Interior of the National Shrine of Saint Joseph in Mandaue City, Cebu. PHOTO FROM NSSJ
By CBCP News
Mar 12 2021
MANILA – The Philippine Catholic Church is forming a national organization of men with a mission to spread the devotion to Saint Joseph in the country, a bishop said Wednesday.
Bishop Broderick Pabillo, who heads the bishops’ Episcopal Commission on the Laity, said the group is among the legacies they want to leave for the ongoing Year of St. Joseph.
“Part of that legacy is to form a group of men in all the parishes,” Pabillo said during a virtual press conference.
There are already different groups devoted to Jesus’ foster father, but he said the goal is to make it “more national and more coordinated”.
Helping them establish the group is the Oblates of St. Joseph, a religious congregation dedicated to spreading the devotion.
“So we are coming up with a common policy, activities and guidelines to set up this group,” the bishop said.
“Hopefully, this group of men can carry on this devotion and in order to make our men more modelled according to St Joseph, especially of the fathers in our families,” he added.
Pope Francis last year announced a Year of St. Joseph in honor of the 150th anniversary of the saint’s proclamation as patron of the Universal Church.
The year began last Dec. 8 and will conclude on Dec. 8, 2021, according to a decree authorized by the pope.
The pope had also granted special indulgences to mark the year.
The country’s bishops’ conference has assigned its Commission on the Laity to prepare the program of activities for the jubilee year.
One of the major activities is the consecration of the nation to St. Joseph on May 1, the feast of St. Joseph the Worker, with the National Shrine of St. Joseph in Cebu province’s city of Mandaue as the center of the celebration.
A nine-day novena Masses at the Santuario de San Jose in Greenhills, Mandaluyong City also started today leading to the Solemnity of St. Joseph on March 19.
On Dec. 1, a consecration of families to St. Joseph will also be held as the concluding event of the liturgical year. – CBCPNews
