Saint Joseph
Husband of Mary, Foster Father of Jesus,
Feast Day: March 19, May 1
Patron of: the Universal Church, Belgium, Canada, China and Peru, of workers (May 1st), fathers, the poor and craftsmen, and of a happy death.
Symbol: Infant Jesus, monstrance, chalice,cross, lamb, Bible, ladder, tools, dove, lily, rod, plane,carpenter’s square

Young Families – Saint Joseph was chosen by God to be Jesus’s father on earth. God knew that Jesus would need a foster father to raise him and teach him. The Bible tells us that he was a ‘just man.’ That means he was a good man, honest, fair, and God-loving.

When it was discovered that Mary was with child, Saint Joseph wondered what to do. St. Joseph and Mary were betrothed (formally and legally promised to each other) but not yet living together (married).

An angel appeared to him in a dream and told him not to worry, that the child was the Messiah, conceived by the Holy Spirit. Joseph was to be her husband and protect the child as He grew. Joseph decided to trust the angel and God. He married Mary and took her into his home.

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem, the angel appeared to Joseph again, warning him that the Child was in danger. Joseph obeyed the angel’s message again, and took his family to Egypt to escape from Herod’s soldiers. After many years, the Holy Family finally returned to their home village of Nazareth.

Not much else is known about Saint Joseph, the 30 years between the Nativity and the beginning of Jesus’ travelling and teaching are called ‘the hidden years.’ The only other event the Bible tells us about the Child Jesus’ life and about Saint Joseph is the Finding in the Temple, when Jesus was missing for three days and finally Joseph and Mary found Him in the Temple teaching the scribes and elders.  MORE