Nordic countries: the Bishops’ pastoral letter in 12 languages about St Joseph. “The patron of families, an important role in the history of salvation”

Translated into 12 languages to reach all the language communities of Catholics in the Nordic countries, the Bishops of Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland and Denmark published a pastoral letter about St Joseph, at the start of the year in which the Church is walking with a special focus on such figure. He, “to whom God spoke in a dream, plays a discreet, hidden role in the Gospels because of his humble loyalty, but he plays an important role in the history of salvation”, it reads. The letter lists and explains the traits of such figure: Joseph is “a man of faith and virtue”, of “prayer and silence”, he is the “patron of families”, he is a “model and a defender of workers”, he is the “chaste spouse of the Virgin Mary”, he is “the patron saint of the Church”, “he is our “ideal of care”, he is the “patron of refugees and migrants”, he is the “hope of the dying”. Joseph “protected the Lord of life at the start of his earthly existence”, the letter ends; “he confidently put his life at the service of God”. The hope is that, “with his help, we too can become protectors of life at its beginning, at its end and throughout our lives on earth, where the lives of so many people are threatened, made unsafe and underestimated”.
Valentina Bombelli