five spiritual or corporal works of charity. Describing the extraordinary figure of St Joseph Pope Francis underlines the strong connection with him and our human condition and suffering especially in the dramatic months of the pandemic. Amid the crisis we experienced how “our lives are woven together and sustained by ordinary people, people often overlooked. People who do not…