Prayer to Saint Joseph

To thee, O blessed Joseph, do we come in our tribulation,and having implored the help of thy thrice-holy Spouse,we confidently invoke thy patronage also.Through that charity which bound theeto the Immaculate Virgin Mother of God,and through the paternal lovewith which thou didst embrace the Child Jesus,we humbly beg thee graciously to regard the inheritancewhich Jesus Christ hath purchased by his Blood,and with thy power and strength to aid us in our necessities.

O most watchful Guardian of the Holy Family,defend the chosen children of Jesus Christ;O most loving father, ward off from usevery contagion of error and corrupting influence;O our most mighty protector, be propitious to us,and from heaven assist us in our struggle with the power of darkness;and even as once thou didst rescue the Child Jesus from deadly peril,so now protect God’s holy Churchfrom the snares of the enemy and from all adversity;shield, too, each one of us by thy constant protection,so that, supported by thy example and thy aid,we may be able to live piously, to die holily,and to obtain eternal happiness in heaven.Amen.

From the encyclical Quamquam pluries of Pope Leo XIII (1889). See Saint Joseph.

In Latin

Ad te, beate Ioseph, in tribulatione nostra confugimus,atque, implorato Sponsae tuae sanctissimae auxilio,patrocinium quoque tuum fidenter exposcimus.Per eam, quaesumus, quae te cum immaculata Virgine Dei Genetrice coniunxit, caritatem,perque paternum, quo Puerum Iesum amplexus es, amorem,supplices deprecamur, ut ad hereditatem,quam Iesus Christus acquisivit Sanguine suo, benignus respicias,ac necessitatibus nostris tua virtute et ope succurras.

Tuere, o Custos providentissime divinae Familiae,Iesu Christi sobolem electam;prohibe a nobis, amantissime Pater,omnem errorum ac corruptelarum luem;propitius nobis, sospitator noster fortissime,in hoc cum potestate tenebrarum certamine e caelo adesto;et sicut olim Puerum Iesum e summo eripuisti vitae discrimine,ita nunc Ecclesiam sanctam Dei ab hostilibus insidiisatque ab omni adversitate defende:nosque singulos perpetuo tege patrocinio,ut ad tui exemplar et ope tua suffulti,sancte vivere, pie emori,sempiternamque in caelis beatitudinem assequi possimus.Amen.

Latin text: Enchiridion Indulgentiarum (1999).