Why in the Church is the statue of Mary on the left and that of Joseph on the right?

When we enter a Catholic church it is very common to see a statue of the Virgin Mary on the left side of the altar and a statue of San Giuseppe on the right one. This positioning is no coincidence.

First, there are no specific rules or regulations regarding the arrangement of the statues. L'General Instruction of the Roman Missal he only observes that “care should be taken that their number has not increased indiscriminately and that they are arranged in a correct order so as not to distract the attention of the faithful from the celebration itself. Usually there should be only one image of a given Saint ”.

In the past, then, there was the custom of placing the statue of the patron saint of the parish in the center of the church, above the tabernacle, but this tradition has recently diminished in favor of a Crucifix in the center.

Regarding Maria's position, in 1 Re we read: “So Bat Sheba went to King Solomon to speak to him on behalf of Adonijah. The king got up to meet her, bowed to her, then sat down on the throne again, and had another throne placed for his mother, who sat on his right ”. (1 Kings 2:19).

Pope Pius X confirmed this tradition in Ad Diem Illum Laetissimum declaring that "Mary sits at the right hand of her Son".

Another explanation is due to the fact that the left side of the church is known as its "evangelical side" and Mary is biblically seen as the "New Eve“, With its fundamental role in the history of salvation.

In eastern churches, then, an icon of the Mother of God is also placed on the left side of the iconostasis that separates the sanctuary from the church nave. This is because "the Mother of God holds the child Christ in her arms and represents the beginning of our salvation".

Hence, the presence of St. Joseph on the right side is seen in the light of Mary's privileged role. And it is not uncommon for a tall saint to be placed there, in place of St. Joseph.

However, if an image of the Sacred Heart it is placed on the "side of Mary", this is placed on the "side of Joseph", so as to assume a less prominent position than her Son.

At one time, then, in the Church there was also the tradition of segregating the sexes, putting women and children on one side and men on the other. This may be why some churches have all female saints on one side and all male saints on the other.

So, even though there is no hard and fast rule, traditional left-right placement has been developed over time based on biblical texts and various cultural traditions.

Source: Catholicsay. com.