Denver Newsroom, Oct 1, 2021 / 03:00 am
St. Joseph’s ‘faithful trust and courage” provide a powerful pro-life witness, a US bishop has said, marking the start of Respect Life Month in the Year of St. Joseph.
“As the faithful protector of both Jesus and Mary, we find in St. Joseph a profound reminder of our own call to welcome, safeguard, and defend God’s precious gift of human life,” Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City in Kansas, chairman of the US bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, wrote Sept. 27.
“Despite the mysterious circumstances surrounding Mary’s pregnancy, St. Joseph took her into his home at the word of the angel. He guided their journey to Bethlehem, found shelter, and welcomed the infant Jesus as his son. When Herod threatened the life of the Christ Child, St. Joseph left his homeland behind and fled with Jesus and Mary to Egypt.”
Pope Francis has declared a Year of St. Joseph, running from Dec. 8, 2020 to Dec. 8, 2021, in honor of the 150th anniversary of the saint’s proclamation as patron of the Universal Church.