About St. Joseph

We know Joseph loved Jesus.  His one concern was for the safety of this child entrusted to him.  Not only did he leave his home to protect Jesus, but upon his return settled in the obscure town of Nazareth out of fear for his life.   When Jesus stayed in the Temple we are told Joseph (along with Mary) searched with great anxiety for three days for him (Luke 2:48).  We also know that Joseph treated Jesus as his own son for over and over the people of Nazareth say of Jesus, “Is this not the son of Joseph?” (Luke 4:22)

We know Joseph respected God.  He followed God’s commands in handling the situation with Mary and going to Jerusalem to have Jesus circumcised and Mary purified after Jesus’ birth.  We are told that he took his family to Jerusalem every year for Passover, something that could not have been easy for a working man.

Since Joseph does not appear in Jesus’ public life, at his death, or resurrection, many historians believe Joseph probably had died before Jesus entered public ministry.  

Joseph is the patron of the dying because, assuming he died before Jesus’ public life, he died with Jesus and Mary close to him, the way we all would like to leave this earth.  Joseph is also patron of the universal Church, fathers, carpenters, and social justice. 

We celebrate two feast days for Joseph:  March 19 for Joseph the Husband of Mary and May 1 for Joseph the Worker.

There is much we wish we could know about Joseph - where and when he was born, how he spent his days, when and how he died.  But Scripture has left us only with the most important knowledge:  who we was - a “righteous man” (Matthew 1:18).