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March 19 is the Feast of St. Joseph — also called St. Joseph’s Day.
The day celebrates the life of St. Joseph, “the partner of the Blessed Virgin Mary, foster father of Jesus Christ, and patron of the common Catholic Church,” Fr. Angelo N. Carusi advised Fox News Digital.
Carusi is pastor at St. Rocco’s Church in Johnston, Rhode Island.
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St. Joseph’s legacy stays influential even to this day, although there may be not a lot about him written within the Bible.
“I think it’s rather amazing that there are no recorded words of St. Joseph in the Bible — and yet, there are more churches named after him and more images of him throughout the world than any other saint, except, of course, Jesus and Mary,” mentioned Fr. Carusi.
Fr. Angelo Carusi, left, is pastor of St. Rocco’s Church in Johnston, Rhode Island. He mentioned St. Joseph is especially commemorated by Italians and people of Italian descent, because of a purported miracle throughout a drought in Sicily. (Courtesy Fr. Angelo Carusi/Getty Images)
St. Joseph is especially commemorated by Italians and people of Italian descent, because of a purported miracle throughout a drought in Sicily within the seventeenth century, mentioned Carusi.
Carusi’s parish was established within the early twentieth century to serve the rising Italian immigrant inhabitants in Johnston.
“In the church where I serve as pastor, St. Rocco’s in Johnston, Rhode Island, there’s a beautiful stained-glass window of St. Joseph, and on the bottom are etched these words, ‘Ite ad Joseph,’ which is Latin for, ‘Go to Joseph.’”
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And whereas the phrase “Go to Joseph” could appear easy, these phrases are “so profound,” mentioned Carusi.
“If you’re having a problem in your marriage, go to Joseph. If you’re struggling as a father, go to Joseph. If you’re having a problem at work, go to Joseph. If you’re facing a grave illness or death, go to Joseph,” he mentioned.
Priests in Malta carry a statue of St. Joseph as half of a procession on St. Joseph’s Day, a solemnity noticed yearly on March 19. (Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images)
Catholics consider within the intercession of the saints — which means they ask a saint in heaven to wish for a sure end result and intercede with Jesus Christ.
“St. Joseph is, for us, a model of faith, justice, hope, charity, obedience, tenacity and chastity,” mentioned Carusi.
He continued, “In our world that is so secular, we need these virtues more than ever.”
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St. Joseph’s Day is a solemnity, which means it “is the highest rank of celebration,” mentioned the Catholic Answers. This additionally signifies that despite the fact that it’s throughout Lent annually, regular fasting guidelines don’t apply as half of the celebration of the day.
“One beautiful tradition for St. Joseph’s Day is the St. Joseph’s Table,” mentioned Carusi.
A St. Joseph’s Table from an ice cream parlor in New Orleans, Louisiana. This Italian custom honoring St. Joseph started within the Middle Ages, mentioned Carusi. (Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
The apply of the St. Joseph’s Table began in Italy, after Sicilians requested St. Joseph to intercede and finish a drought.
“Miraculously, it rained,” he mentioned.
“Their harvest was more plentiful than ever.”
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To mark the miracle annually, households in Sicily started making a “St. Joseph Table,” which featured “three tiers of various types of breads, pastas, thick vegetable soups, olives, figs, desserts, flowers and a statue or image of St. Joseph on the top tier,” mentioned Carusi.
It can also be a customized to eat Italian pastries on St. Joseph’s Day.
“Over the years, this tradition has become a living work of art,” he added.
When Italians started shifting to the United States, they introduced these traditions with them.
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It can also be a customized to eat Italian pastries on St. Joseph’s Day, notably zeppole — deep-fried pastries topped with a maraschino cherry, mentioned Carusi.
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