Tarcisio Stramare ‑ an Italian priest, a biblical scholar, writer and teacher – died on 20 March 2020 after suffering from Covid-19.
He was considered one of the greatest international scholars of Josephology.
Stramare studied in Rome and Jerusalem nas became religious of the Congregation of the Oblates of St. Joseph, being ordained a priest in 1952. A learned scholar, already in the 1970s he was called to occupy the chair of Sacred Scripture at the Pontifical Lateran University and, subsequently, at the Pontifical Urban University and at the Pontifical theological faculty "Marianum". He received some important assignments from the Holy See, both in the Pontifical Commission for the Nova Vulgata (since 1973), of which he was responsible for the editions of the text until his death as the Consultor of the Holy Congregation for the Causes of Saints.
Tarcisio Stramare was an Ordinary Member of the Pontifical Academy of Theology and directed the Giuseppino Movement, which, founded in 1963, became an important organ of the Congregation of the Oblates of San Giuseppe, for the study and diffusion of the cult of Saint Joseph.
He carried out an intense activity as an essayist and a publicist, linked above all, but not only, to his profound knowledge of Scripture and the studies of Josephology. Among the latter we remember: Saint Joseph in Sacred Scripture, theology and worship (1983), Saint Joseph in the mystery of God (1992), Jesus called him Father. Historical-doctrinal review of Saint Joseph (1997), and Saint Joseph, the saint closest to Jesus (2008). Of a more properly biblical nature are: Matthew the divorcee? Study on Matthew 5, 32 and 19, 9 (1986), The Theology of Divine Revelation (2000), The Marriage of the Mother of God (2001), and Via Crucis. In the footsteps of the Redeemer (2004).
The testimony and reflections of Tarcisio Stramare have had, especially since the late nineties of the twentieth century, considerable media relevance, both through radio and television networks, national and international. Stramare himself appeared repeatedly in broad audience programs, some of which were broadcast by RAI.. His participation is also intense, in Italy and abroad in symposia and conferences.
He died on 20 March 2020, in Imperia, at the age of 91, from Covid-19.
Tarcisio Stramare has always had a deep interest in St. Joseph, making known the centrality of the figure and the role played in the divine mystery of Salvation. If we take into consideration the inseparable link existing between Incarnation and Redemption, St. Joseph is highlighted thanks to the role played by Jesus' putative Father, as a true minister of Salvation. These approaches are at the basis of the theological line followed by John Paul II in the apostolic exhortation Redemptoris Custos (1989).
For Tarcisio Stramare the figure of St. Joseph, in the mystery of Salvation, therefore has, among the Saints, an importance second only to that of the Virgin Mary.. The loving care and education that the Saint imparted to Christ are in fact just as relevant as procreation itself and reaffirm its undisputed exercise of fatherhood. Respect for the most fragile beings, children, and the sacredness of every life that is brought into the world are in some way enhanced by the figure of St. Joseph and constitute a message of disconcerting topicality.
On the basis of these considerations, the figure of the saint, the closest to Christ after that of the Virgin Mary during the short existence of Jesus, imposes himself on the consideration of the faithful as patron saint of the Universal Church and unsurpassed model of husband, father and educator for every Christian family.