Redemptoris custos

Redemptoris custos
Latin for 'Guardian of the Redeemer'
Apostolic exhortation of Pope John Paul II
Coat of arms of Pope John Paul II
Signature date 15 August 1989
Number6 of 15 of the pontificate
Text
 
The Holy Family with a Little Bird, by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, c. 1650

Redemptoris Custos (Guardian of the Redeemer) is the title of an apostolic exhortation by Pope John Paul II on Saint Joseph. It was delivered on August 15, 1989 in Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome on the occasion of the centenary of Pope Leo XIII's encyclical Quamquam pluries.

It discusses the importance of Saint Joseph in the Holy Family, and presents the pope's view of Saint Joseph's role in the plan of redemption. John Paul II positions Saint Joseph as breaking the old vice of paternal familial domination, and suggests him as the model of a loving father.[1][2]

Noted Josephologist, Father Tarcisio Stramare, of the Oblates of Saint Joseph, was a main collaborator in the preparation of Redemptoris Custos. This exhortation is part of the "redemption documents" issued by Pope John Paul II, and refers to the Marian encyclical Redemptoris Mater.[3]

  1. ^ Saward, John. Cradle of redeeming love: the theology of the Christmas mystery, 2002 ISBN 0-89870-886-9 page 230
  2. ^ Ouellet, Marc. Divine likeness: toward a Trinitarian anthropology of the family, ISBN 0-8028-2833-7 p. 102
  3. ^ Prasad, Jacob. Foundations of the Christian way of life, 2001, ISBN 88-7653-146-7 page 404