Saint Joseph, patron of the universal Church: Quamquam pluries and his patronage

Who declared Saint Joseph patron of the Church was Blessed Pius IX, on December 8, 1870, through the Sacred Congregation of Rites’ decree *Quemadmodum Deus*, solemnly proclaiming him “Patron of the Catholic Church.” Nineteen years later, Leo XIII provided the theological foundation for this declaration in his encyclical *Quamquam pluries* of August 15, 1889. The reason for his patronage, the pope explained, is not an arbitrary privilege but arises from Joseph’s role as husband of the Mother of God and legal father of Jesus, head of the household in Nazareth that contained in itself the nascent Church. This article explores both documents and situates them within the context of *josefology* on this portal.

1870: Pius IX’s Declaration in the Decree *Quemadmodum Deus*

The context was dramatic. On September 20, 1870, Italian troops had taken Rome, ending the Papal States, and the First Vatican Council was suspended. In this dark hour, Pius IX, responding to the bishops’ pleas, ordered the decree *Quemadmodum Deus* (ASS 6, pp. 193-194) to be published on the feast of the Immaculate Conception.The decree begins with the typology of the Patriarch of Egypt: just as God had raised up Joseph of the Old Testament to rule over all the land of Egypt to preserve the people’s grain, so, in sending his only Son into the world, “he chose another Joseph, of whom the first was the type, and made him lord and prince of his house and guardian of his treasures” (ASS 6, p. 193). It continues with the solemn declaration:> “Our most holy Lord Pius, the Pope, deeply moved by the recent and painful condition of affairs, to commit himself and all the faithful to the most powerful protection of the holy Patriarch Joseph, wished to fulfill the prayers of the Sacred Hierarchy and solemnly declared him PATRON OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH” (*Quemadmodum Deus*, ASS 6, pp. 193-194).In a literal translation: the Most Holy Lord Pius, the Pope, moved by the recent and painful state of affairs, to entrust himself and all the faithful to the powerful protection of the holy Patriarch Joseph, wished to fulfill the prayers of the Hierarchs and solemnly declared him PATRON OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. The same decree elevated the feast of March 19 to a double rite of first class. Over a century later, John Paul II summarized the gesture:> “In difficult times for the Church, Pius IX, desiring to entrust her to the special protection of Saint Joseph, declared him ‘Patron of the Catholic Church’. (John Paul II, *Redemptoris custos*, n. 28)”

The Encyclical of Leo XIII: The Theological Foundation of Patronage

The declaration of 1870 was a brief juridical-liturgical act. It was Leo XIII who, in his encyclical Quamquam pluries (August 15, 1889), transformed it into doctrine. Written to request that in October a prayer to Saint Joseph be added to the Rosary, the encyclical precisely formulates the reasons for patronage. There is no Portuguese version available on the Holy See’s website, so we cite the official Spanish version:> «The reasons why the blessed Joseph must be considered a special patron of the Church, and why, in turn, the Church expects much from his protection and patronage, primarily arise from the fact that he is the husband of Mary and the legal father of Jesus» (Quamquam pluries, n. 3).The reasons for patronage thus arise from him being the husband of Mary and the legal father of Jesus: «From these sources has flowed his dignity, his sanctity, his glory» (n. 3). The decisive step is the ecclesiological argument. Joseph was «the legitimate and natural guardian, head and defender of the Holy Family» (n. 3), and Leo XIII concludes:> «Now, the divine home that Joseph directed with the authority of a father contained within itself the just-born Church» (Quamquam pluries, n. 3).

Why Saint Joseph is Patron: Husband of Mary and Head of the Holy Family

The subsequent theology clarified the Leonine logic in two inseparable titles. The first is his marriage to the Virgin: “The marriage with Mary is the legal foundation for Saint Joseph’s paternity. God chose Joseph as husband of Mary to ensure the protection of a father for Jesus” (Redemptoris custos, n. 7). The second is Saint Joseph’s real, human paternity, which arises from this marriage and is not merely apparent or substitutive, but true and proper human paternity (cf. Redemptoris custos, n. 21).The Gospel condenses this mission in a single verse. As the introduction to John Paul II’s exhortation reminds us, called to protect the Redeemer, “Joseph did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took Mary as his wife” (Mt 1:24, cited in Redemptoris custos, n. 1). This silent, obedient action, described in the same document as the “pure obedience of faith” (Redemptoris custos, n. 4), forms the biblical basis for the Church’s trust: he who guarded the Head can guard the Body. This is why Leo XIII recognizes a unique dignity for Saint Joseph:> He stands out among all others by his sublime dignity, given that, by divine disposition, he was guardian and, in the eyes of men, father of the Son of God. Therefore, it followed that the Word of God was subject to Joseph, that he obeyed him and paid him that honor and that reverence due to parents from their children. (Leão XIII, Quamquam pluries, cited in Redemptoris custos, n. 8)The encyclical also revisits the Old Testament typology: “Joseph of ancient times, son of the patriarch Jacob, was a type of Saint Joseph” (n. 4). The pharaoh told the hungry people, according to the New Vulgata of Gn 41:55, *ite ad Ioseph et, quidquid vobis dixerit, facite* – *go to Joseph and do whatever he tells you*. This typology, present since ancient times and collected by the Magisterium, is not merely a devotional ornament: the dreams, the descent to Egypt, and the salvation of the people prefigure the mission of the Joseph of the New Testament, and the very decree of 1870 builds upon it all its argumentation.The Patronage Today: From Redemptoris custos to Patris cordeThe contemporary Magisterium confirmed and deepened the patronage. On the exact centenary of Quamquam pluries, John Paul II published the apostolic exhortation Redemptoris custos (August 15, 1989), which presents Joseph as the guardian of the Redeemer and “a singular master in the service of Christ’s salvific mission” for all states of life in the Church (n. 32). On the 150th anniversary of the declaration of Pius IX, Francis published the apostolic letter Patris corde (December 8, 2020) and called for a year dedicated to the saint. In it, he recalls the singular place of the patron: “After Mary, the Mother of God, no other saint occupies so much space in the pontifical magisterium as Joseph, her husband” (Patris corde, prologue). And he describes the patronage in an existential key:“Everyone can find in Saint Joseph – the man who goes unnoticed, the man of daily, discreet, and hidden presence – an intercessor, a support, and a guide in moments of difficulty.” (Francis, Patris corde, prologue)

The direct fruit of this anniversary was the update of the Litany of Saint Joseph: on May 1, 2021, the Congregation for Divine Worship added seven invocations taken from pontifical teaching, namely Custos Redemptoris, Serve Christi, Minister salutis, Fulcimen in difficultatibus, and Patrone exsulum, afflictorum, pauperum (Letter to the Conferences of Bishops, 5.1.2021).The permanent sense of patronage is therefore summed up in three lines. Joseph intercedes: the Church implores his “interventum in rebus anxiis”, his intervention in times of distress, as stated in the 1870 decree. Joseph protects: what he did for the nascent Church in Nazareth continues to be done for the Body of Christ in history. Joseph teaches: his faithfulness in obedience is a model for spouses, parents, workers, contemplatives, and apostles (Redemptoris Custos, n. 32). To continue the journey, see Who was Saint Joseph and Dedication to Saint Joseph.

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