Devotion to St. Joseph and the Holy Family

Christ our God, although He was the only-begotten Son of the Eternal Father, wished to be called the “Carpenter’s Son.” We know with what lofty virtues Joseph raised up the humility of his home and his condition: the virtues fitting for him who was to be the spouse of the Immaculate Mary and the foster father of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Let all, therefore, after the example of St. Joseph, learn to consider the fleeting goods of the present only in the light of the lasting goods of eternity; finding in the hope of heavenly goods a consolation for the sufferings of human life, they will do their best to deserve this hope by their submission to the divine will, that is to say, by a life of renunciation, justice, and piety.

As the devotion to St. Joseph develops among the faithful, we can also expect to see their devotion to the Holy Family of Nazareth of which he was the august head increase; for each of these two devotions naturally blossoms from the other, as its flower. Joseph leads us directly to Mary and Mary to the true source of all sanctity, Jesus, who, through His submission to Joseph and Mary, truly consecrated the family virtues.

Benedict XV, Motu Proprio Bonum Sane, July 25, 1920