St. Joseph, Patron of the Church (DT 01) Postcard

This black-and-white image is an 1889 elaboration of an 1878 prototype in chromolithography. (See our full-colour goldprint of St. Joseph, Protector of the Church, COLLECTION [VVP 09]). Its publication coincided with the promulgation of a “Prayer to St. Joseph” authored by Pope Leo XIII. It was included in his encyclical known from its opening words in Latin as “Quamquam Pluries”, that is, “Although Many Times…” about devotion to that saint. + Here, St. Joseph is depicted against a starry night sky within an ecclesiastical architectural framework Gothic in style. He holds a spray of lilies symbolising purity in his right hand and an L-shaped carpenter’s rule indicative of his profession in his left. + In addition to these traditional attributes, however, several elements of the composition speak directly to his role as patron of the Church including, most notably, several Latin texts. On the left, a descending angel unfurls a scroll that reads: “Anno Domini 1870 die VIII decembris, Pius PP.IX, beatum patriarcham Josephum Ecclesiae catholicae patronum solemniter declaravit”, that is, “In the Year of our Lord 1870 on the eighth day of December, Pope Pius IX solemnly declared the blessed patriarch Joseph patron of the Catholic Church”. On the right, in the field above another descending angel is a banderole that reads: “Constituit me dominum” then upside down “domus sua(e)”, or “He appointed me overseer of his own house”. While not a direct quotation from the Latin version of the Bible known as the Vulgate, this text recalls Genesis 39.4 and Genesis 41.40. Those two verses refer to St. Joseph’s Old Testament forerunner Joseph of the Coat of Many Colours who was put in charge first of Potipher’s, then of Pharaoh’s, household during his sojourn in Egypt. And, inscribed in his halo are the words “Sancte Joseph:Patronus Ecclesiae:OPN [Ora Pro Nobis]”, that is, “Saint Joseph, Patron of the Church, Pray For Us”. + Visual elements reinforce the verbal. The second descending angel displays a generic papal coat of arms featuring the three-tiered crown or tiara of the Pope and two crossed keys, the "keys to the Kingdom of Heaven" (Matthew 16:19). Emanating from the shield, rays of light point to a small dragon, a crown, a scroll, and a globe inscribed with the names of the populated continents—Asia, Australia, (North and South) America, Africa, and Europe. The dragon signifies Satan; the scroll reads: “Non serviam”, that is, “I will not serve”, a phrase that sums up Satan’s rejection of God. (In some press runs, the word ‘Liberalism’ appears below Satan’s words.) The towering figure of St. Joseph tramples out Satan’s power over the world by crushing the dragon beneath his feet toppling the crown from the dragon’s head. + This image exists in several variations: with or without frames (frames, where they exist, range from a simple red box to multi-element printer’s embellishments), with or without red accents, with the words ‘Ora pro nobis’ spelled out or abbreviated, and with or without the word ‘Liberalism’ in Satan’s scroll as already noted. + Principal Feast of St. Joseph: March 19; Feast of St. Joseph the Worker: May 1 + Image Credit (DT 01): Antique lithograph of Sancte Joseph, Patronus Ecclesiae [Saint Joseph, Patron of the Church], originally published by Desclée, Lefebvre et Cie, Tournai, Belgium, 1889, from the designer’s private collection of religious ephemera.