The special devotion which sets forth the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph as the model of virtue for all Christian households began in the seventeenth century. It commenced almost simultaneously in Canada and France: the Association of the Holy Family being founded in Montreal in 1663, and the Daughters of the Holy Family in Paris in 1674. Numerous other congregations and associations under the patronage of the Holy Family have been established since that time, and they are spread over the world. The archconfraternity was established by Pius IX in 1847. In 1893 Leo XIII approved a feast for Canada, and Benedict XV extended the Feast of the Holy Family to the whole Church and ordered its celebration to take place on the Sunday after Epiphany.
It just so happens this year that the first Sunday after Epiphany (Feast of the Holy Family) is also the Octave-Day of Epiphany (Jan 13), the Commemoration of the Baptism of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
The big news from Rome that we haven't yet mentioned is the presence of a new member of the family: Petrus the horse. We realized too late that we had forgotten to bring along any of Maria's beloved stuffed animals, and so decided to make amends (and to ensure that we all got some sleep at night) by buying her a stuffed horse, appropriately enough on the Feast of Epiphany. The decision in favor of a horse was easy because of her recent enthusiasm for the noble creatures - "horse" is one of her favorite new words; and the name Petrus won out over Paulus, Caesar, Nero, and a few other contenders. Almost incredibly, he made it home with us and has taken up residence with the other animals around here; in his first day with us alone Lisa ran over him with the stroller twice and he fell overboard only to be discovered as missing half a block later.
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