Happy St. Joseph’s Day!

In 1870, Pope Blessed Pius IX named St. Joseph the Patron of the Universal Church. Relatively little is known about this saint except for what we read Matthew and Luke’s Gospels. What we do know, to quote Pope John Paul II, is that “Saint Joseph was a just man, a tireless worker, the upright guardian of those entrusted to his care.” For Italian Catholics, St. Joseph’s is an important Feast. During the Middle Ages, it was through his intercession that the people of Sicily were saved from a serious drought. On his Feast day, the custom is to wear red, the same way that green is worn on St. Patrick’s Day. Foods are traditionally served containing bread crumbs, in order to represent saw dust since St. Joseph was a carpenter. In some traditionally Catholic countries such as Spain, Portugal, Belgium and Italy, his Feast day is also Father’s Day. In New Orleans, a major port of entry for Sicilian immigrants during the late nineteenth century, the Feast is a city-wide event, with public and private St. Joseph’s altars displayed.