2021 has been declared the ‘Year of St Joseph’ by Pope Francis.
The Holy Father wrote his Apostolic Letter Patris corde (With a Father’s Heart) exactly 150 years since another Pope, Pius IX, declared St Joseph to be the Patron of the Catholic Church.
The Pope wrote Patris corde against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic, which, he says, has helped us see more clearly the importance of 'ordinary' people who, though far from the limelight, exercise patience and offer hope every day. In this, they resemble Saint Joseph, 'the man who goes unnoticed, a daily, discreet and hidden presence,' who nonetheless played 'an incomparable role in the history of salvation.'
Missio Scotland has produced some resources to be used in RE lessons to enable pupils to reflect more fully on the role of St Joseph in the life of Jesus.
While these lessons are not exhaustive and will be added to, we hope that teachers will find them useful in examining the life of the Patron of the Catholic Church.
We hope it will enable us to consider how we are connected across the world with St Joseph as our guardian and the importance of family, whether that be our own biological or our extended Church family, in these most difficult of times.