Redemptoris Custos (Guardian of the Redeemer) is the title of an Apostolic Exhortation by Pope John Paul II on St. Joseph. It was delivered on August 15, 1989 in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome on the occasion of the centenary of Pope Leo XIII's Encyclical Quamquam Pluries.
In this document, John Paul II reemphasizes key elements of Quamquam Pluries regarding the position of St. Joseph in the Church and his connection to Mary.
Recalling Quamquam Pluries, Pope John Paul II again stressed that the Church has implored the protection of St. Joseph on the basis of "that sacred bond of charity which united him to the Immaculate Virgin Mother of God," and that the Church has commended to Joseph all of her cares, including those dangers which threaten the human family.
An Excerpt from GUARDIAN OF THE REDEEMER [Redemptoris Custos]
Apostolic Exhortation of the Supreme Pontiff John Paul II On August 15, 1989.
One hundred years ago, Pope Leo XIII had already exhorted the Catholic world to pray for the protection of St. Joseph, Patron of the whole Church. The Encyclical Epistle Quamquam Pluries appealed to Joseph's "fatherly love...for the child Jesus" and commended to him, as "the provident guardian of the divine Family," "the beloved inheritance which Jesus Christ purchased by his blood." Since that time-as I recalled at the beginning of this Exhortation-the Church has implored the protection of St. Joseph on the basis of "that sacred bond of charity which united him to the Immaculate Virgin Mother of God," and the Church has commended to Joseph all of her cares, including those dangers which threaten the human family.
Even today we have many reasons to pray in a similar way Today we still have good reason to commend everyone to St. Joseph.
It is my heartfelt wish that these reflections on the person of St. Joseph will renew in us the prayerful devotion which my Predecessor called for a century ago. Our prayers and the very person of Joseph have renewed significance for the Church in our day in light of the Third Christian Millennium.
