The special devotion that proposes the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph as the model of virtue for all Christian households began in the 17th century. It started almost simultaneously in Canada and France: the Association of the Holy Family was founded in Montreal in 1663, and by the Daughters of the Holy Family in Paris in 1674. This devotion soon spread, and in 1893 Leo XIII approved a feast under this title and composed part of the Office. On account of the flight into Egypt, this feast has been observed by the Copts from early times. The feast was welcomed by succeeding Pontiffs as an efficacious means of bringing home to the Christian people the example of the Holy Family at Nazareth and, by the restoration of the true spirit of family life, stemming, in some measure, the evils of present-day society.