Jesusâ earthly dad, St. Joseph, often overlooked, is honored by Fatherâs Day in many Catholic nations
The United States celebrates Fatherâs Day on the third Sunday of June. Many countries with a Catholic heritage, however, such as Portugal and Spain, have already honored fathers on March 19: the feast of St. Joseph, husband of Mary and patron saint of fathers.
Joseph is easy to overlook. None of his words were included in the Christian Bible. In Islam, the Quran omits him entirely, though it does include by name; in fact, more than the Christian Gospels do. And while Catholic tradition gives the highest veneration to the Virgin Mary, it gives less emphasis to Josephâs significance â there is even a joke that a Sunday school student thought Jesusâ parents names were âVerge ân Mary,â after hearing her name so much more than his.
However, the Bible portrays St. Joseph playing a crucial role in the life of Jesus Christ, the founder of Christianity. In Catholic culture, Joseph is still an important role model of fatherhood and faith, Gloria FalcĂŁo Dodd, a research professor at the University of Dayton, writes for .
Husband of Mary, father of Jesusâ on earth
The bulk of the biblical descriptions of Joseph come from what are called in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, which describe Jesusâ birth and childhood.
According to the Gospels, Mary, a virgin betrothed to Joseph, â and therefore Christians consider Jesus the Son of God. However, most Christians understand Joseph to be a true father in every way except biological, since Joseph was the legal father who raised Jesus.
The Jewish custom in that time period involved : first, a legal contract of marriage, followed later by a party with the husband taking his wife into his home. This is shown in the Gospels: Joseph learned that Mary was expecting before she came to live with him, so ; but an angel instructed him not to, and instead to take his wife into his home. Therefore, Joseph was already Maryâs legal husband at the time Jesus was conceived.
Some Christians believe that after Jesusâ birth, Mary and Joseph had several children together. The Gospels . However, Catholics and Orthodox Christians hold that these verses refer to other relatives, not actual siblings. Jesus taught that children have , but when he was dying, , not a sibling.
Catholics believe Mary and Joseph had what the Catholic Church calls a âJosephite marriageâ â that is, one that meets Catholicismâs requirements for a , such as fidelity, but does not involve sexual intercourse.
Like any parent, Joseph had his challenges. At one point, for example, he and Mary for three days while they were traveling. But in Catholic teachings, he models faithful fatherhood. Joseph provided for his family as a carpenter, and followed Godâs instructions to care for them. He named and circumcised his son, , and took him to the Temple on holy days when possible, all in line with Jewish law. Joseph also , the King of Judea, who wanted to kill the child, by taking Mary and Jesus to safety in Egypt and then Nazareth.
Significance in Catholic cultures
For Catholics, Joseph is the second-greatest saint after Mary, because only she knew, loved and served Jesus more than Joseph. In 1870, Pope Pius IX Joseph the patron saint of the entire Catholic Church.
The Catholic liturgical calendar has two days just for him. Josephâs primary celebration honors him as the husband of Mary, and takes place on March 19. It is a âsolemnityâ â a global celebration requiring â and in some countries, Catholics are obligated to attend Mass. Many Italians celebrate the day with or Bread Table, providing free food to all, as a way to thank the saint for his help.
May 1 is an optional feast that honors Joseph in his role as a worker. Pope Pius XII in 1955 to give a Christian dimension to International Workers Day, also known as International Labor Day or May Day, and counter its .
Joseph also shares in the on the Sunday after Christmas, as well as some local commemorations. For example, the Oblates of St. Joseph, a community of priests and religious brothers, celebrates on Jan. 23.
Year of St. Joseph
In 2020, an American priest, the Rev. Donald Calloway, published a popular book called â.â This guide encourages Catholics â many of whom traditionally devote themselves to Mary â to also consecrate their lives to Joseph, as their spiritual father. Calloway outlines a 33-day program to prepare readers for a ceremony, entrusting themselves to Josephâs care.
Afterward, Calloway wrote to Pope Francis and asked him to declare a âYear of St. Josephâ for the church. The pope has not spoken about whether this letter influenced him, but Francis did proclaim Dec. 8, 2020, to Dec. 8, 2021, the first-ever , a time for Catholics to deepen their knowledge of the saint and to pray for blessings from God through Josephâs intercession.
Francis wrote a called â,â which highlights Josephâs paternal qualities, such as tenderness, courage, and being self-giving. âFathers are not born, but made. ⊠Whenever a man accepts responsibility for the life of another, in some way he becomes a father to that person,â Francis wrote.
Joseph is considered the because that he died in the company of Jesus and Mary, before Jesusâ ministry and death. But in life, too, Catholicism sees Joseph as an encouraging ideal: a man who carried out his important role in the family with hope and joy.
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