The Congregation for Divine Worship issued the decree calling for the inclusion of St Joseph in Eucharistic Prayers II, III, and IV. St Joseph is already mentioned in Eucharistic Prayer I, as mandated by Blessed John XXIII.

The decree from the Congregation for Divine Worship, formally dated May 1 (the feast of St. Joseph the Worker), provides that the name of the Virgin Mary will be immediately followed by the words "with blessed Joseph, her spouse".

The decree notes that after John XXIII added the name of St Joseph to the Roman Canon, there were petitions from the faithful asking that St Joseph also be named in the other Eucharistic Prayers. These petitions, the decree said, had the support of Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis, and the latter approved the new mandate.

An official of the congregation told Catholic News Service that national bishops' conferences could set a date for the changes to begin if they believe that is necessary, "but because it is a matter of only adding five words, priests can begin immediately".

The decree described St Joseph as "an exemplary model of the kindness and humility that the Christian faith raises to a great destiny, and demonstrates the ordinary and simple virtues necessary for men to be good and genuine followers of Christ".

Pope Francis, who has a flower used as a symbol of St. Joseph on his coat-of-arms, chose the March 19 feast of St Joseph as the date for his inaugural Mass.

Pope Benedict, who was born Joseph Ratzinger and celebrated the March 19 feast of St Joseph as his name day, told a crowd in Cameroon in 2009 that he had "received the grace of bearing this beautiful name".

Sources:

Catholic News Service

Vatican Information Service

Image: Wikimedia

"I want to highlight in particular the fact that the Church is the Church of all peoples, so she speaks in the various cultures of the different continents," the Pope said during the hour-long service in St Peter's Basilica, Rome.

"Amid the polyphony of the various voices, she raises a single harmonious song to the living God."

He added: "What makes the Church catholic is the fact that Christ in his saving mission embraces all humanity."

The six new cardinals from four different continents represented two Eastern Catholic Churches as well as the Latin rite.

They were: United States Archbishop James M. Harvey, 63, former prefect of the papal household; Lebanon's Maronite Patriarch Bechara Rai, 72; Indian Archbishop Baselio Cleemis Thottunkal, 53, head of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church; Nigerian Archbishop John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan, 68, of Abuja; Colombian Archbishop Ruben Salazar Gomez, 70, of Bogota; and Philippine Archbishop Luis Tagle, 55, of Manila.

The new Eastern Catholic cardinals received modified versions of the biretta, consistent with the distinctive clerical garb of their churches. Cardinal Rai received the turban-like Maronite tabieh, and Cardinal Cleemis a head covering in a shape reminiscent of an onion dome.

The consistory increased the College of Cardinals to 211 members, 120 of whom are under the age of 80 and thus eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope.

Though fewer than 24 per cent of the world's Catholic live in Europe, 52 per cent of the voting cardinals still come from that continent, with 23 per cent from Italy.

Sources:

Catholic News Service

Catholic News Agency

Vatican Information Service

Image: The Hindu