Item #29 Patron Saint of the New World; - Spanish American Colonial Images of St. Joseph. Joseph F. Chorpenning.

Patron Saint of the New World; - Spanish American Colonial Images of St. Joseph

Price: $14.95

Place Published: Philadelphia
Publisher: Saint Joseph's University Press
Date Published: 1992
ISBN: 9780916101114
Book ID: 29

Description:

57 pages + preface, introduction, and bibliography | 11 x 8.5 inches | 57 b/w images


A catalogue of an exhibition held at Saint Joseph's University in spring 1992, this volume contains essays on the contribution of St. Teresa of Ávila and of St. Francis de Sales to the development of devotion to St. Joseph and on Joseph's iconography in Golden-Age and Colonial Spanish art. It also includes photographs of each of the works exhibited, as well as a preface by the renowned Spanish art historian Santiago Sebastián, biobibliographical notes, and suggestions for further reading.

Devotion to St. Joseph was firmly established in the New World within the first decade of the conquest of Mexico (begun in 1518 and completed in 1521). It became so widespread that in 1555 Joseph was proclaimed patron of the Viceroyalty of New Spain (present-day Mexico, Central America, and the Philippines). In 1524 New France (Canada) followed suit and chose Joseph as its patron. St. Joseph is indeed the "Patron Saint of the New World."

Some of the works exhibited portray events in the life of St. Joseph, such as the marriage of Joseph and the Virgin Mary, the nativity of the Lord, the flight into Egypt, and the daily life of the Holy Family at Nazareth. Others depict variations on the image of St. Joseph with the Christ Child, e.g., Joseph holding or walking with Jesus. The countries of origin of these art works are Mexico, Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador. These representative images attest to St. Joseph's popularity and to the intense interest in him in the New World.


Joseph F. Chorpenning, O.S.F.S., contrib. ed.