Through Pope Francis, novenas and other devotions, many Catholics throughout the world are discovering more about the foster father of Jesus in this Year of Saint Joseph and are now inspired to imitate his holy virtues.
For two religious sisters serving in the Diocese of Camden who bear his name, they are happy that others are now learning what they have known for quite some time: Saint Joseph is one to emulate.
“He takes care of his family well, and quietly,” says Sister Joseph Marie Hatch, DM, a Daughter of Mercy for over 60 years, and a religious education teacher at Holy Cross Parish in Bridgeton.
Raised by her parents, Joseph and Marie, and the Sisters of Saint Joseph in Philadelphia, she learned from a young age about Saint Joseph.
“He’s a good carpenter, works slowly, but the work is well done. When you pray to him, you might not get an answer quick, but when it comes it will be well done,” she says. “Saint Joseph always gets it done right, the first time.”
Sister Joseph Von Munster, CFR, serving in Atlantic City, calls this Year of Saint Joseph “the best year ever.”
“When I hear his name, I get so happy,” she says.
Born in Holland, Sister Joseph converted to Catholicism while attending Saint Joseph High School in Draguignan, France. Her godfather’s name is Joseph.
When she was discerning her vocation to the Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal, and when she decided to choose a name to mark her new life, she saw the sign posts that had guided her.
“I noticed that Saint Joseph had been with me all throughout my conversion and discernment, providing his fatherly protection and guidance. Through him, I’ve learned how to grow in my relationship with Jesus and Mary and imitate his virtues.”
Since Pope Francis announced the Year of Saint Joseph from Dec. 8, 2021- Dec. 8, 2022, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, in last year’s “Patris Corde,” Sister Joseph has printed out copies of the Apostolic Letter and handed them out to anyone she encounters, whether homeless, priests or volunteers she works with.
She doesn’t want people to forget the saint Pope Francis called “an intercessor, a support and a guide in times of trouble” who played “an incomparable role in the history of salvation.”
“It’s a mission of mine to make him known,” Sister Joseph says.
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