Which Designated Year Should Catholics Celebrate?

National Catholic Register, 31 December 2020

Next Spring, the Church will be simultaneously observing four specially designated years: Our Lady of Loreto, St. Joseph, Laudato Si and Amoris Laetitia.

Next March, should Catholics be celebrating St. Joseph or Amoris Laetitia with special devotion? The answer from the Vatican seems to be both, with a greater emphasis on the latter. 

As 2020 draws to an end, the Vatican announced two special years, one for St. Joseph and another for Amoris Laetitia. Both are a bit unusual and draw attention to a recent proliferation of designated years.

Next spring, the Catholic Church will be simultaneously observing four specially designated years: Our Lady of Loreto, St. Joseph, Laudato Si and Amoris Laetitia. 

Silence on the Year of St. Joseph

The Year of St. Joseph might appear to be the most conventional and straightforward. There have been special Marian years, and Benedict XVI had a Year of St. Paul (2008-2009) to mark 2,000 years since the apostle’s birth. St. Paul VI declared a Year of Faith (1967-1968) to mark 1,900 years since the martyrdom of the Apostles Peter and Paul. Benedict’s own Year of Faith (2012-2013) marked the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council.

This December marked the 150th anniversary of Blessed Pius IX declaring Joseph the patron of the universal Church in 1870. It’s the kind of anniversary that might well lead to a designated year.

It would certainly seem to appeal to Pope Francis, who does not hide his personal devotion to Joseph. 

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