Portal:Catholicism/Patron Archive/March 19

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Saint Joseph "of the House of David" (Hebrew יוֹסֵף, also known as Saint Joseph, Joseph the Betrothed, Joseph of Nazareth, Joseph the Worker and other titles) is known from the New Testament as the husband of Mary and although according to most Christian traditions he was not the biological father of Jesus of Nazareth, he acted as his foster-father and as head of the Holy Family. Joseph is venerated as a saint within the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Anglican churches.The genealogy in Matthew shows that Joseph's own father was called Jacob; but according to the genealogy in Luke Joseph was a son of Heli. The canonical Gospels do not, however, give the date and place of Joseph's birth, nor of his death. All that is known from them is that Joseph lived at times in Nazareth in Galilee,stayed for a couple of years in Bethlehem in Judea, and for a while was forced into exile in Egypt. While there is no mention of Joseph's age in the canonical Gospels, apocryphal literature, as well as many works of art based thereon, portray Joseph as a widower when he married Mary, with children from an earlier marriage, and Mary herself as a widow during the public ministry and passion of her son.
Attributes: Carpenter's square or tools, the infant Jesus, staff with lily blossoms.
Patronage: The Universal Church, workers, against doubt and hesitation and of a happy death. Many others; see [1]
Prayer: