Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 8, 2021 / 06:01 am

Inspired by Pope Francis’ declaration of the Year of St. Joseph, the Knights of Columbus have released a documentary on the Head of the Holy Family, which can now be accessed for free on their website. 

The 60-minute documentary “St. Joseph: Our Spiritual Father,” which premiered Oct. 10 for a six-week run on ABC-affiliated stations across the country, features reenactments, interviews with scholars, and testimonies of people with a devotion to St. Joseph.

The Knights of Columbus is the world’s largest Catholic fraternal organization, with more than 2 million members in over 16,000 councils worldwide.

A statement from the Knights of Columbus said that the documentary is meant to help the faithful in deepening their devotion to St. Joseph.

“Since its launch,” the statement said, “the film has received raving reviews and is rich in inspiring testimonials, including these powerful words from Most Rev. James Wall, Bishop of Gallup, New Mexico.”

Wall said, “If you have a devotion to St. Joseph, strengthen that devotion. If you don’t, you should have one.” The release of the now-free documentary on Dec. 8 coincides with the conclusion of the Year of St. Joseph that lasted from Dec. 8, 2020 to Dec. 8, 2021.

CNA spoke to the film’s director, David Naglieri, about the film in October.

Naglieri, the director of film and digital media for the Knights of Columbus, told CNA that the film highlights devotion to St. Joseph through six stories.

One of the stories focuses on the Nazi concentration camp in Dachau, where many Catholic priests became prisoners.

Fearing for their survival, the priests prayed a novena to St. Joseph for protection. The people in the camp were liberated at the culmination of their novena, and discovered that the day of their liberation was originally the day of their scheduled execution, Naglieri said.

Naglieri told CNA that Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly’s strong devotion to St. Joseph is what initiated the creation of the film. Kelly asked him to consider producing a documentary film to highlight St. Joseph’s life and his importance as a role model for modern times, according to Naglieri.

In the statement Kelly said that “the example of St. Joseph teaches us that we really find ourselves when we live for others.”

Kelly was installed as the head of the organization in June, and consecrated his new administration to St. Joseph.

At the state deputies’ semi-annual meeting on Nov. 6 and 7 in Nashville, Tennessee, Kelly introduced the order’s new pilgrim icon prayer program, which features an icon, made by Elizabeth Bergeron and based on a drawing by Alexandre Sobolev, of St. Joseph holding the child Jesus from St. Joseph’s Oratory in Montreal, Canada.