Group of men consecrates to St. Joseph two days after holy year declaration

Fr. Jim Gigliotti blesses Doug Allen, right, and his daughters, after Allen and a group of men consecrated themselves to St. Joseph during a special Mass at St. Andrew Catholic Church in Fort Worth, on Thursday, Dec. 10, 2020. (NTC/Ben Torres)

FORT WORTH — Just two days after Pope Francis proclaimed the year of St. Joseph beginning on Dec. 8, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, eight men consecrated themselves to the head of the Holy Family at St. Andrew Parish in Fort Worth.

“That was not a coincidence, for sure,” said Jerett Gordon, a parishioner of St. Patrick Cathedral, of the Holy Father’s proclamation.

The group — a mix of St. Andrew and St. Patrick parishioners — began as a group of families gathering regularly a little more than a year ago. At the beginning of 2020, the husbands and fathers of the group participated in Exodus 90. After that spiritual exercise ended, the group was looking for other avenues to grow, and found one in the 33-day “Consecration to St. Joseph” by Father Donald Calloway, MIC.

George Havrilla, also a St. Patrick parishioner and father of three, said the consecration helped him to turn to St. Joseph during periods of suffering and struggles as a father.

St. Joseph “sacrificed and he suffered, in a way, with some of the knowledge of what was to come with his Son and his wife, Mary,” Havrilla said.

Gordon, who suggested the consecration to the men in his fraternity, was inspired after visiting the Loretto Chapel in Santa Fe, known for the Miraculous Staircase a spiral staircase seeming to defy the laws of physics built by an unidentified carpenter after the sisters prayed to St. Joseph.

“The Lord is saying, ‘Come to know St. Joseph better,’” recalled Gordon. “Especially since all of us are fathers in our eight-man group. It really was a no-brainer; we have got to do this.”

Each of the 33 days was based on a line of the Litany to St. Joseph. The members met weekly, either in person or virtually over six weeks. The consecration was done within the context of Mass celebrated by St. Andrew pastor Father Jim Gigliotti, TOR, who had also completed the consecration during Lent of this year.

“St. Joseph’s stellar soul has much to teach us in walking the talk,” Fr. Gigliotti told the North Texas Catholic in an e-mail. “Sustained by serious, heartfelt prayer to the Father in his own time, fidelity to his mission of faithfulness was realized based on trust in the Divine Plan of the incarnation.”

Nathan Guidorzi holds his daughter Genevieve Rose Guidorzi as she quietly laughs in his arms during a special Mass for men consecrating themselves to St. Joseph, celebrated by Fr. Jim Gigliotti, at St. Andrew Church in Fort Worth, on Thursday, Dec. 10, 2020. (NTC/Ben Torres)