St Joseph 

• His feast day is 19th March
• He is the Patron Saint to the Universal Church, fathers, workers and the unborn child
• He was Mary's husband and Jesus' foster father
• He was a carpenter and was very hardworking
• He was a kind, loving and compassionate

Joseph was a descendant of the house of King David. After marrying Mary, he found her already pregnant and, “being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace” (Matthew 1:19), decided to divorce her quietly, but an angel told him that the child was the Son of God and was conceived by the Holy Spirit. Obeying the angel, Joseph took Mary as his wife. After Jesus’ birth at Bethlehem in Judaea, where the Holy Family received the Magi, an angel warned Joseph and Mary about the impending violence against the child by King Herod the Great of Judaea, whereupon they fled to Egypt. There the angel again appeared to Joseph, informing him of Herod’s death and instructing him to return to the Holy Land.

A Prayer to St Joseph

Gracious St Joseph, pray for us, that we respect, love and care for

each other in our families as you did with Mary and Jesus.

Help us to be understanding and forgiving towards each other.

St Joseph, pray for us.

The Sign of the Cross

'From my head to my heart,

From my shoulder to my shoulder,

I belong to God.'