Feast day March 19
St. Joseph
Guardian of the Redeemer · 1st century
For quiet strength — the just man who protected the Holy Family without a single recorded word.
In their words
Ite ad Ioseph — Go to Joseph.
Life
Husband of Mary, foster father of Jesus, and carpenter of Nazareth. Scripture calls him "a just man" and records not one word he spoke — only what he did: he took Mary into his home, carried the Child to safety in Egypt, and taught the Son of God a trade. Patron of the universal Church, of workers, of fathers, and of a happy death.
A prayer
To You, O Blessed Joseph
To you, O blessed Joseph, do we come in our tribulation, and having implored the help of your most holy spouse, we confidently invoke your patronage also. Through that charity which bound you to the Immaculate Virgin Mother of God, and through the paternal love with which you embraced the Child Jesus, we humbly beg you graciously to regard the inheritance which Jesus Christ has purchased by his blood, and with your power and strength to aid us in our necessities. O most watchful guardian of the Holy Family, defend the chosen children of Jesus Christ.