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St. Joseph, the beloved spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary and earthly father of Jesus, is celebrated twice by the Catholic Church every year — first on March 19 for the feast of St. Joseph, husband of Mary, and again on May 1 for the feast of St. Joseph the Worker. While the saint’s March feast dates back to the 10th century, his May feast wasn’t instituted until 1955. What was behind it? Pope Pius XII instituted the feast of St. Joseph the Worker on May 1, 1955 so that it would coincide with International Workers Day, also known as...

The feast of St Joseph the Worker falls on May 1, this Saturday (also a First Saturday), following the Solemnity of St. Joseph, which we celebrated on March 19. This is a relatively modern feast day since it was only instituted in 1955, during the pontificate of Pope Pius XII. The intention was that it should be a Christian alternative to the celebration of what was known as International Worker’s Day. This was originally promoted by the International Labor movement as a celebration of the working classes, and the date was chosen in 1889, in Paris, by the Second or...

COMMENTARY: For the best model for workers, look not to a man named Marx but to a carpenter named Joseph.The Childhood of Jesus. (photo: Gerard van Honthorst / Web Gallery of Art) May Day has all sorts of historically varied meanings and traditions among various groups, including Catholics. Since the late 19th century, however, May 1 has been particularly known for its association with workers — particularly, its appropriation if not exploitation by socialists and communists. That began in earnest on May 1, 1889, when socialists launched International Workers’ Day. “May 1st is May Day, the International Workers’ Holiday,” explains...

Each year on May 1, the Catholic faithful celebrate the feast day of Saint Joseph the Worker. This feast day, instituted by Pope Pius XII in 1955, was meant to provide downtrodden laborers with a spiritual patron, as well as an alternative to the communist labor agitation that was prevalent at the time. The Catholic faith has a great heritage of honoring and celebrating labor and laborers. Because of that, this feast day offers us an opportunity, and a great responsibility, to build a robust and life-giving culture through laborers and their work. We must continue to take up that...

[Catholic Caucus] The “Special Year” of St. Joseph is Like the Phoenix. Where It May Be No One KnowsToday, March 19, is the feast of St. Joseph, a saint of whom Jorge Mario Bergoglio has been so fond since his youth that he still keeps at home, in Santa Marta, a statuette of him asleep, “under which,” he has said, “I place little slips with my problems or difficulties, so that he can dream about them at night and tell me what to do” (see photo).It cannot therefore be ruled out that the pope’s bold decision four days ago to...

In 1965, Mary Jane McGuire, her husband Cyril and their three children received a letter from the Michigan State Highway Department. It informed them that their Lansing home, where the family had lived for the past decade, would be demolished to make way for construction of Interstate 496. The letter was followed by an offer of federal dollars to purchase their property, a number the McGuires felt was far below its actual value. The couple’s initial refusal to accept the offer meant they were one of the final families of their African-American neighborhood to be displaced for construction of the...

Photos of the traditional religious procession in Detroit were widely shared on social media Maybe it was the classic sunglasses, the skinny jeans or the flocculent mustache. Maybe it was the vintage-style religious art, the men in embellished uniforms, or what looks like incense rising from the streets. Whatever it was, a photo of a religious procession with a circa-1940’s aesthetic recently fascinated Catholics, who shared it on social media and other places around the internet. Except the photo of a St. Joseph’s procession on the streets of Detroit wasn’t taken in 1945. It was taken last week. “I guess...

Rest on the Flight into Egypt, 1879 Luc Olivier Merson (French, 1846–1920) DIMENSIONS 71.8 x 128.3 cm (28 1/4 x 50 1/2 in.) ON VIEW Frances Vrachos Gallery (Gallery 144) Fleeing persecution at the hands of Roman authorities, the Holy Family takes refuge in Egypt. Joseph dozes beside a dying campfire while his donkey grazes on sparse desert grass. At left sleep the Virgin Mary and infant Christ, crowned with a halo of light. They lie in the arms of a sphinx, its eyes turned to the heavens, where the first stars begin to appear. A successful Academic artist, Merson...

What we can learn about suffering in the story of Joseph, the Patriarch? Msgr. Charles Pope • January 9, 2017 • One of the greatest and most painful of mysteries is the problem of suffering and the broader problem of evil in the world. I was meditating with my Sunday School parents this past weekend on the Old Testament Patriarch Joseph. That story is rich with lessons about family struggles, envy, jealousy, pride, mercy and forgiveness. But the story also has a lot to say about suffering and the way that God can use it to bring blessings.Lets take...

St. Joseph and Manhood Msgr. Charles Pope • March 19, 2017 • I remember once being amused to hear that a 19th century Franciscan theologian (whose name I cannot recall) wrote a six-volume set called “The Life of St. Joseph.” How could one possibly get enough material to fill six volumes? We know so little about Joseph from Scripture. He seems to have been the strong, silent type. Not a word of his is recorded, but his actions have much to say, especially to men.On this feast of St. Joseph, we do well to ponder him as a model...

For centuries Christians have turned to St. Joseph as a powerful patron and faithful guardian, father and friend. Invoked as the Glory of home life, Patron of the Dying and Terror of Demons, Christians call upon St. Joseph for healing and conversion, help with their children, a new job or home, and for all their needs of body and soul.Honored as the Patron of the Universal Church, St. Joseph’s paternal protection of the Lord Jesus continues even from heaven, as he watches over Christ’s Mystical Body on earth. The foster-father of the Son of God is also a father to those who have...

St. Joseph Teaches Us How to Live Out AdventFr. Ed Broom, OMV Saint Joseph can help us to live a most fruitful Advent, and for many reasons. Let us quietly meditate upon five extraordinary virtues of this greatest of all saints so that we can live a most fervent Advent season and allow Jesus to be born in the depths of our hearts this Christmas!1. Silence. Not once in the Bible do we hear a word from the great Saint Joseph. This silence of Saint Joseph is very eloquent. It teaches us a fundamental attitude to enter into deep prayer:...

The life of St. Joseph is largely veiled to us by history. While there are some writings from the early centuries of the Church about St. Joseph, they are part of the apocryphal literature. Writings in this category are largely viewed with suspicion, as they were written more to convey hidden, secret knowledge that was believed to be needed to attain salvation, rather than to give an account of events that took place. We also have the writings of mystics such as Anne Catherine Emmerich and the Venerable Mother Mary of Jesus of Agreda, which pass along vivid details of...

What We Can Learn About Suffering in the Story of Joseph the Patriarch Msgr. Charles Pope January 12, 2016 One of the greatest (but most painful) of mysteries is that of suffering and evil in the world. I was meditating with my Sunday school parents this past weekend on the Old Testament patriarch Joseph. His story is rich with lessons about family struggles, envy, jealousy, pride, mercy, and forgiveness. But it also has a lot to say about suffering and the way that God can use it to bring blessings.While there are many layers to Joseph's story, both personal...

Because this column is devoted to promoting Catholic fatherhood, this is a special feast day: the Feast of Saint Joseph. The following is an updated version of a column that John wrote a few years ago. Men in history are often remembered for things like winning a battle, governing a country, composing a symphony, writing a masterpiece, or inventing a life-changing device. Today, the Church honors a man who did none of these.  Even in his own time, in the eyes of much of the world, this small-town carpenter was insignificant. But his greatness did not lie in his...

In his love for Mary and Jesus, St. Joseph’s faithfulness and purity are an example for all Christian fathersby Father Frederick J. Miller (Tyrolese Art Glass Co., Austria, 1899 / Courtesy Saint Joseph's University Collection, Philadelphia) In his 1989 apostolic letter, Guardian of the Redeemer, Blessed John Paul II held up St. Joseph as a model of the Christian life for all believers. He wrote, “St. Joseph’s example transcends all individual states of life and serves as a model for the entire Christian community, whatever the condition and duties of each of its members may be” (30). Precisely because...

His obedience of faith was manifested, as the Gospel tells us, after an angel of God revealed to him that it was through the Holy Spirit that the child had been conceived in Mary. When Joseph awoke, “he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him, and took his wife into his home” without hesitation or objection.  (Matthew 1:20)  When Herod sought to kill the infant Jesus, Saint Joseph obediently took him and the Blessed Mother to safety. (Matthew 2:13-14) As Pope Saint John II pointed out in Redemptoris Custos, “already at the beginning of redemption, after Mary,...

The St. Mary and St. Joseph Family Memorial Foundation has purchased the Twin Spires in Downtown St. Joseph with plans to create a national pro-life shrine. When it opens this spring, the church will become the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, the first national pro-life shrine in the country. It will serve as a location for prayer to end abortion, and for atonement for the babies and the conversion of their parents, the nonprofit said. “It was kind of miraculous. We were going to build a shrine,” said Richard Mahoney, president of the foundation. “I got a call from a...

FULL TITLE: Stunning pictures of Michigan's St Joseph Lighthouse transformed into giant icicles as arctic blast continues to sweep across the US With sub-zero temperatures, severe wind chills and snowfall, millions across the eastern US have been desperately trying to stay warm this week. But one photographer chose to brave the frigid weather for hours on end - to capture these stunning photos of St Joseph Lighthouse in Michigan. Donning sturdy boots and warm clothing, Joshua Nowicki trekked along the icy shore of Lake Michigan on Thursday morning, armed with a camera. He then captured a breathtaking array of photos...

ST. MARYS, ELK COUNTY - The St. Joseph Monastery in St. Marys is the oldest in the United States, and after 161 years of serving the community, it's closing its doors. At its peak in the 60s and 70s, the St. Joseph Monastery in St. Marys, Elk County had 125 sisters. Today, there are 17 left, ages 58 to 91, and they'll have to find a new home. We spoke with many people in the St. Marys community who say the St. Joseph Monastery is a huge institution for the community. They say the news of it closing is devastating....