Tune in Friday, March 19, as Bishop David. M. O’Connell, C.M., celebrates Mass for the Solemnity of St. Joseph.

The videotaped Mass will be shown on all diocesan media, including our Youtube channel , beginning at 6 a.m.

St. Joseph is the patron of the Universal Church – an ordinary man, a working man, the Bishop recently preached: “History would probably have taken little, if any, notice of him if God had not noticed him first.”

This year’s feast takes place in the Year of St. Joseph, declared by Pope Francis to be observed from Dec. 8, 2020 to Dec. 8, 2021.

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FACES OF ST. JOSEPH: Images of St. Joseph from around the Diocese . . .   St. Joseph’s presence is enshrined in the names of several churches and institutions in the Diocese, as well as the artwork, statuary and stained-glass representations in many of our places of worship.

To watch a slideshow of St. Joseph images sent in by parishes and other local communities, with narration from Bishop O’Connell, click here.

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In a special message about the Year of St. Joseph, Bishop O’Connell writes:

“If it were not for the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Lord Jesus Christ, and her ‘yes’ to God, the world would have never heard of Joseph, the ‘carpenter of Nazareth.’ And, yet, this man of whom the Holy Scriptures say so very little is the Universal Patron of the Catholic Church.

“This title, first given to St. Joseph 150 years ago (December 8, 1870) by Blessed Pope Pius IX, prompted our Holy Father Pope Francis to declare on December 8, 2020 an entire year dedicated to his memory.”

To read Bishop O’Connell’s message click here. To listen to his message in English click here, for Spanish click here.