O Saint Joseph Marello, like your pateon and model, Saint Joseph, you are a proof that sancity consists not in extraordinary achievements that worlds attention, but in the daily exercise of the virtues of simplicity, charity and humility.  With complete trust in Divine Providence, you founded the Oblates of Saint Joseph, to serve the interests of Jesus in imitation of His guardian and protector.

Father of youth, protector of the poor and the aged, gentle shepherd of your flock, model of charity, you blended strength with kindness, prayers with action, and faithfulness to the church with zealous attention to the sign of the times.  May your holy life inspire the youth to take Gospel as their sure guide; your Oblates to be hidden and faithful instruments of God's work; priests and bishop to be loyal and loving shepards.

Pray with us that we may all live with that peacefulness of mind and heart that comes only from a trusting surrender to God's will.  Amen

O God, our Father, you inspired St. Joseph Marelo to model his life on that of Jesus Christ in the imitation of Jesus Christ.  Following his example of meekness, humility and untiring labor, may we live in faithfulness and joy the duties of our Christian life.  Through his intercession, grant us the favor that we confidently ask ( pause to mention your petition ).  Amen

Brief Biography of St. Joseph Marello (1844 - 1895)

Giuseppe  (Joseph) Marello was born to Vincenzo & Anna Maria (Viale) in Turin, Italy on December 26, 1844 and baptized the same day at the Church of Corpus Domini. Due to the untimely death of his mother, young Joseph and his brother were taken by their father to his native town of San Martino Alfieri (Asti) so his boys could be raised among relatives.

Joseph proved himself early on to be a kind and bright young man, excelling in his academic studies and drawn with a deep affection to the Lord, the Blessed Mother and St. Joseph. Due to his inner desire to be a priest, he entered the diocesan seminary of Asti. There was a period when he decided to withdraw from the seminary program, primarily due to pressure by his father so that Joseph could pursue a career in business. During this period he took ill and the Blessed Mother appeared to him in a vision holding up a cassock (black robe worn by seminarians/priests) beckoning him to return to the seminary. His father, grateful that his son was returning to good health, accepted his decision to return to the seminary and finish pursuing his inner desire to be a priest of God.

That dream came true  on September 19, 1868 when Joseph Marello was ordained a priest in the Cathedral of Asti by his bishop, His Excellency, Carlo Savio. Immediately after his ordination, Bishop Savio recognized the many outstanding qualities in this new priest and asked him to be his personal secretary and confessor. Father Marello loyally served in this capacity along with other administrative roles in the diocese as well as confessor to the seminarians and catechist to adults.

Besides these many responsibilities, Father Marello opened up in the former St. Clare Convent in central Asti a residence for the poor and outcast of the city: orphans, widows, elderly, sick and abandoned. Father Marello lived among these "blessed" individuals and served them with great love and humility. While serving Jesus in the "least of his brothers and sisters" he received the inspiration to start a group, an association of lay men, to serve the interests of Jesus in imitation of St. Joseph by living in  community and serving the needs of the local church. This was the beginning of the Congregation of the Oblates of St. Joseph, officially started on March 14, 1878, in the Michelerio Institude (city orphanage also located in Asti. The band of brothers gradually grew and eventually accepted men to study for the Holy Priesthood.

As the congregation was in its infancy, the Holy Father, Pope Leo XIII, came to know of the many outstanding qualities of this holy, humble man of God. Therefore, the Holy Father appointed Father Marello to become the Bishop of Acqui, a diocese located 20 miles southeast of Asti. On February 17, 1889 at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Rome, Italy, he was ordained a bishop. After taking up his duties as the Bishop of Acqui, Bishop Marello continued to follow the growth of his beloved Oblates of St. Joseph.

Bishop Marello served the Church of Acqui for six years until his untimely death on May 30, 1895 in Savona, Italy. His life span was 50 years, 5 months and 5 days...a life spent in service to God and His Holy Church. His mortal remains are entombed in the Shrine of St. Joseph, Asti, the same location where he once gathered and welcomed the sick and poor as a young priest.

Bishop Marello's virtues continued to live on long past his death and were eventually recognized by the Universal Church. He was beatified (Blessed) by Pope St. John Paul II on September 26, 1993 in his native city of Asti when the Pontiff was there visiting the area and surrounding region. Just eight years later on November 23, 2001 in St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City, the same saintly Pope canonized St. Joseph Marello and enrolled his name in the Church's Book of Canonized Saints.

The vision and pastoral heart of this saint continues to live on in his spiritiual sons - The Oblates of St. Joseph - all throughout the world. Oblates are currently ministering in the following countries: Italy, Poland, Spain, Peru, Brazil, Bolivia, Mexico, Nigeria, Mozambique, Mexico, El Salvador, India, Philippines and the United States of America.

Here in the USA, the first Oblates arrived 90 years ago on February 25, 1929 and originally settled in the Diocese of Scranton, Pennsylvania, working among the poor Italian immigrants. Two years later they expanded their presence on the opposite side of the country in the state of California. After functioning as separate provinces for many decades, the two American provinces united as one USA Province on March 13, 2013. Oblates of St. Joseph are serving in the following locations:

California:
Santa Cruz - Shrine of St. Joseph & Province Headquarters
Loomis - Mount St. Joseph Novitiate and Formation House
Granite Bay - St. Joseph Marello Parish
Madera - St. Joachim Parish
Bakersfield - Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish

Pennsylvania:
Pittston - Oblates of St. Joseph Religious Community House / Chapel of St. Joseph
Pittston - St. Joseph Marello Parish (assisting with sacramental needs only)
Hazleton - Holy Annunciation Parish