St. Joseph Consecration
“If Joseph was so engaged, heart and soul, in protecting and providing for that little family at Nazareth, don’t you think that now in heaven he is the same loving father and guardian of the whole Church, of all its members, as he was of its Head on earth?”
VENERABLE POPE PIUS XII
Just as Jesus and Mary entrusted themselves entirely to the care and protection of St. Joseph as the head of the Holy Family, so too can we follow their example. “Jesus, living under the roof of St. Joseph and being his Son, gave us a personal example of total entrustment to St. Joseph” (Fr. Donald Calloway, MIC).
We may be familiar with consecration to the Blessed Virgin Mary, in particular the method popularized by St. Louis De Montfort which consists of 33 days of spiritual preparation. In recognition of the emphasis the Church has placed on St. Joseph in recent centuries, Fr. Donald Calloway, MIC, has introduced a similar Consecration to St. Joseph complete with 33 days of readings and prayers leading up to a prayer of consecration recited on a feast day connected to St. Joseph.
What does it mean to consecrate yourself to St. Joseph?
What does it mean for a person to be consecrated to St. Joseph? Well, it basically means that you acknowledge that he is your spiritual father, and you want to be like him. To show it, you entrust yourself entirely into his paternal care so that he can help you acquire his virtues and become holy. Total consecration to St. Joseph means you make a formal act of filial entrustment to your spiritual father so that he can take care of your spiritual well-being and lead you to God. The person who consecrates himself to St. Joseph wants to be as close to their spiritual father as possible, to the point of resembling him in virtue and holiness. Saint Joseph, in turn, will give those consecrated to him his undivided attention, protection, and guidance.
– Fr. Donald Calloway, MIC
If you’ve already consecrated yourself to Our Lady, can you be consecrated to St. Joseph too?
The answer is a resounding “Yes!” God desires that all children be committed to the care of a mother and a father. You are not a member of a single-parent spiritual family. Mary is your spiritual mother, and St. Joseph is your spiritual father. The spiritual fatherhood of St. Joseph is extremely important for your spiritual growth. Total consecration to Mary is not diminished by total consecration to St. Joseph. Mary wants you to consecrate yourself to St. Joseph! Jesus wants you to consecrate yourself to St. Joseph! Everything you have given to Jesus and Mary can also be given to St. Joseph. The hearts of Jesus, Mary, and St. Joseph are one.
– Fr. Donald Calloway, MIC
Make Your Consecration Memorable
Ideally, families and groups could organize themselves to make the consecration together. Fr. Calloway’s book includes material for six weeks of group meetings leading up to the consecration. On the final day a simple ceremony could be planned where the group recites the consecration prayer together led by their pastor or parochial vicar following the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. During the ceremony those who made the consecration could receive a blessed sacramental, such as a St. Joseph medal, to serve as a visible sign and reminder of their consecration. You can purchase 100-pack St. Joseph medals here.
To make a 33-day consecration, we recommend that you use the new book Consecration to St. Joseph: The Wonders of Our Spiritual Father by Fr. Donald Calloway, MIC. The chart below lists suggested dates for making your consecration to St. Joseph.
| START DATE | FEAST DAY | CONSECRATION DAY |
| December 22 | Feast of the Holy Spouses | January 23 |
| January 1 | Presentation of the Lord | February 2 |
| February 15 (leap year: 2/16) | Solemnity of St. Joseph | March 19 |
| March 30 | St. Joseph the Worker | May 1 |
| April 11 | Our Lady of Fatima | May 13 |
| July 20 | Our Lady of Knock | August 21 |
| September 30 | All Saints | November 1 |
| November* | Holy Family | *Last Sunday of December |
If you’d like to do the consecration but cannot purchase the book, you can simply recite a prayer to St. Joseph for 33 days (for example, the Litany of St. Joseph) and conclude on the final day with the consecration prayer below.
PRAYER OF CONSECRATION TO ST. JOSEPH
O Glorious Patriarch and Patron of the Church! O Virgin Spouse of the Virgin Mother of God! O Guardian and Virginal Father of the Word Incarnate! In the presence of Jesus and Mary, I choose you this day to be my father, my guardian, and my protector.
O great St. Joseph, whom God has made the Head of the Holy Family, accept me, I beseech you, though utterly unworthy, to be a member of your “Holy House.” Present me to your Immaculate Spouse; ask her also to adopt me as her child. With her, pray that I may constantly think of Jesus, and serve him faithfully to the end of my life. O Terror of Demons, increase in me virtue, protect me from the evil one, and help me not to offend God in any way.
O my Spiritual Father, I hereby consecrate myself to you. In faithful imitation of Jesus and Mary, I place myself and all my concerns under your care and protection. To you, after Jesus and Mary, I consecrate my body and soul, with all their faculties, my spiritual growth, my home, and all my affairs and undertakings.
Forsake me not, but adopt me as a servant and child of the Holy Family. Watch over me at all times, but especially at the hour of my death. Console and strengthen me with the presence of Jesus and Mary so that, with you, I may praise and adore the Holy Trinity for all eternity. Amen.
Listen to a podcast with Fr. Donald Calloway discussing the consecration to St. Joseph here.