Joseph jesus father biography definition

He is the unofficial patron against doubt and hesitation, as well as the patron saint of fighting communism , and of a happy death. Having died in the "arms of Jesus and Mary," he is considered the model of a pious believer who receives grace at the moment of death. Some groups of Traditional Catholics reject this addition, but most use the missal, which includes this change.

Roman Catholics also believe that Joseph prays especially for families, fathers, expectant mothers pregnant women , travelers, immigrants, house sellers and buyers, craftsmen, engineers and working people in general. The Feast of St. Joseph the Workman May 1 , was introduced by Pope Pius XII in to counteract May Day , a holiday favored by the left-wing labor movement, socialists, and communists.

This also reflects St. Joseph's status as what many Catholics and other Christians consider the "patron of workers. Joseph , Guardian of Jesus. Some Protestant traditions also celebrate this festival as a commemoration of Joseph's life and witness. Joseph is also commemorated on the Sunday of the Forefathers. The Spanish form, San Jose, is the most common place name in the world.

Many cities, towns, and geographical features are named after Joseph. At least six places named St. Joseph exist in France and its overseas possessions, and at least 14 towns, counties, or townships in the United States. Also, numerous bays, rivers, peninsulas, and other features are named after Joseph in North America. Joseph, Trinidad and Tobago is the oldest town in Trinidad and Tobago.

Hundreds, if not thousands, of churches are dedicated to Saint Joseph. In the U. Joseph who is believed to have performed many miracles of healing in Montreal. The Oratory is the largest church in Canada, with the largest dome of its kind in the world after that of Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome. Some churches named after St. Joseph are actually dedicated to a different saint, Saint Joseph of Cupertino.

Joseph after its first two churches were destroyed by tornadoes on St. Joseph's feast day. Since the parishioners have attended mass on his feast day the recent church has not been destroyed. New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. Pope Pius X, in order to restore the celebration of Sundays, moved this feast to the Wednesday in the second week after Easter, and gave it an octave.

Pius XII established the feast both to honor Saint Joseph, and to make people aware of the dignity of human work. The Espousals of the Blessed Virgin Mary is observed in some liturgical calendars e. Pope Francis on 8 December , released the apostolic letter Patris corde on the occasion of the th anniversary of the declaration by Pius IX, on 8 December , of Saint Joseph as patron of the Universal Church; for the same reason he declared a Year of Saint Joseph , from 8 December , to 8 December Having died in the "arms of Jesus and Mary" according to Catholic tradition, he is considered the model of the pious believer who receives grace at the moment of death, in other words, the patron of a happy death.

Saint Joseph is well known as the patron saint of fathers, both families and virgins, workers, especially carpenters, expecting mothers and unborn children. Among many others, he is the patron saint of attorneys and barristers, emigrants, travelers and house hunters. He is invoked against hesitation and for the grace of a holy death. Many cities, towns, and locations are named after Saint Joseph.

Joseph is the patron saint of the New World [ ] and of many countries Austria — especially venerated in Carinthia , Styria , and Tyrol , [ ] Croatia — proclaimed as a patron saint of Kingdom of Croatia by Croatian Sabor on 9 June [ ] and of several main cities Karlovac [ ] , dioceses and administrative regions Karlovac County in Croatia [ ]. Many churches, monasteries and other institutions are dedicated to Saint Joseph.

Saint Joseph's Oratory is the largest church in Canada, with the largest dome of its kind in the world after that of Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome. Elsewhere in the world churches named after the saint may be known as those of San Giuseppe , e. The Sisters of St. Joseph were founded as an order in and have about 14, members worldwide. In , the Josephite Fathers of the Catholic Church were created under the patronage of Joseph, intending to work with the poor.

The first Josephites in America re-devoted their part of the order to ministry within the newly emancipated African American community. The Oblates of St. Joseph were founded in by Joseph Marello. Verily, Joseph the betrothed, saw clearly in his old age that the foresayings of the Prophets had been fulfilled openly; for he was given an odd earnest, receiving inspiration from the angels, who cried, Glory to God; for he hath bestowed peace on earth.

In the Catholic tradition, just as there are prayers for the Seven Joys of Mary and Seven Sorrows of Mary , there are also prayers for the seven joys and seven sorrows of Saint Joseph. Furthermore, there is a novena [ ] prayed before the feast of Saint Joseph on 19 March. Saint Joseph is frequently invoked for employment, daily protection, vocation, happy marriage, and a happy death.

Multiple venerated Catholics have described their devotion to Saint Joseph and his intercession. Francis de Sales included Saint Joseph along with Virgin Mary as saints to be invoked during prayers in his book, Introduction to the Devout Life. Glorious St. Joseph, pattern of all who are devoted to toil, obtain for me the grace to toil, in the spirit of penance, in order to thereby atone for my many sins ….

There is a Catholic tradition that burying a statuette of Saint Joseph on the grounds of a home will help to sell or buy [ ] a house. Joseph's role in the Catholic church is summarized by the German theologian Friedrich Justus Knecht:. Joseph's high place in the kingdom of God comes from this, that God chose him to be the guardian and protector of His Son, entrusting him with what was greatest and dearest to Himself, singling him out and especially blessing him for this office.

The Church celebrates a Feast in honour of St. Joseph on 19 March, and desires that all the faithful should honour him, ask for his intercession, and imitate his virtues. Joseph is the especial patron of the Church. Even as he was the protector of the Child Jesus on earth, so, we believe, is he now the protector of the mystical Body of Jesus, His holy Church.

We also especially seek his intercession for a good death, because, having died so blessedly, in the presence and with the assistance of Jesus and Mary, he should be supplicated to obtain for us from Jesus the grace of a happy death. In mosaics in the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore Joseph is portrayed young, bearded and dressed as a Roman of status.

Earlier writers thought the traditional imagery necessary to support belief in Mary's perpetual virginity. In recent centuries — in step with a growing interest in Joseph's role in Gospel exegesis — he himself has become a focal figure in representations of the Holy Family. He is now often portrayed as a younger or even youthful man perhaps especially in Protestant depictions , whether going about his work as a carpenter, or participating actively in the daily life of Mary and Jesus as an equal and openly affectionate member.

However Carolyn Wilson challenges the long-held view that pre-Tridentine images were often intended to demean him. Full cycles of his life are rare in the Middle Ages, although the scenes from the Life of the Virgin or Life of Christ where he is present are far more often seen. The fact that Saint Joseph makes mousetraps is attributed to an interpretation by Augustine of Hippo , according to which Jesus Christ is the mousetrap for the devil.

Some statues of Joseph depict his staff as topped with flowers, recalling the non-canonical Gospel of James's account of how Mary's spouse was chosen by collecting the walking sticks of widowers in Palestine, and Joseph's alone bursting into flower, thus identifying him as divinely chosen. Several Eastern Orthodox Nativity icons show Joseph tempted by the Devil depicted as an old man with furled wings to break off his betrothal, and how he resists that temptation.

There are some paintings with him wearing a Jewish hat. Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read Edit View history. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version. In other projects. Wikimedia Commons Wikisource Wikidata item. Christian saint; husband of Mary and legal father of Jesus. This article is about the husband of Mary, the mother of Jesus.

For other saints and uses, see Saint Joseph disambiguation. For the Joseph of Genesis, see Joseph Genesis. Saint Joseph c. In the New Testament [ edit ]. Mentions in the Gospels [ edit ]. Lineage [ edit ]. Further information: Genealogy of Jesus. Professional life [ edit ]. Modern appraisal [ edit ]. Death [ edit ]. Later apocryphal writings [ edit ].

Church Fathers [ edit ]. Veneration [ edit ]. Feast days [ edit ]. Saint Joseph's Day [ edit ]. Main article: Saint Joseph's Day. Saint Joseph the Worker [ edit ]. Espousals of the Blessed Virgin Mary [ edit ]. Patris corde and Year of Saint Joseph [ edit ]. Patronage [ edit ]. Places, churches, and institutions [ edit ]. Prayers and devotions [ edit ].

Joseph jesus father biography definition

Luke iii, 23 , Hell was his father. This is not the place to recite the many and most various endeavors to solve the vexing questions arising from the divergences between both genealogies; nor is it necessary to point out the explanation which meets best all the requirements of the problem see Genealogy of Christ ; suffice it to remind the reader that, contrary to what was once advocated, most modern writers readily admit that in both documents we possess the genealogy of Joseph , and that it is quite possible to reconcile their data.

At any rate, Bethlehem, the city of David and his descendants, appears to have been the birth-place of Joseph. When, however, the Gospel history opens, namely, a few months before the Annunciation, Joseph was settled at Nazareth. Why and when he forsook his home-place to betake himself to Galilee is not ascertained; some suppose—and the supposition is by no means improbable—that the then moderate circumstances of the family and the necessity of earning a living may have brought about the change.

Joseph , indeed, was a Greek: tekton, as we learn from Matt. The word means both mechanic in general and carpenter in particular; St. Justin vouches for the latter sense Dial, cum Tryph. It is probably at Nazareth that Joseph betrothed and married her who was to become the Mother of God. When the marriage took place, whether before or after the Incarnation , is no easy matter to settle, and on this point the masters of exegesis have at all times been at variance.

Most modern commentators, following in the footsteps of St. Thomas, understand that, at the epoch of the Annunciation, the Blessed Virgin was only affianced to Joseph ; as St. Thomas notices, this interpretation suits better all the evangelical data. It will not be without interest to recall here, unreliable though they are, the lengthy stories concerning St.

These dreams, as St. Joseph was an old man at the time of his marriage with the Mother of God. This marriage, true and complete, was, in the intention of the spouses, to be a virgin marriage cf. Thomas, III, Q. But soon was the faith of Joseph in his spouse to be sorely tried: she was with child. Pope Benedict XVI. John Calvin. Dalai Lama.

Fact and Fiction Everything we know about Saint Joseph, the husband of Mary and the foster father of Jesus, comes from the Bible, and mentions of him are underwhelming. Marriage to Mary After marrying Mary, Joseph found that she was already pregnant, and being "a just man and unwilling to put her to shame" Matt. Watch Next. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below.