BY ELIZABETH WONG BARNSTEAD, THE WESTERN KENTUCKY CATHOLIC

Purchase the book at www.consecrationtostjoseph.org. Watch Fr. Donald Calloway’s Feb. 24 webinar for the Diocese of Owensboro at owensborodiocese.org/year-of-st-joseph.

On Feb. 24, 2021, Fr. Donald Calloway, MIC, gave a webinar for the Diocese of Owensboro about the Year of St. Joseph, which Pope Francis declared from Dec. 8, 2020, to Dec. 8, 2021.

Fr. Calloway is the author of 14 books, the latest being “Consecration to St. Joseph: The Wonders of Our Spiritual Father.”

“I believe that the Holy Spirit is saying to the Church, through the pope and through the bishops, that now is the time of St. Joseph,” said Fr. Calloway during the webinar, which was sponsored by the diocese’s Office of Worship and discussed the significance of an entire year dedicated to Jesus’s foster father.

“He was modeling manhood for the Messiah, for Jesus, as he grew up,” he said.

The multiple webinar viewers spoke highly of the experience.

Maria Korte, the youth minister and director of sacramental preparations at St. Francis de Sales Parish in Paducah, was glad she had tuned into the webinar.

“I’m looking forward to this year of St. Joseph and learning more about Joseph and becoming even closer to Christ through this year of prayer,” said Korte. “I always need to remember to say ‘Yes’ like Joseph did when God gave him a mission.”

Deacon Paul Bachi of St. Mark Parish in Eddyville said Fr. Calloway’s “enthusiasm for St. Joseph the man” inspired Deacon Bachi to read Pope Francis’s apostolic letter, “Patris Corde,” which he said “has brought several blessings to myself and others with whom I have shared it.”

Kara Bekebrede, director of religious education at St. William and Lawrence Parishes in Daviess County, said she appreciated the work Fr. Calloway had put into promoting “true fatherhood in St. Joseph.”

“I daily renew my consecration to St. Joseph and find much comfort that he is always protecting and leading me closer to heaven,” said Bekebrede.

Several residents of the Carmel Home in Owensboro watched the webinar as well. Patti Wink said she loves to learn about the Bible and the saints, adding that “I bought the book and can’t wait to start reading it,” and Joan Englert said she had previously learned about Fr. Calloway from her daughter-in-law, so she “really enjoyed getting to hear him.”

Fellow resident Dolores Murphy said the webinar helped her “to still feel connected with the Church and the Catholic community during this pandemic,” while Margie Hardesty shared that she had “learned so much history and different aspects we didn’t know about St. Joseph.”

Originally printed in the April 2021 issue of The Western Kentucky Catholic.