St Joseph: Patron and protector

(Vatican Radio) March 19th marks the feast day of St Joseph, husband of the Virgin Mary and foster father to Jesus. He was proclaimed the patron of the Universal Church in 1870 by Pope Pius IX and is also patron of workers and fathers.
In the Gospels it is written that “Joseph did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took
Mary as his wife” . He is also depicted as a strong and courageous man, a working man, yet in his heart is full of tenderness.

In his Homily at his installation Mass on this date last year, Pope Francis described St Joseph as a protector, the protector of Mary, Jesus and the Church.

He is, said the Pope, “constantly attentive to God, open to the signs of God’s presence and receptive to God’s plans, and not simply to his own”.

Lydia O’Kane spoke to the Head of Vatican Radio’s English India Programme, Jesuit Father Melvin Joseph Pinto about this great Saint. Listen