As many know, Pope Leo XIV is a member of the Order of St. Augustine, a religious order that dates back to the 13th century and has roots in the rule of life that St. Augustine wrote.
March 19 is a special feast day for all Augustinians, as the Order has been placed under the protection of St. Joseph.
Protector of the Order of St. Augustine
The Maltese Augustinian Province explains that this devotion is ancient, but has increased in recent years:
Our Augustinian Order has for many years venerated St. Joseph as protector of the Augustinian Order. In the last Ordinary General Chapter...members voted for an amendment in the Constitutions of the Order adding a particular reference to the veneration of the figure of St. Joseph....Equally we encourage the veneration for St. Joseph, Spouse of the Virgin Mary, which the Order traditionally has chosen as protector, a true example of fidelity and adherence to the divine will.
St. Augustine himself wrote about St. Joseph and was one of the earliest defenders of St. Joseph's title of being the "father" of Jesus.
A blog article from Villanova University (an Augustinian university and alma mater of Pope Leo XIV) quotes from the writings of St. Augustine to illustrate his defense of St. Joseph:
St. Augustine addresses the issue of how St. Joseph can be said to be the ‘father’ of Jesus, since God is the father of Christ Jesus, the Incarnate Logos, and Saint Joseph never had any conjugal relations with the Theotokos, the Blessed Virgin Mary.
“On account of that faithful marriage both of them deserved to be called the parents of Christ. Not merely was [Mary] called his mother, but as the spouse of Christ’s mother, [Joseph] was called his father, for he was both of these by his mind, not by the flesh. Though he was [Jesus Christ’s] father only by his mind and she was his mother also by the flesh, they were both parents of his humble condition, not of his lofty condition, of his infirmity, not of his divinity.”
St. Joseph's feast day is therefore a day of great rejoicing for all Augustinians around the world, including Pope Leo XIV.
