As a parent, woman considers St. Joseph as ‘my hero’

Ivone Razzino’s love and appreciation of St. Joseph led her to name her son after the saint. (Submitted photo)

By John Shaughnessy

When Pope Francis proclaimed this year as “The Year of St. Joseph,” Ivone Razzino thought of a conversation she had with her father when she was a child.

At the time, she didn’t think the Church focused enough on St. Joseph or talked about him much in Mass.

“I would ask my dad, ‘Why is there so little about him in the Scriptures? Wasn’t he important? Didn’t he take care of Mary and Jesus? Why is he not special?’

“My dad would say, ‘I don’t know why they don’t talk about him. He was a good man. He had the privilege to be with Jesus and Mary and die in their arms. He is a saint to follow.’ ”

She took those words to heart. Now a parent herself, she calls St. Joseph “my hero.”

“Years later, my dad gave me a picture of St. Joseph,” says Razzino, a member of St. Monica Parish in Indianapolis. “Now my son has it in his bedroom. So, guess what my son’s name is? Yes, you guessed it, his name is Joseph. I didn’t have to think that much about it.

“So when Pope Francis proclaimed this the ‘Year of St. Joseph,’ my heart was full of joy and excitement. I thought to myself, ‘He is getting some recognition.’ ”

Her appreciation of him has only grown.

“St. Joseph is a role model in every sense of the word. A man of prayer, trust, faith. I also think he was not as old as they always pictured him.

“I love St. Joseph.” †

The Criterion

March 12, 2021

As a parent, woman considers St. Joseph as ‘my hero’

By John Shaughnessy

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