Prayer to St. Joseph, the Protector of the Church
Father, you entrusted our Savior to the care of Saint Joseph.
By the help of his prayers may your Church continue to serve its Lord,
Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
Learn about Saint Joseph
Saint Joseph
What we know of Joseph from Scripture comes to us from the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. By piecing together information from the two, a more complete picture of the life of Joseph emerges: Matthew tells us about Joseph before the birth of Jesus, while Luke describes Joseph at the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem and at both the presentation and the finding of Jesus in the Temple. Matthew alone reveals information about the flight to, and return from Egypt, as well as Joseph's decision to settle his family in Nazareth.
The final Scripture about Joseph is Luke 2:51: “[Jesus] went down with [Mary and Joseph] and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them.”
According to tradition, Joseph died sometime before the beginning of Jesus' public life. Because he died in the loving presence of Jesus and Mary, he is also invoked as the patron of a happy death.
Joseph has two feast days. On March 19, we honor him as the husband of Mary. On May 1, we celebrate Joseph's feast day as the patron saint of workers.