Josep Manyanet i Vives

The work of Josep Manyanet i Vives is organized around a unique project: to make every home a sanctuary in the image of the Holy Family of Nazareth. In 1864, with the agreement of his bishop, he founded in Tremp the congregation of the Sons of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, dedicated to the Christian education of children and young people and to the sanctification of families. In 1874, he founded a second, female congregation, the Missionary Daughters of the Holy Family of Nazareth, animated by the same spirit. To spread his spirituality, he founded the magazine La Sagrada Familia and wrote several works, among which are La Escuela de Nazaret y Casa de la Sagrada Familia (1895) and Preciosa joya de familia (1899). A visionary, he promoted in Barcelona the construction of a great temple dedicated to the Holy Family: the Sagrada Família, the realization of which was entrusted to the architect Antoni Gaudí. This basilica remains the most visible symbol of his apostolic zeal in favor of the family.

The spirituality of Josep Manyanet i Vives is entirely centered on the mystery of Nazareth: the hidden life of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph becomes the model for all Christian existence and all family life. Manyanet himself sought to be an imitator of this "school of Nazareth," realizing his project of personal holiness in obedience, humility, and service. His reputation for holiness stems from his apostolic zeal and the heroic patience with which he endured, for many long years, a painful illness, which he offered for his work. At his canonization, Pope John Paul II presented him as "a true apostle of the family" who, inspired by the school of Nazareth, dedicated himself "with heroic devotion" to the mission that the Spirit had entrusted to him. His spiritual motto summarized his desire: to make every home a Nazareth and every family a Holy Family.

The cause for the beatification of Josep Manyanet i Vives was introduced under the pontificate of Pius XII on November 25, 1956. Recognized as venerable, he was beatified by Pope John Paul II on November 25, 1984. Following the recognition of a miracle attributed to his intercession, approved on December 20, 2003, the same Pope John Paul II canonized him on May 16, 2004, in Saint Peter's Square, during a celebration in which six blesseds were proclaimed saints. In his homily, the Pope invited families to draw inspiration from the example of the Holy Family of Nazareth, in accordance with the charism of the new saint. The liturgical feast of Saint Josep Manyanet is set for December 17, the anniversary of his death; it is celebrated notably in the Catalan dioceses of Barcelona, Tarragona, and Urgell, as well as by the two congregations he founded.

The legacy of Josep Manyanet i Vives continues first through the two congregations he founded: the Sons of the Holy Family and the Missionary Daughters of the Holy Family of Nazareth, dedicated to Christian education and family ministry, and established today in several countries in Europe and America. Considered an apostle of the family, he is viewed as a precursor to modern family ministry, his intuition of a "school of Nazareth" finding an echo in the Church's teaching on the family. His name remains lastingly associated with the Sagrada Família basilica in Barcelona, of which he was one of the inspirers and which Antoni Gaudí raised as a monument to the Holy Family. Through his writings, his journals, and his educational institutions, his spirituality continues to propose the home of Nazareth as a model of Christian life for families.