Josephology

Josephology is the theological study of Saint Joseph, the husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Records of devotions to Joseph go back to the year 800 and Doctors of the Church since Saint Thomas Aquinas have written on the subject. With the growth of Mariology, the theological study of Joseph also grew and in the 1950s specific centers for it were formed. The modern study of the theology concerning Joseph is one of the newest theological disciplines.

Saint Jerome's Against Helvidius (ca. 383) paved the way for aspects of future Josephite devotion with his assertion that Joseph was always a virgin. The earliest record of a formal devotional following for Saint Joseph in the Western Church is in the abridged Martyrology of Rheinau in Northern France, which dates to the year 800. References to Joseph as nutritor Domini ("educator/guardian of the Lord") from the 9th to the 14th centuries continued to increase as Mariology developed, and by the 12th century, along with greater devotion to Mary, the writings of the Benedictine monks began to foster a following for Joseph and they inserted his name in their liturgical calendars and their martyrology.

In the 13th century, the Dominican Doctor of the Church Thomas Aquinas discussed the necessity of the presence of Saint Joseph in the plan of the Incarnation for if Mary had not been married, her fellow Jews would have stoned her to death and that a young Jesus needed the care and protection of a human father. The Josephology of Aquinas often proceeded with the juxtaposition of Joseph and Mary.

In the 15th century, major steps were taken by Saint Bernardine of Siena, Pierre d'Ailly, and Jean Gerson, the chancellor of the Cathedral of Notre Dame, Paris. Gerson wrote a lengthy treatise in French titled Consideration sur Saint Joseph and a 120-verse poem in Latin about Saint Joseph. In 1416 to 1418, Gerson preached sermons on Saint Joseph at the Council of Constance in which he borrowed heavily from Marian themes.

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