The apotheosis of Saint Joseph. Jean Gerson's Josephina (1414-1417) and its doctrinal challenges

The Josephina, an epic poem of almost 3,000 hexameters, was composed by Jean Gerson, Chancellor of the University of Paris, between 1414 and 1417, mainly during the Council of Constance. Written at a time of great political and ecclesiastical turmoil, this epic is one of the forms adopted by the chancellor's reforming action, in that it promotes the cult of Saint Joseph and his virginal marriage to Mary as examples of the mystical union of Christ and the Church. The vast reconstruction of the figure of Joseph undertaken in the poem was not without doctrinal boldness. Among the novelties proposed by Gerson are not only his sanctification in utero and the theological justification of a young Joseph, but also his assumption into heaven before hiswife and Christ himself - an unheard-of assumption that raises a number of questions in connection with the enigmatic account of the righteous resurrected at Jesus' death in Mt 27:52-53.