Pope shares why he loves St. Joseph so much

Pope Francis spoke at length with the Vatican's semi-official newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, about St. Joseph -- why he chose to dedicate last year to the saint, what he teaches about fatherhood, and about Jesus, and what fathers and all of us can learn from him.

One element of the interview is the Pope's explanation of why he loves Joseph so much.

"I have never hidden the closeness I feel towards Saint Joseph," he said. "I think that it comes from my childhood, from my formation."

The Holy Father said that he sees in Joseph the representation of "what Christian faith should be for each of us, in a beautiful and simple way."

For all his simplicity, though, Joseph had a key role to play in salvation history, the Pope reflected.

Pope Francis said St. Joseph could be seen as "the man of difficult times" - a man who "knows how to take on responsibilities."

He explained that he sees two characteristics joined together in the saint: his spiritual depth, and his great practicality.

The accounts of God speaking in Joseph's dreams "bear witness to Joseph’s ability to know how to listen to God speaking to his heart. Only someone who prays, who has an intense spiritual life, can have the capacity to know how to distinguish God’s voice in the midst of many other voices that dwell in us."

But beside this characteristic is Joseph as a "concrete man" who "faces problems with great practicality, who never assumes the position of being a victim when faced with difficulties and obstacles. Instead, he always places himself in the perspective of reacting, of responding, of trusting God, and finding a solution in a creative way."

The interviewer noted how Pope Francis in fact began his Petrine ministry on the feast of St Joseph, a fact that the Pope said he has always considered a "kindness from heaven."

However, the Pope urged all the faithful to form this relationship with the saints.