According to the
canonical Gospels
Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the second century AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message was reported. In this sen ...
, Joseph (; ) was a 1st-century
Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
man of
Nazareth
Nazareth is the largest Cities in Israel, city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. In its population was . Known as "the Arab capital of Israel", Nazareth serves as a cultural, political, religious, economic and ...
who was
married
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
to
Mary, the mother of Jesus
Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...
, and was the legal father of
Jesus
Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...
.
Joseph is venerated as Saint Joseph in the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
,
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...
,
Oriental Orthodox Church
The Oriental Orthodox Churches are Eastern Christian churches adhering to Miaphysite Christology, with approximately 50 million members worldwide. The Oriental Orthodox Churches adhere to the Nicene Christian tradition. Oriental Orthodoxy is ...
,
Anglicanism
Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
and
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...
. In Catholic traditions, Joseph is regarded as the
patron saint
A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...
of workers and is associated with various
feast day
The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context does n ...
s. The month of March is dedicated to Saint Joseph.
Pope Pius IX
Pope Pius IX (; born Giovanni Maria Battista Pietro Pellegrino Isidoro Mastai-Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878. His reign of nearly 32 years is the longest verified of any pope in hist ...
declared him to be both the patron and the protector of the Catholic Church, in addition to his patronages of the sick and of a holy death, due to the belief that he died in the presence of Jesus and Mary. Joseph has become patron of various
diocese
In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...
s and places. Being a patron saint of virgins, he is venerated as "most chaste". A specific veneration is attributed to the pure and most
Chaste Heart of Joseph.
Several venerated images of Saint Joseph have been granted a decree of
canonical coronation
A canonical coronation () is a pious institutional act of the pope, duly expressed in a formal decree of a papal bull, in which the pope bestows the pontifical right to impose an ornamental crown, a diadem or an aureola, aureole to an image of ...
by a
pontiff
In Roman antiquity, a pontiff () was a member of the most illustrious of the colleges of priests of the Roman religion, the College of Pontiffs."Pontifex". "Oxford English Dictionary", March 2007 The term ''pontiff'' was later applied to any h ...
. Religious
iconography
Iconography, as a branch of art history, studies the identification, description and interpretation of the content of images: the subjects depicted, the particular compositions and details used to do so, and other elements that are distinct fro ...
often depicts him with
lilies or
spikenard. With the present-day growth of
Mariology
Mariology is the Christian theological study of Mary, mother of Jesus. Mariology seeks to relate doctrine or dogma about Mary to other doctrines of the faith, such as those concerning Jesus and notions about redemption, intercession and g ...
, the theological field of
Josephology has also grown and since the 1950s centers for studying it have been formed.
In the New Testament

The
Pauline epistles
The Pauline epistles, also known as Epistles of Paul or Letters of Paul, are the thirteen books of the New Testament attributed to Paul the Apostle, although the authorship of some is in dispute. Among these epistles are some of the earliest ext ...
are the oldest extant Christian writings. These mention Jesus' mother (without naming her), but do not refer to his father. The
Gospel of Mark
The Gospel of Mark is the second of the four canonical Gospels and one of the three synoptic Gospels, synoptic Gospels. It tells of the ministry of Jesus from baptism of Jesus, his baptism by John the Baptist to his death, the Burial of Jesus, ...
, believed to be the first gospel to be written and with a date about two decades after
Paul
Paul may refer to:
People
* Paul (given name), a given name, including a list of people
* Paul (surname), a list of people
* Paul the Apostle, an apostle who wrote many of the books of the New Testament
* Ray Hildebrand, half of the singing duo ...
, also does not mention Jesus' father.
The first appearance of Joseph is in the gospels of
Matthew and
Luke, often dated from around 80–90 AD. Each contains a
genealogy of Jesus
The New Testament provides two accounts of the genealogy of Jesus, one in the Gospel of Matthew and another in the Gospel of Luke. Matthew starts with Abraham and works forwards, while Luke works back in time from Jesus to Adam. The lists of na ...
showing ancestry from King
David
David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament.
The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...
, but through different sons; Matthew follows the major royal line from
Solomon
Solomon (), also called Jedidiah, was the fourth monarch of the Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy), Kingdom of Israel and Judah, according to the Hebrew Bible. The successor of his father David, he is described as having been the penultimate ...
, while Luke traces another line back to
Nathan
Nathan or Natan may refer to:
People and biblical figures
*Nathan (given name), including a list of people and characters with this name
* Nathan (surname)
*Nathan (prophet), a person in the Hebrew Bible
*Nathan (son of David), a biblical figu ...
, another son of David and
Bathsheba
Bathsheba (; , ) was an Kings of Israel and Judah, Israelite queen consort. According to the Hebrew Bible, she was the wife of Uriah the Hittite and later of David, with whom she had all of her five children. Her status as the mother of Solomon ...
. Consequently, all the names between David and Joseph are different.
Like the two differing genealogies, the infancy narratives appear only in Matthew and Luke and take different approaches to reconciling the requirement that the
Messiah
In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; ,
; ,
; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...
be born in
Bethlehem
Bethlehem is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, located about south of Jerusalem, and the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate. It had a population of people, as of . The city's economy is strongly linked to Tourism in the State of Palesti ...
with the tradition that Jesus in fact came from
Nazareth
Nazareth is the largest Cities in Israel, city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. In its population was . Known as "the Arab capital of Israel", Nazareth serves as a cultural, political, religious, economic and ...
. In Matthew, Joseph obeys the direction of an angel to marry Mary. Following the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, Joseph is told by an angel in a dream to
take the family to Egypt to escape the
massacre of the children of Bethlehem planned by Herod, the ruler of the
Roman province of Judea. Once Herod has died, an angel tells Joseph to return but to avoid Herod's son, and he takes his wife and the child to Nazareth in
Galilee
Galilee (; ; ; ) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon consisting of two parts: the Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and the Lower Galilee (, ; , ).
''Galilee'' encompasses the area north of the Mount Carmel-Mount Gilboa ridge and ...
and settles there. Thus in Matthew, the infant Jesus, like Moses, is in peril from a cruel king, like Moses he has a (fore)father named
Joseph
Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...
who goes down to Egypt, like the Old Testament Joseph this Joseph has a father named Jacob, and both Josephs receive important dreams foretelling their future.
In the Gospel of Luke, Joseph already lives in Nazareth, and Jesus is born in Bethlehem because Joseph and Mary have to travel there to be counted in a census. Subsequently, Jesus was born there. Luke's account makes no mention of him being visited by angels (Mary and various others instead receive similar visitations), the Massacre of the Innocents, or of the flight into Egypt.
The last time Joseph appears in person in any of the canonical Gospels is in the narrative of the
Passover
Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday and one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals. It celebrates the Exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Biblical Egypt, Egypt.
According to the Book of Exodus, God in ...
visit to the Temple in Jerusalem when Jesus is 12 years old, which is found only in Luke. No mention is made of him thereafter. The story emphasizes Jesus' awareness of his coming mission: here Jesus speaks to both Mary and Joseph of "my father," meaning God, but they fail to understand.
Joseph is not mentioned as being present at the
Wedding at Cana
The wedding at Cana (also called the marriage at Cana, wedding feast at Cana or marriage feast at Cana) is a story in the Gospel of John at which the first miracle attributed to Jesus takes place.
In the Gospel account, Jesus, his mother and ...
at the beginning of Jesus' mission, nor at the
Passion at the end. If he had been present at the
Crucifixion
Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the condemned is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross, beam or stake and left to hang until eventual death. It was used as a punishment by the Achaemenid Empire, Persians, Ancient Carthag ...
, he would under Jewish custom have been expected to take charge of Jesus' body, but this role is instead performed by
Joseph of Arimathea
Joseph of Arimathea () is a Biblical figure who assumed responsibility for the burial of Jesus after Crucifixion of Jesus, his crucifixion. Three of the four Biblical Canon, canonical Gospels identify him as a member of the Sanhedrin, while the ...
. Nor would Jesus have entrusted his mother to the care of
John the Apostle
John the Apostle (; ; ), also known as Saint John the Beloved and, in Eastern Orthodox Christianity, Saint John the Theologian, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Generally listed as the youngest apostle, he ...
if her husband had been alive.
While none of the Gospels mentions Joseph as present at any event during Jesus' adult ministry, the
synoptic Gospels
The gospels of Gospel of Matthew, Matthew, Gospel of Mark, Mark, and Gospel of Luke, Luke are referred to as the synoptic Gospels because they include many of the same stories, often in a similar sequence and in similar or sometimes identical ...
share a scene in which the people of Nazareth, Jesus' hometown, doubt Jesus' status as a prophet because they know his family. In
Mark
Mark may refer to:
In the Bible
* Mark the Evangelist (5–68), traditionally ascribed author of the Gospel of Mark
* Gospel of Mark, one of the four canonical gospels and one of the three synoptic gospels
Currencies
* Mark (currency), a currenc ...
6:3, they call Jesus "Mary's son" instead of naming his father. In
Matthew, the townspeople call Jesus "the
carpenter's son," again without naming his father. In
Luke 3:23 NIV: "Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry. He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph, the son of Heli,"; or alternatively punctuated: "(ὡς ἐνομ. τοῦ Ἰωσὴφ) τοῦ Ἡλί, 'the son (as supposed of Joseph, but in reality) of Heli'". In Luke the tone of the contemporary people is positive, whereas in Mark and Matthew it is disparaging. This incident does not appear in
John
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second E ...
, but in a parallel story, the disbelieving neighbors refer to "Jesus the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know".
Mentions in the Gospels
Lineage
Joseph appears in Luke as the father of Jesus and in a "variant reading in Matthew".
Matthew and
Luke both contain a
genealogy of Jesus
The New Testament provides two accounts of the genealogy of Jesus, one in the Gospel of Matthew and another in the Gospel of Luke. Matthew starts with Abraham and works forwards, while Luke works back in time from Jesus to Adam. The lists of na ...
showing his ancestry from
David
David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament.
The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...
, but through different sons; Matthew follows the major royal line from
Solomon
Solomon (), also called Jedidiah, was the fourth monarch of the Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy), Kingdom of Israel and Judah, according to the Hebrew Bible. The successor of his father David, he is described as having been the penultimate ...
, while Luke traces another line back to
Nathan
Nathan or Natan may refer to:
People and biblical figures
*Nathan (given name), including a list of people and characters with this name
* Nathan (surname)
*Nathan (prophet), a person in the Hebrew Bible
*Nathan (son of David), a biblical figu ...
, another son of David and
Bathsheba
Bathsheba (; , ) was an Kings of Israel and Judah, Israelite queen consort. According to the Hebrew Bible, she was the wife of Uriah the Hittite and later of David, with whom she had all of her five children. Her status as the mother of Solomon ...
. Consequently, all the names between David and Joseph are different. According to Matthew 1:16 "Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary", while according to Luke 3:23, Joseph is said to be "the son of
Heli".
The variances between the genealogies given in Matthew and Luke are explained in a number of ways. One possibility is that Matthew's genealogy traces Jesus' legal descent, according to
Jewish law
''Halakha'' ( ; , ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Written and Oral Torah. ''Halakha'' is based on biblical commandments ('' mit ...
, through Joseph; while Luke's genealogy traces his actual physical descent through Mary.
Another possibility proposed by
Julius Africanus is that both Joseph and his father were the sons of Levirate marriages. A third explanation proposed by
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced the development of Western philosop ...
is that Joseph was adopted, and his two genealogies trace Joseph's lineage through his biological and adopted families.
Professional life
In the Gospels, Joseph's occupation is mentioned only once. The
Gospel of Matthew
The Gospel of Matthew is the first book of the New Testament of the Bible and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells the story of who the author believes is Israel's messiah (Christ (title), Christ), Jesus, resurrection of Jesus, his res ...
asks about Jesus:
Joseph's description as a "''
tekton''" (τέκτων) has been traditionally translated into English as "carpenter", but is a rather general word (from the same root that gives us "technical", "technology") that could cover makers of objects in various materials. The Greek term evokes an artisan with wood in general, or an artisan in iron or stone.
But the specific association with woodworking is a constant in
Early Christian
Early Christianity, otherwise called the Early Church or Paleo-Christianity, describes the historical era of the Christian religion up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325. Christianity spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and be ...
tradition;
Justin Martyr
Justin, known posthumously as Justin Martyr (; ), also known as Justin the Philosopher, was an early Christian apologist and Philosophy, philosopher.
Most of his works are lost, but two apologies and a dialogue did survive. The ''First Apolog ...
(died c. 165) wrote that Jesus made
yoke
A yoke is a wooden beam used between a pair of oxen or other animals to enable them to pull together on a load when working in pairs, as oxen usually do; some yokes are fitted to individual animals. There are several types of yoke, used in dif ...
s and
plough
A plough or ( US) plow (both pronounced ) is a farm tool for loosening or turning the soil before sowing seed or planting. Ploughs were traditionally drawn by oxen and horses but modern ploughs are drawn by tractors. A plough may have a wooden ...
s, and there are similar early references.
Other scholars have argued that ''tekton'' could equally mean a highly skilled craftsman in wood or the more prestigious metal, perhaps running a workshop with several employees, and noted sources recording the shortage of skilled artisans at the time.
Géza Vermes
Géza Vermes, (; 22 June 1924 – 8 May 2013) was a British academic, Biblical scholar, and Judaist of Jewish–Hungarian descent—one who also served as a Roman Catholic priest in his youth—and scholar specialized in the field of the ...
has stated that the terms 'carpenter' and 'son of a carpenter' are used in the Jewish
Talmud
The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...
to signify a very learned man, and he suggests that a description of Joseph as 'naggar' (a carpenter) could indicate that he was considered wise and highly literate in the Torah.
At the time of Joseph,
Nazareth
Nazareth is the largest Cities in Israel, city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. In its population was . Known as "the Arab capital of Israel", Nazareth serves as a cultural, political, religious, economic and ...
was an obscure village in
Galilee
Galilee (; ; ; ) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon consisting of two parts: the Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and the Lower Galilee (, ; , ).
''Galilee'' encompasses the area north of the Mount Carmel-Mount Gilboa ridge and ...
, about from the Holy City of
Jerusalem
Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
, and is barely mentioned in surviving non-Christian texts and documents.
[ Ehrman, Bart D. Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why. HarperCollins, 2005. ][Crossan, John Dominic. The essential Jesus. Edison: Castle Books. 1998. "Contexts," pp 1–24.][Theissen, Gerd and Annette Merz. ''The historical Jesus: a comprehensive guide''. Fortress Press. 1998. translated from German (1996 edition)] Archaeology
Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...
over most of the site is made impossible by subsequent building, but from what has been excavated and tombs in the area around the village, it is estimated that the population was at most about 400. It was, however, only about 6 kilometers from the city of
Sepphoris
Sepphoris ( ; ), known in Arabic as Saffuriya ( ) and in Hebrew as Tzipori ( ''Ṣīppōrī'')Palmer (1881), p115/ref> is an archaeological site and former Palestinian village located in the central Galilee region of Israel, north-northwe ...
, which was destroyed and depopulated by the Romans in 4 BC, and thereafter was expensively rebuilt. Analysis of the landscape and other evidence suggest that in Joseph's lifetime Nazareth was "oriented toward" the nearby city, which had an overwhelmingly Jewish population although with many signs of
Hellenization
Hellenization or Hellenification is the adoption of Greek culture, religion, language, and identity by non-Greeks. In the ancient period, colonisation often led to the Hellenisation of indigenous people in the Hellenistic period, many of the ...
, and historians have speculated that Joseph and later Jesus too might have traveled daily to work on the rebuilding. Specifically the large theatre in the city has been suggested, although this has aroused much controversy over dating and other issues. Other scholars see Joseph and Jesus as the general village craftsmen, working in wood, stone, and metal on a wide variety of jobs.
Modern appraisal

The name "Joseph" is found almost exclusively in the genealogies and the infancy narratives.
[ Funk, Robert W. and the ]Jesus Seminar
The Jesus Seminar was a group of about 50 biblical criticism scholars and 100 laymen founded in 1985 by Robert Funk that originated under the auspices of the Westar Institute.''Making Sense of the New Testament'' by Craig Blomberg (Mar 1, 200 ...
. ''The acts of Jesus: the search for the authentic deeds of Jesus.'' HarperSanFrancisco. 1998. "Birth & Infancy Stories" pp. 497–526.
The canonical gospels created a problem: they stated clearly that Mary conceives Jesus virginally, and Joseph is not his father; however, Jesus was described unambiguously by John and Matthew as "Joseph's son" and "the carpenter's son", and Joseph's paternity was essential to establish Jesus'
Davidic descent. The theological situation was complicated by the gospel references to
"brothers and sisters" of Jesus,
[Everett Ferguson, Michael P. McHugh, Frederick W. Norris]
article "Joseph"
in ''Encyclopedia of early Christianity, Volume 1'', p. 629 who may have been: (1) the sons of Mary, the mother of Jesus, and Joseph; (2) sons of
Mary, the wife of Clopas and sister of Mary the mother of Jesus; or (3) sons of Joseph by a former marriage.
Modern positions on the question of the relationship between Joseph and the Virgin Mary vary. The
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...
, which names Joseph's first wife as , holds that Joseph was a widower and betrothed to Mary, and that references to Jesus' "brothers" were children of Joseph from a previous marriage. A popular position held by many Catholics, derived from the writings of
Jerome
Jerome (; ; ; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was an early Christian presbyter, priest, Confessor of the Faith, confessor, theologian, translator, and historian; he is commonly known as Saint Jerome.
He is best known ...
, is that Joseph was the husband of Mary, but that references to Jesus' "brothers" should be understood to mean cousins. Such usage is prevalent throughout history, and occurs elsewhere in the Bible.
Abraham
Abraham (originally Abram) is the common Hebrews, Hebrew Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father who began the Covenant (biblical), covenanta ...
's nephew Lot (Genesis 11:26-28) was referred to as his brother (Genesis 14:14), as was
Jacob
Jacob, later known as Israel, is a Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions. He first appears in the Torah, where he is described in the Book of Genesis as a son of Isaac and Rebecca. Accordingly, alongside his older fraternal twin brother E ...
's uncle Laban (Genesis 29:15). Jesus himself frequently used the word "brother" as a generic term for one's fellow man. This custom has continued into modern times, with close friends, colleagues, and fellow churchgoers often called "brothers and sisters." Generally, most Protestants read "brothers and sisters" of Jesus as referring specifically to children born of Mary. The doctrine of the
perpetual virginity of Mary
The perpetual virginity of Mary is a Christian doctrine that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was a virgin "before, during and after" the birth of Christ. In Western Christianity, the Catholic Church adheres to the doctrine, as do some Lutherans, Ang ...
means among other things that Joseph and Mary never had sexual relations.
The term ''
kiddushin'', which refers to the first part of a two-part marriage, is frequently translated as "betrothal". Couples who fulfill the requirements of the ''kiddushin'' are married, until death or divorce.
Death
The New Testament has no mention of Joseph's death, but he is never mentioned after the story of finding Jesus in the temple when Jesus was 12.
This is in contrast with some eastern traditions that made Joseph out to be 90 years old, a tradition intended to protect Mary's perpetual virginity. In the original Greek, the words used to describe Joseph describe him as middle-aged. This fits with Joseph's duties and aligns with the saints who said he was 33 when he
married
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
Mary.
Mauro Gagliardi presents a hypothesis that Joseph was
assumed into Heaven with body and soul because he belongs to the few saints who left no bodily relics.
Later apocryphal writings
The
Gospel of James
The Gospel of James (or the Protoevangelium of James) is a second-century infancy gospel telling of the miraculous conception of the Virgin Mary, her upbringing and marriage to Joseph, the journey of the couple to Bethlehem, the birth of J ...
(also known as the Protoevangelium of James), written about 150 AD, presents Joseph as an old man chosen by God to watch over the Virgin. Jesus' brothers are presented as Joseph's children by an earlier marriage.
The ''
History of Joseph the Carpenter'', written in the 5th century and framed as a biography of Joseph dictated by Jesus, describes how Joseph, aged 90, a widower with four sons and two daughters, is given charge of the twelve-year-old Mary, who then lives in his household raising his youngest son James the Less (the supposed author of the Protoevangelium) until she is ready to be married at age 14½. Joseph's death aged 111, attended by angels and asserting the
perpetual virginity of Mary
The perpetual virginity of Mary is a Christian doctrine that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was a virgin "before, during and after" the birth of Christ. In Western Christianity, the Catholic Church adheres to the doctrine, as do some Lutherans, Ang ...
, takes up approximately half the story.
Church Fathers
According to the bishop of Salamis,
Epiphanius, in his work ''
The Panarion'' (AD 374–375) Joseph became the father of
James and his three brothers (
Joses,
Simeon
Simeon () is a given name, from the Hebrew (Biblical Hebrew, Biblical ''Šimʿon'', Tiberian vocalization, Tiberian ''Šimʿôn''), usually transliterated in English as Shimon. In Greek, it is written Συμεών, hence the Latinized spelling Sy ...
,
Judah) and two sisters (a Salome and a Mary or a Salome and an Anna) with James being the eldest sibling. James and his siblings were not children of Mary but were Joseph's children from a previous marriage. After Joseph's first wife died, many years later when he was eighty, "he took Mary (mother of Jesus)".
Eusebius of Caesarea
Eusebius of Caesarea (30 May AD 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilius, was a historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christian polemicist from the Roman province of Syria Palaestina. In about AD 314 he became the bishop of Caesarea Maritima. ...
relates in his ''
Church History
Church history or ecclesiastical history as an academic discipline studies the history of Christianity and the way the Christian Church has developed since its inception.
Henry Melvill Gwatkin defined church history as "the spiritual side of t ...
'' (Book III, ch. 11) that "
Hegesippus records that
Clopas
Clopas (, ; Hebrew: possibly , ; Aramaic: חילפאי, ''Ḥilfài'') is a figure of early Christianity. The name appears in the New Testament, specifically in John :
He is often identified with another figure of a similar name, Cleophas (), ...
was a brother of Joseph and an uncle of Jesus."
Epiphanius adds that Joseph and Cleopas were brothers, sons of "Jacob, surnamed Panther."
Origen
Origen of Alexandria (), also known as Origen Adamantius, was an Early Christianity, early Christian scholar, Asceticism#Christianity, ascetic, and Christian theology, theologian who was born and spent the first half of his career in Early cent ...
quotes the
Greek philosopher and opponent of
early Christianity
Early Christianity, otherwise called the Early Church or Paleo-Christianity, describes the History of Christianity, historical era of the Christianity, Christian religion up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325. Spread of Christianity, Christian ...
Celsus
Celsus (; , ''Kélsos''; ) was a 2nd-century Greek philosopher and opponent of early Christianity. His literary work '' The True Word'' (also ''Account'', ''Doctrine'' or ''Discourse''; Greek: )Hoffmann p.29 survives exclusively via quotati ...
(from his work ''
On the True Doctrine'', c. 178 AD) as controversially asserting that Joseph left Mary upon learning of her pregnancy: "...when she was pregnant she was turned out of doors by the carpenter to whom she had been betrothed, as having been guilty of adultery, and that she bore a child to a certain soldier named
Pantera
Pantera () is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Arlington, Texas in 1981 by the Abbott brothers (guitarist Dimebag Darrell and drummer Vinnie Paul), and currently composed of vocalist Phil Anselmo, bassist Rex Brown, an ...
." Origen, however, argues that Celsus's claim was a fabricated story.
Veneration

The earliest records of a formal devotional following for Saint Joseph date to the year 800 and references to him as ''Nutritor Domini'' (educator/guardian of the Lord) began to appear in the 9th century, and continued growing to the 14th century.
[''The liturgy and time'' by Irénée Henri Dalmais, Aimé Georges Martimort, Pierre Jounel 1985 page 143] Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas ( ; ; – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican Order, Dominican friar and Catholic priest, priest, the foremost Scholasticism, Scholastic thinker, as well as one of the most influential philosophers and theologians in the W ...
discussed the necessity of the presence of Saint Joseph in the plan of the Incarnation for if Mary had not been married, the Jews would have stoned her and that in his youth Jesus needed the care and protection of a human father.
In the 15th century, major steps were taken by
Bernardine of Siena, Pierre d'Ailly, and
Jean Gerson
Jean Charlier de Gerson (13 December 1363 – 12 July 1429) was a French scholar, educator, reformer, and poet, Chancellor of the University of Paris, a guiding light of the conciliar movement and one of the most prominent theologians at the Cou ...
.
Gerson wrote ''Consideration sur Saint Joseph'' and preached sermons on Saint Joseph at the
Council of Constance
The Council of Constance (; ) was an ecumenical council of the Catholic Church that was held from 1414 to 1418 in the Bishopric of Constance (Konstanz) in present-day Germany. This was the first time that an ecumenical council was convened in ...
. In 1889
Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the Ap ...
issued the encyclical ''
Quamquam pluries'' in which he urged Catholics to pray to Saint Joseph, as the patron of the church in view of the challenges facing the church. Likewise, Leo stated that Saint Joseph "set himself to protect with a mighty love and a daily solicitude his spouse and the Divine Infant; regularly by his work he earned what was necessary for the one and the other for nourishment and clothing"
Josephology, the
theological
Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of an ...
study of Saint Joseph, is one of the most recent theological disciplines. In 1989, on the occasion of the centenary of ''Quamquam pluries'' Pope
John Paul II
Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005.
In his you ...
issued ''
Redemptoris Custos'' (''Guardian of the Redeemer''), which presented Saint Joseph's role in the plan of redemption, as part of the "redemption documents" issued by John Paul II such as ''
Redemptoris Mater'' to which it refers.
Together with the
Blessed Virgin Mary
Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...
and the
Child Jesus
The Christ Child—also known as Baby Jesus, Infant Jesus, Child Jesus, Divine Child, Divine Infant and the Holy Child—refers to Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ during his early years. The term refers to a period of life of Jesus, Jesus' l ...
, Joseph is one of the three members of the
Holy Family
The Holy Family consists of the Child Jesus, the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph. The subject became popular in art from the 1490s on,Ainsworth, 122 but veneration of the Holy Family was formally begun in the 17th century by Saint François de La ...
; since he only appears in the birth narratives of the Gospels, Jesus is depicted as a child when with him. The formal veneration of the Holy Family began in the 17th century by
François de Laval.
In 1962,
Pope John XXIII
Pope John XXIII (born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death on 3 June 1963. He is the most recent pope to take ...
inserted the name of Joseph in the
Canon of the Mass
The Canon of the Mass (), also known as the Canon of the Roman Mass and in the Mass of Paul VI as the Roman Canon or Eucharistic Prayer I, is the oldest Anaphora (liturgy), anaphora used in the Roman Rite of Mass (liturgy), Mass. The name ''Canon ...
, immediately after that of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In 2013,
Pope Francis
Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...
had his name added to the three other
Eucharistic Prayers.
Feast days
Saint Joseph's Day
19 March, Saint Joseph's Day, has been the principal
feast day
The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context does n ...
of Saint Joseph in
Western Christianity
Western Christianity is one of two subdivisions of Christianity (Eastern Christianity being the other). Western Christianity is composed of the Latin Church and Protestantism, Western Protestantism, together with their offshoots such as the O ...
since the 10th century, and is celebrated by Catholics,
Anglican
Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
s,
Lutheran
Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...
s, and other denominations. In
Eastern Orthodoxy
Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...
, the feast day of Saint Joseph is celebrated on 26 December (Synaxis of the Mother of God and
flight of the Holy Family into Egypt), the First Sunday after the
Nativity of Christ
The Nativity or birth of Jesus Christ is found in the biblical gospels of Matthew and Luke. The two accounts agree that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, Palestine, in Roman-controlled Judea, that his mother, Mary, was engaged to a man named J ...
, on 19 March and on the Sunday of the Holy Forefathers (two Sundays before the
Nativity) and on the Sunday of the Holy Fathers (Sunday before the
Nativity), when he is commemorated together with other
ancestors of Jesus. In the Catholic Church, the Feast of Saint Joseph (19 March) is a
solemnity
In the liturgical calendar of the Roman Rite, a solemnity is a feast day of the highest rank celebrating a mystery of faith such as the Trinity, an event in the life of Jesus, his mother Mary, his legal father Joseph, or another important ...
(first class if using the
Tridentine calendar
The Tridentine calendar is the calendar of saints to be honoured in the course of the liturgical year in the official liturgy of the Roman Rite as reformed by Pope Pius V and first issued in 1568, implementing a decision of the Council of Trent, ...
), and is transferred to another date if impeded (i.e., 19 March falling on Sunday or in Holy Week).
Joseph is
remembered in the
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
and the
Episcopal Church on 19 March.
Popular customs among Christians of various liturgical traditions observing Saint Joseph's Day are attending
Mass
Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...
or the
Divine Service, wearing red-coloured clothing, carrying dried
fava beans
''Vicia faba'', commonly known as the broad bean, fava bean, or faba bean, is a species of vetch, a flowering plant in the pea and bean family Fabaceae. It is widely cultivated as a crop for human consumption, and also as a cover crop. Vari ...
that have been
blessed, and assembling
home altar
A home altar or family altar is a shrine kept in the home of some Western Christian families used for Christian prayer and family worship. Home altars often contain a cross or crucifix, an image of Jesus Christ, a copy of the Bible (especially ...
s dedicated to Saint Joseph.
In
Sicily
Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...
, where Saint Joseph is regarded by many as their
patron saint
A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...
, and in many
Italian-American
Italian Americans () are Americans who have full or partial Italians, Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeastern United States, Northeast and industrial Midwestern United States, Midwestern ...
communities, thanks are given to Saint Joseph (''San Giuseppe'' in
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
) for preventing a famine in Sicily during the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
. According to legend, there was a severe drought at the time, and the people prayed for their patron saint to bring them rain. They promised that if God answered their prayers through Joseph's intercession, they would prepare a large feast to honor him. The rain did come, and the people of Sicily prepared a large banquet for their patron saint. The
fava bean was the crop which saved the population from starvation and is a traditional part of Saint Joseph's Day altars and traditions. Giving food to the needy is a Saint Joseph's Day custom. In some communities it is traditional to wear red clothing and eat a Neapolitan pastry known as a
zeppola (created in 1840 by Don Pasquale Pinatauro in Naples) on Saint Joseph's Day.
''Maccu di San Giuseppe'' is a traditional Sicilian dish that consists of various ingredients and
maccu that is prepared on this day.
Maccu is a foodstuff and soup that dates to
ancient
Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history through late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the development of Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient h ...
times which is prepared with fava beans as a primary ingredient.
Upon a typical Saint Joseph's Day altar, people place flowers, limes, candles, wine, fava beans, specially prepared cakes, breads, cookies, other meatless dishes, and
zeppole
Zeppole (; : ''zeppola'') are Italian pastries consisting of a deep-fried dough ball of varying size but typically about in diameter. These fritters are usually topped with powdered sugar, and may be filled with custard, jelly, cannoli-st ...
. Foods are traditionally served containing bread crumbs to represent sawdust since Joseph was a carpenter. Because the feast occurs during Lent, traditionally no meat was allowed on the celebration table. The altar usually has three tiers, to represent the Trinity.
Saint Joseph the Worker
In 1870,
Pope Pius IX
Pope Pius IX (; born Giovanni Maria Battista Pietro Pellegrino Isidoro Mastai-Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878. His reign of nearly 32 years is the longest verified of any pope in hist ...
declared Joseph patron of the
Universal Church and instituted another feast, a solemnity to be held on the third Sunday of Eastertide. Pope Pius X, in order to restore the celebration of Sundays, moved this feast to the Wednesday in the second week after Easter, and gave it an
octave
In music, an octave (: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the diapason) is an interval between two notes, one having twice the frequency of vibration of the other. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referr ...
. In 1955, Pope
Pius XII
Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...
introduced in its place the feast of ''Saint Joseph the Worker'' on 1 May in the
General Roman Calendar
The General Roman Calendar (GRC) is the liturgy, liturgical calendar that indicates the dates of celebrations of saints and Sacred mysteries, mysteries of the Lord (Jesus Christ) in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, wherever this liturgic ...
as an ecclesiasical counterpart to the
International Workers' Day
International Workers' Day, also called Labour Day in some countries and often referred to as May Day, is a celebration of Wage labour, labourers and the working classes that is promoted by the international labour movement and occurs every yea ...
on the same day. This reflects Saint Joseph's status as patron of workers. Pius XII established the feast both to honor Saint Joseph, and to make people aware of the dignity of human work.
Espousals of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The
Espousals of the Blessed Virgin Mary is observed in some liturgical calendars (e. g. that of the
Oblates of Saint Joseph) on 23 January.
''Patris corde'' and ''Year of Saint Joseph''
Pope Francis on 8 December 2020, released the
apostolic letter ''Patris corde'' on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the declaration by Pius IX, on 8 December 1870, of Saint Joseph as patron of the Universal Church; for the same reason he declared a ''Year of Saint Joseph'', from 8 December 2020, to 8 December 2021.
Patronage
Pope Pius IX
Pope Pius IX (; born Giovanni Maria Battista Pietro Pellegrino Isidoro Mastai-Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878. His reign of nearly 32 years is the longest verified of any pope in hist ...
proclaimed Saint Joseph the patron of the Universal Church in 1870. Having died in the "arms of Jesus and Mary" according to Catholic tradition, he is considered the model of the pious believer who receives grace at the moment of death, in other words, the patron of a happy death.
Saint Joseph is well known as the patron saint of fathers, both families and virgins, workers, especially carpenters, expecting mothers and unborn children. Among many others, he is the patron saint of attorneys and barristers, emigrants, travelers and house hunters. He is invoked against hesitation and for the grace of a holy death.
Places, churches, and institutions

Many cities, towns, and locations are named after Saint Joseph. According to the
National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) is a combat support agency within the United States Department of Defense whose primary mission is collecting, analyzing, and distributing geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) to support national se ...
, the
Spanish form, ''San Jose'', is the most common place name in the world. Probably the most-recognized San Joses are
San José, Costa Rica
San José (; meaning "Saint Joseph") is the capital city, capital and largest city of Costa Rica, and the capital of San José Province. It is in the center of the country, in the mid-west of the Costa Rican Central Valley, Central Valley, wi ...
, and
San Jose, California
San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...
, United States, given their name by
Spanish colonists. Joseph is the patron saint of the
New World
The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...
and of many countries (
Austria
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
– especially venerated in
Carinthia
Carinthia ( ; ; ) is the southernmost and least densely populated States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The Lake Wolayer is a mountain lake on the Carinthian side of the Carnic Main ...
,
Styria
Styria ( ; ; ; ) is an Austrian Federal states of Austria, state in the southeast of the country. With an area of approximately , Styria is Austria's second largest state, after Lower Austria. It is bordered to the south by Slovenia, and cloc ...
, and
Tyrol
Tyrol ( ; historically the Tyrole; ; ) is a historical region in the Alps of Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary, f ...
,
Croatia
Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
– proclaimed as a patron saint of
Kingdom of Croatia by
Croatian Sabor on 9 June 1687) and of several main cities (
Karlovac
Karlovac () is a city in central Croatia. In the 2021 census, its population was 49,377.
Karlovac is the administrative centre of Karlovac County. The city is located southwest of Zagreb and northeast of Rijeka, and is connected to them via the ...
), dioceses and administrative regions (
Karlovac County
Karlovac County () is a county in central Croatia, with the administrative center in Karlovac. It borders Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia.
The city of Karlovac is a fort from the times of the Military Frontier. It was built as a six-side st ...
in Croatia
[).
Many churches, monasteries and other institutions are dedicated to Saint Joseph. Saint Joseph's Oratory is the largest church in Canada, with the largest dome of its kind in the world after that of ]Saint Peter's Basilica
The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican (), or simply St. Peter's Basilica (; ), is a church of the Italian Renaissance architecture, Italian High Renaissance located in Vatican City, an independent microstate enclaved within the cit ...
in Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
. Elsewhere in the world churches named after the saint may be known as those of ''San Giuseppe'', e.g. San Giuseppe dei Teatini, ''San José'', e.g. Metropolitan Cathedral of San José or ''São José'', e.g. in Porto Alegre
Porto Alegre (, ; , ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian Federative units of Brazil, state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of roughly 1.4 million inhabitants (2022) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, 11th-most p ...
, Brazil.
The Sisters of St. Joseph were founded as an order in 1650 and have about 14,013 members worldwide. In 1871, the Josephite Fathers of the Catholic Church were created under the patronage of Joseph, intending to work with the poor. The first Josephites in America re-devoted their part of the order to ministry within the newly emancipated African American community. The Oblates of St. Joseph were founded in 1878 by Joseph Marello. In 1999 their Shrine of Saint Joseph the Guardian of the Redeemer was named after the Apostolic exhortation '' Redemptoris Custos''.
Prayers and devotions
In the Eastern Orthodox Church, during the feast day
The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context does n ...
of Saint Joseph the following hymn is chanted:
Verily, Joseph the betrothed, saw clearly in his old age that the foresayings of the Prophets had
been fulfilled openly; for he was given an odd earnest,
receiving inspiration from the angels,
who cried, Glory to God; for he hath bestowed peace on earth.
In the Catholic tradition, just as there are prayers for the Seven Joys of Mary and Seven Sorrows of Mary
Our Lady of Sorrows (), Our Lady of Dolours, the Sorrowful Mother or Mother of Sorrows (), and Our Lady of Piety, Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows or Our Lady of the Seven Dolours are names by which Mary, mother of Jesus, is referred to in relati ...
, there are also prayers for the seven joys and seven sorrows of Saint Joseph. Furthermore, there is a novena
A novena (from , "nine") is an ancient tradition of devotional praying in Christianity, consisting of private or public prayers repeated for nine successive days or weeks. The nine days between the Feast of the Ascension and Pentecost, when the ...
prayed before the feast of Saint Joseph on 19 March. Saint Joseph is frequently invoked for employment, daily protection, vocation, happy marriage, and a happy death.
Multiple venerated Catholics have described their devotion to Saint Joseph and his intercession. Francis de Sales
Francis de Sales, Congregation of the Oratory, C.O., Order of Minims, O.M. (; ; 21 August 156728 December 1622) was a Savoyard state, Savoyard Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Geneva and is a saint of the Catholic Church. He became n ...
included Saint Joseph along with Virgin Mary
Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...
as saints to be invoked during prayers in his 1609 book, '' Introduction to the Devout Life''. Teresa of Ávila
Teresa of Ávila (born Teresa Sánchez de Cepeda Dávila y Ahumada; 28March 15154or 15October 1582), also called Saint Teresa of Jesus, was a Carmelite nun and prominent Spanish mystic and religious reformer.
Active during the Counter-Re ...
attributed her recovery of health to Saint Joseph and recommended him as an advocate. Therese of Lisieux stated that she prayed daily to "Saint Joseph, Father and Protector of Virgins" and felt protected from danger as a result. Pope Pius X
Pope Pius X (; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing Modernism in the Catholic Church, modern ...
composed a prayer to Saint Joseph which begins:
Glorious St. Joseph, pattern of all who are devoted to toil,
obtain for me the grace to toil, in the spirit of penance,
in order to thereby atone for my many sins …
There is a Catholic tradition that burying a statuette of Saint Joseph on the grounds of a home will help to sell or buy a house.; this tradition became so popular through the World Wide Web that some American realtors bought them by the gross.
St. Joseph's role in the Catholic church is summarized by the German theologian Friedrich Justus Knecht:
''St. Joseph's high place in the kingdom of God'' comes from this, that God chose him to be the guardian and protector of His Son, entrusting him with what was greatest and dearest to Himself, singling him out and especially blessing him for this office. The Church celebrates a Feast in honour of St. Joseph on 19 March, and desires that all the faithful should honour him, ask for his intercession, and imitate his virtues. St. Joseph is the especial patron of the Church. Even as he was the protector of the Child Jesus on earth, so, we believe, is he now the protector of the mystical Body of Jesus, His holy Church. We also especially seek his intercession for a good death, because, having died so blessedly, in the presence and with the assistance of Jesus and Mary, he should be supplicated to obtain for us from Jesus the grace of a happy death.
In art
In mosaics in the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore
Santa Maria Maggiore (), also known as the Basilica of Saint Mary Major or the Basilica of Saint Mary the Great, is one of the four Basilicas in the Catholic Church#Major and papal basilicas, major papal basilicas and one of the Seven Pilgrim C ...
(432-40) Joseph is portrayed young, bearded and dressed as a Roman of status. Joseph is shown mostly with a beard, not only in keeping with Jewish custom, but also because – although the Gospel accounts do not give his age – later legends tend to present him as an old man at the time of his wedding to Mary. Earlier writers thought the traditional imagery necessary to support belief in Mary's perpetual virginity. Jean Gerson
Jean Charlier de Gerson (13 December 1363 – 12 July 1429) was a French scholar, educator, reformer, and poet, Chancellor of the University of Paris, a guiding light of the conciliar movement and one of the most prominent theologians at the Cou ...
nonetheless favoured showing him as a younger man.
In recent centuries – in step with a growing interest in Joseph's role in Gospel exegesis – he himself has become a focal figure in representations of the Holy Family. He is now often portrayed as a younger or even youthful man (perhaps especially in Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
depictions), whether going about his work as a carpenter, or participating actively in the daily life of Mary and Jesus as an equal and openly affectionate member. Art critic and self proclaimed atheist Waldemar Januszczak however emphasises the preponderance of Joseph's representation as an old man, and sees this as the need.
However Carolyn Wilson challenges the long-held view that pre-Tridentine images were often intended to demean him. According to Charlene Villaseñor Black, "Seventeenth-century Spanish and Mexican artists reconceptualized Joseph as an important figure, ... representing him as the youthful, physically robust, diligent head of the Holy Family." In Bartolomé Esteban Murillo
Bartolomé Esteban Murillo ( , ; late December 1617, baptized January 1, 1618April 3, 1682) was a Spanish Baroque painter. Although he is best known for his religious works, Murillo also produced a considerable number of paintings of contempor ...
's '' The Heavenly and Earthly Trinities'', Saint Joseph is given the same prominence as the Virgin as they are both part of the "Earthly Trinity" and Jesus lays his hands on both of them.
Full cycles of his life are rare in the Middle Ages, although the scenes from the '' Life of the Virgin'' or ''Life of Christ'' where he is present are far more often seen. The Mérode Altarpiece of about 1425, where he has a panel to himself, working as a carpenter who fashions mousetraps – a rare depiction of Saint Joseph being present in the context of the Annunciation
The Annunciation (; ; also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord; ) is, according to the Gospel of Luke, the announcement made by the archangel Gabriel to Ma ...
. The fact that Saint Joseph makes mousetraps is attributed to an interpretation by Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced the development of Western philosop ...
, according to which Jesus Christ is the mousetrap for the devil.
Some statues of Joseph depict his staff as topped with flowers, recalling the non-canonical Gospel of James's account of how Mary's spouse was chosen by collecting the walking sticks of widowers in Palestine, and Joseph's alone bursting into flower, thus identifying him as divinely chosen. The ''Golden Legend
The ''Golden Legend'' ( or ''Legenda sanctorum'') is a collection of 153 hagiographies by Jacobus de Voragine that was widely read in Europe during the Late Middle Ages. More than a thousand manuscripts of the text have survived.Hilary Maddo ...
'', which derives its account from the much older Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew
The Latin Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew (or The Infancy Gospel of Matthew) is a part of the New Testament apocrypha. In antiquity, the text was called The Book About the Origin of the Blessed Mary and the Childhood of the Savior. Pseudo-Matthew is one ...
, tells a similar story, although it notes that all marriageable men of the Davidic line and not only widowers were ordered by the High Priest
The term "high priest" usually refers either to an individual who holds the office of ruler-priest, or to one who is the head of a religious organisation.
Ancient Egypt
In ancient Egypt, a high priest was the chief priest of any of the many god ...
to present their rods at the Temple
A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...
. Several Eastern Orthodox
Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...
Nativity icons
An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic, and Lutheran churches. The most common subjects include Jesus, Mary, saints, and angels. Although especially ...
show Joseph tempted by the Devil
A devil is the mythical personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conce ...
(depicted as an old man with furled wings) to break off his betrothal, and how he resists that temptation. There are some paintings with him wearing a Jewish hat
The Jewish hat, also known as the Jewish cap, ''Judenhut'' (German language, German) or Latin language, Latin ''pileus cornutus'' ("horned skullcap"), was a cone-shaped pointed hat, often white or yellow, worn by Jews in Medieval Europe. Initiall ...
.[Brigitte Heublein, ''Der 'verkannte' Joseph – zur mittelalterlichen Ikonographie des Heiligen im deutschen und niederländischen Kulturraum'', VDG Weimar 1998, pp. 75 et seqq]
Chronology of Saint Joseph's life in art
File:Albrecht Dürer 029.jpg, ''Joseph and Joachim
Joachim was, according to Sacred tradition, the husband of Saint Anne, the father of Mary, mother of Jesus, Mary (mother of Jesus), and the maternal grandfather of Jesus. The story of Joachim and Anne first appears in the Gospel of James, part of ...
'', Dürer, 1504
File:Robert Campin - Triptych with the Annunciation, known as the "Merode Altarpiece" - Google Art Project.jpg, At work in the '' Mérode Altarpiece'', 1420s, attributed to Robert Campin
Robert Campin (Valenciennes (France) c. 1375 - Tournai (Belgium) 26 April 1444) now usually identified with the Master of Flémalle (earlier the Master of the Merode Triptych, before the discovery of three other similar panels), was a master pai ...
and his workshop
File:Le Doute de Joseph.jpg, '' Discovering his wife pregnancy and doubting her faithfulness before being reassured by an angel'', Upper Rhenish Master, c. 1430
File:Rembrandt van Rijn 195.jpg, '' Joseph's Dream'', Rembrandt
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (; ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), mononymously known as Rembrandt was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker, and Drawing, draughtsman. He is generally considered one of the greatest visual artists in ...
, c. 1645
File:Casamento - perugino1.jpg, ''Marriage to the Virgin'', Perugino
Pietro Perugino ( ; ; born Pietro Vannucci or Pietro Vanucci; – 1523), an Italian Renaissance painter of the Umbrian school, developed some of the qualities that found classic expression in the High Renaissance. Raphael became his most famous ...
, c. 1448
File:Marten de vos Nativity.jpg, ''Nativity of Jesus
The Nativity or birth of Jesus Christ is found in the biblical gospels of Gospel of Matthew, Matthew and Gospel of Luke, Luke. The two accounts agree that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, Palestine, in Herodian kingdom, Roman-controlled Judea, th ...
'', Marten de Vos 1577
File:Hans Memling 028.jpg, ''The Adoration of the Magi
''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...
'', Hans Memling
Hans Memling (also spelled Memlinc; – 11 August 1494) was a German-Flemish people, Flemish painter who worked in the tradition of Early Netherlandish painting. Born in the Middle Rhine region, he probably spent his childhood in Mainz. During ...
, c. 1480
File:Presentation in the Temple. Bartolo di Fredi..jpg, ''Temple presentation'', di Fredi, 1388
File:Daniele Crespi - Saint Joseph’s dream (Kunsthstorisches Museum Wien).jpg, ''Dream of Flight'', Daniele Crespi, c. 1625
File:Flight into Egypt - Capella dei Scrovegni - Padua 2016.jpg, '' Flight to Egypt'', Giotto
Giotto di Bondone (; – January 8, 1337), known mononymously as Giotto, was an List of Italian painters, Italian painter and architect from Florence during the Late Middle Ages. He worked during the International Gothic, Gothic and Italian Ren ...
, 14th century
File:Enkhuisen Book of Hours (folio 39v) excerpt.jpg, '' Finding in the Temple'', Book of Hours
A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, ...
, 15th century
File:Vitrail Florac 010609 02 Mort de Joseph.jpg, ''Death of Joseph'', St. Martin's at Florac
File:Coronación de San José Valdés Leal.jpg, ''Coronation of Joseph'', Valdés Leal, c. 1670
Music
*Marc-Antoine Charpentier
Marc-Antoine Charpentier (; 1643 – 24 February 1704) was a French Baroque composer during the reign of Louis XIV. One of his most famous works is the main theme from the prelude of his ''Te Deum'' ''H.146, Marche en rondeau''. This theme is st ...
, ''Motet de St Joseph,'' H.368, for soloists, chorus, and continuo (1690)
See also
* Marriage of the Virgin
* Statue of Saint Joseph, Charles Bridge
* Portal:Catholic Church patron saint archive
References
Sources
*
*
* Ferguson, Everett; Michael P. McHugh, Frederick W. Norris
"Joseph"
in ''Encyclopedia of early Christianity'', Volume 1, p. 629
* Crossan, John Dominic. ''Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography''. Harpercollins: 1994. .
* Dickson, John. ''Jesus: A Short Life'', Lion Hudson plc, 2008, ,
Internet Archive
* Fiensy, David A., ''Jesus the Galilean: soundings in a first century life'', Gorgias Press LLC, 2007, ,
Google books
*
External links
*
* (Orthodox icon
An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic Church, Catholic, and Lutheranism, Lutheran churches. The most common subjects include Jesus, Mary, mother of ...
and synaxarion
Synaxarion or Synexarion (plurals Synaxaria, Synexaria; , from συνάγειν, ''synagein'', "to bring together"; cf. etymology of '' synaxis'' and ''synagogue''; Latin: ''Synaxarium'', ''Synexarium''; ; Ge'ez: ሲናክሳሪየም(ስንክ� ...
for the Sunday after Nativity)
*
* (Orthodox icon
An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic Church, Catholic, and Lutheranism, Lutheran churches. The most common subjects include Jesus, Mary, mother of ...
and synaxarion
Synaxarion or Synexarion (plurals Synaxaria, Synexaria; , from συνάγειν, ''synagein'', "to bring together"; cf. etymology of '' synaxis'' and ''synagogue''; Latin: ''Synaxarium'', ''Synexarium''; ; Ge'ez: ሲናክሳሪየም(ስንክ� ...
for the Sunday after Nativity)
*
*
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Joseph, Saint
1st-century Christian saints
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Genealogy of Jesus
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Anglican saints
Christian soteriology
Christ the King