St. Joseph, Toddler CC, Angels with Vatican Model

Pope Francis has designated the period from 8 December 2020 to 8 December 2021 The Year of St. Joseph in commemoration of the 150th Anniversary of Blessed Pope Pius IX’s solemn declaration of St. Joseph as Patron of the Universal Church on 8 December 1870. + This late 19th-century Eastern European devotional print depicts St. Joseph seated on a golden throne receiving an architectural maquette or miniaturized model of the Vatican symbolizing The Church from two kneeling angels. Standing on St. Joseph’s knee is the Christ Child as a toddler. The Christ Child raises his right hand in blessing and holds a spray of lilies symbolizing purity in his left. St. Joseph’s hands encircle the toddler protectively as a visual metaphor for his role as protector of The Church. + St. Joseph is garbed in a blue-violet robe shaded in reddish purple and a brown mantle highlighted in shades of yellow orange; the Christ Child, a white tunic with yellow trim; and the angels, in complementary red and green dalmatics. + The Year of St. Joseph: 8 December 2020 to 8 December 2021; Principal Feast of St. Joseph: March 19; Feast of St. Joseph the Worker: May 1