CONSECRATION TO SAINT JOSEPH

Last week’s message introduced us to the Apostolic Letter of St. Francis, Patirs Corde (With a Father’s Heart) marking the 150th Anniversary of St. Joseph as Patron of the Universal Church. In a visit to Rome with Pope Pius IX in 1849, it was suggested to Bishop Timon, the first Bishop of our Diocese, that our Diocese have as our patron, St. Joseph and July 1, 1855, our Cathedral was dedicated to St. Joseph.

Our new Bishop, Bishop Michael Fisher, who has a special devotion to St. Joseph, is encouraging the faithful of the Diocese to join him in prayer with a Consecration to St. Joseph. The 33 day prayer leading up to the Consecration will begin on Monday, February 15th and conclude on the Solemnity of St. Joseph on Friday, March 19th when Bishop Fisher will preside at the 12:10 p.m. Mass in honor of St. Joseph.

You may recall that a couple of years ago we had a Consecration to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Consecration to St. Joseph begins two days before Lent and therefore, may be a fitting spiritual exercise during the season of Lent.

All of the scheduled activities and information will be available on the diocesan website, including daily prayers, which can also be downloaded for your use.