Amidst the various male households on campus, a new example of Christian brotherhood has begun to take shape.

“The Apprentices of St. Joseph has a simple and holy focus,” said household coordinator Jeff Ghering. The household’s other founding members, including Tomas Fuerte, Bill Powel, and Rolando Moreno, realized that “as God created them as men, they had an obligation to strive for holiness and to call each other on to be of God.” The household they created focuses on discernment and preparation for marriage [Oops! See Jeff’s Letter to the Editor ] and in its covenant states that the most perfect example of a holy marriage relationship is given by St. Joseph. [emphasis added] The household believes that not only was he the spouse to the most holy woman, the Virgin Mary, but was also responsible for raising the most beautiful example of manly virtue, Jesus Christ.

Therefore, the members of the Apprentices who are discerning marriage pray for guidance to this holy father and husband to teach them to be holy fathers and devout husbands.

Since they spent the last semester in Austria, the Apprentices hope to accomplish small tasks in order to get the household off the ground this semester, such as making a household banner and designing household t-shirts. The Apprentices’ Lord’s day, like others, is open to visitors and they welcome prospective members to join in other household commitments. The goals for the semester include organizing talks given by priests and other holy role models on the subject of Catholic manhood.