MEMORIA SÁNCTI IOSEPHI | MEMORARE TO SAINT JOSEPH
PRAY TO SAINT JOSEPH FOR HIS INTERCESSION, ASKING FOR HIS HELP IN TIMES OF NEED AND HIS LOVING PROTECTION
About This Prayer
The Memorare is a prayer of confident petition, traditionally attributed to Saint Bernard of Clairvaux. This version is addressed to Saint Joseph, foster father of Jesus and patron of the universal Church. It may be prayed at any time, particularly when seeking Saint Joseph's intercession for families, workers, and those in need.
Pray Daily
MEMORIA SÁNCTI IOSEPHI [TTS: "Memento, o clárissime Patriarcha Sáncte Ioseph, de testimonio Sánctæ Teresiæ, devotæ tuæ clientis, numquam auditum esse quemquam qui protectionem túam invocaverit aut mediationem túam quæsiverit solacium non nactus sit. Hac fiducia ad te venio, amantissimum protectorem méum, castum sponsum Maríæ, nutricium Salvatoris hominum et dispensatorem thesaurorum Sacratissimi Córdis éius. Noli despicere precem méam ferventem, sed exáudi benigne et exáudi petitionem méam."]
Memento, o clárissime Patriarcha Sáncte Ioseph,
de testimonio Sánctæ Teresiæ,
devotæ tuæ clientis,
numquam auditum esse quemquam qui protectionem túam invocaverit aut mediationem túam quæsiverit solacium non nactus sit.
Hac fiducia ad te venio,
amantissimum protectorem méum,
castum sponsum Maríæ,
nutricium Salvatoris hominum et dispensatorem thesaurorum Sacratissimi Córdis éius.
Noli despicere precem méam ferventem,
sed exáudi benigne et exáudi petitionem méam...
(mentionem petitionis tuae fac).
Oremus [TTS: "Déus, qui ineffabili Providentia tua sánctum Ioseph sponsam sanctissimæ Matris tuæ eligere voluit, concede, rogámus te,
ut, quem protectorem nóstrum in terris veneramur, intercessorem nóstrum in cǽlo esse possit,
qui vivat: et regnabit in ætérnum et in ætérnum. Amen."]
Déus, qui ineffabili Providentia tua sánctum Ioseph sponsam sanctissimæ Matris tuæ eligere voluit, concede, rogámus te,
ut, quem protectorem nóstrum in terris veneramur,
intercessorem nóstrum in cǽlo esse possit,
qui vivat, et regnabit in ætérnum et in ætérnum.
Amen.
MEMORARE TO SAINT JOSEPH
Remember, O most illustrious Patriarch Saint Joseph, on the testimony of Saint Teresa, thy devoted client, never has it been heard that anyone who invoked thy protection or sought thy mediation has not obtained relief. In this confidence I come before thee, my loving protector, chaste spouse of Mary, foster-father of the Savior of men and dispenser of the treasures of His Sacred Heart. Despise not my earnest prayer, but graciously hear and obtain my petition... (mention your request). Let us Pray O God, Who by Thine ineffable Providence didst vouchsafe to choose Saint Joseph to be the spouse of Thy most holy Mother, grant, we beseech Thee, that he whom we venerate as our protector on earth may be our intercessor in Heaven, Who livest and reignest forever and ever. Amen.
Related Prayers
Common Questions
When and how is the Memorare to Saint Joseph prayed?
The Memorare to Saint Joseph may be prayed at any time, especially in moments when one needs his fatherly protection or intercession for family, work, or the dying. It is particularly fitting in the month of March (the Month of Saint Joseph) and on his feasts of March 19 (Saint Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary) and May 1 (Saint Joseph the Worker). Many of the faithful pray it daily as a brief but heartfelt act of trust in the silent, faithful saint who guarded the Holy Family.
What does this prayer ask for?
The Memorare to Saint Joseph is a prayer of confident petition: the soul reminds Saint Joseph that no one who has ever sought his help has been left unaided, and on the strength of that confidence asks for his intercession in present need. The prayer leans into Saint Joseph's hidden, paternal love and the unique authority he was given over Jesus and Mary, asking him to bring the request before his foster Son. It is short, direct, and full of trust.
Who is the original author of the Memorare?
The original Memorare is a Marian prayer traditionally attributed to Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (A.D. 1090-1153), the great Cistercian abbot and Doctor of the Church, though some scholars credit the 17th-century French priest Claude Bernard with shaping its current form. The Marian version begins, 'Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection was left unaided.' This version transposes the same confident structure to Saint Joseph, the silent guardian of Jesus and Mary.
Why pray to Saint Joseph through this prayer?
Saint Joseph is venerated as foster father of Jesus, faithful spouse of Mary, patron of the universal Church (declared by Pope Pius IX in A.D. 1870), and patron of workers, of fathers, and of a happy death. The Memorare to Saint Joseph turns the same trust formerly reserved for his most holy spouse to him, in recognition of the Church's longstanding teaching that Joseph hears prayer in the silence of his hidden life and intercedes powerfully for the household of faith. Many Catholics today pray it for difficult situations in family life, in work, or for those approaching death.