The Litany of Saint Joseph

"Terror of demons. Guardian of the Redeemer." The Church's litany to the silent man who guarded God — every approved invocation.

He never speaks a word in the Gospels. He simply guards — the Child and His Mother, through the night, into exile, and home again. The Litany of Saint Joseph is the Church's roll-call of that silent man's titles, each one answered "pray for us": Guardian of the Redeemer, Head of the Holy Family, Terror of demons, Patron of the dying. It is the prayer of the Catholic father who wants to protect what has been entrusted to him — and to die with Joseph's own peace.

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The Litany of Saint Joseph

The full litany (English)

Lord, have mercy. / Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. / Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. / Lord, have mercy. Christ, hear us. / Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us. / Christ, graciously hear us. God the Father in heaven, have mercy on us. God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us. God the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us. Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us. Holy Mary, pray for us. Saint Joseph, pray for us. Illustrious son of David, pray for us. Light of Patriarchs, pray for us. Spouse of the Mother of God, pray for us. Guardian of the Redeemer, pray for us. Pure Guardian of the Virgin, pray for us. Provider for the Son of God, pray for us. Zealous defender of Christ, pray for us. Servant of Christ, pray for us. Minister of salvation, pray for us. Head of the Holy Family, pray for us. Joseph, most just, pray for us. Joseph, most chaste, pray for us. Joseph, most prudent, pray for us. Joseph, most brave, pray for us. Joseph, most obedient, pray for us. Joseph, most loyal, pray for us. Mirror of patience, pray for us. Lover of poverty, pray for us. Model for workers, pray for us. Glory of family life, pray for us. Guardian of virgins, pray for us. Cornerstone of families, pray for us. Support in difficulties, pray for us. Comfort of the sorrowing, pray for us. Hope of the sick, pray for us. Patron of exiles, pray for us. Patron of the afflicted, pray for us. Patron of the poor, pray for us. Patron of the dying, pray for us. Terror of demons, pray for us. Protector of the Holy Church, pray for us. Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord. Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, hear us, O Lord. Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us. V. He made him master of his house, R. and ruler of all his possessions. Let us pray. O God, who in your inexpressible providence were pleased to choose Saint Joseph as spouse of your most holy Mother, grant, we pray, that we, who revere him as our protector on earth, may be worthy of his heavenly intercession. Who live and reign for ever and ever. Amen.

The concluding versicle and prayer (Latin)

V. He made him master of his house, R. and ruler of all his possessions. Let us pray. O God, who in your inexpressible providence were pleased to choose Saint Joseph as spouse of your most holy Mother, grant, we pray, that we, who revere him as our protector on earth, may be worthy of his heavenly intercession. Who live and reign for ever and ever. Amen.V. Constituit eum dominum domus suae. R. Et principem omnis possessionis suae. Oremus. Deus, qui ineffabili providentia beatum Ioseph sanctissimae Genetricis tuae Sponsum eligere dignatus es: praesta, quaesumus; ut quem protectorem veneramur in terris, intercessorem habere mereamur in caelis. Qui vivis et regnas in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

What the Litany of Saint Joseph is

The Litany of Saint Joseph is a litany of praise and petition to the husband of the Virgin Mary and foster-father of Jesus Christ. Like every Catholic litany, it is prayed call-and-response: a leader proclaims each of Joseph's titles, and all reply "pray for us."

Its shape is fixed. It opens with the Kyrie ("Lord, have mercy"), turns to the three Persons of the Holy Trinity and then to the Blessed Virgin Mary, before moving through the long sequence of titles that name who Joseph is and what he does — Guardian of the Redeemer, Head of the Holy Family, Model for workers, Terror of demons, Patron of the dying, Protector of the Holy Church. It closes with the Agnus Dei ("Lamb of God"), a versicle drawn from the Psalms, and a concluding prayer.

Where it came from — and the seven new invocations of 2021

The Litany of Saint Joseph was approved for public use by Pope Saint Pius X in 1909. Its titles are gathered from Scripture, from the Church Fathers, and from centuries of Catholic teaching on the man God chose to guard His Son.

In 2021 the litany grew. Pope Francis had declared a Year of Saint Joseph — marking 150 years since Blessed Pius IX proclaimed Joseph Patron of the Universal Church — and in his apostolic letter Patris corde ("With a Father's Heart") he called the faithful to renew their devotion to him. That May, the Congregation for Divine Worship added seven new invocations, with the Pope's approval: Guardian of the Redeemer, Servant of Christ, Minister of salvation, Support in difficulties, Patron of exiles, Patron of the afflicted, and Patron of the poor. The first, Guardian of the Redeemer (Latin Custos Redemptoris), echoes the title of Saint John Paul II's 1989 exhortation on Saint Joseph.

The closing versicle — "He made him master of his house, and ruler of all his possessions" — is taken from Psalm 105, words first spoken of the patriarch Joseph in Egypt that the Church applies to Saint Joseph, guardian of the household of God.

How and when to pray it

Pray it alone or with your family and parish. One voice leads each invocation; everyone answers "pray for us." A single unhurried passage through the litany takes only a few minutes.

The litany belongs especially to March, the month of Saint Joseph, and to his two feasts — the Solemnity of Saint Joseph, Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary (March 19) and Saint Joseph the Worker (May 1). Many Catholics also pray it on Wednesdays, the day traditionally dedicated to him, and as part of a nine-day novena before his feast. It is a fitting prayer to bring before him for the things he is asked to guard: fathers and families, workers and the unemployed, exiles and the poor, the Church — and the dying, for whom he is honored as the patron of a holy and peaceful death.

Why it matters

Saint Joseph does not preach, argue, or command in the Gospels. He is given a duty and he keeps it — he rises in the night, takes the Child and His Mother, and does what he is told in order to protect them. The litany is a portrait of that vocation, and it is the vocation of every Catholic man: to guard what God entrusts to him, to work without complaint, to stand between his household and the enemy.

That is why the titles land the way they do. Head of the Holy Family. Model for workers. Terror of demons. Protector of the Holy Church. The man who guarded the Redeemer is asked now to guard us — and to obtain for us, at the last, the death he himself was given: in the arms of Jesus and Mary. Altar. Arms. Allegiance.

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