Joseph the Carpenter and how he became a Saint

Saint Joseph is also sometimes called Joseph the Carpenter because he was a carpenter by trade. Some religious texts also call the foster father of Jesus Joseph the Carpenter although the Bible refers to him just as Joseph. Joseph the carpenter came from the line of King David, one of the most well known kings that is talked about in the Old Testament. Despite having roots that go back to the royal house of King David Joseph worked as a tradesman all his life doing carpentry in Nazareth and in Egypt in order to make a life for his family.

Joseph the Carpenter was a foster father to Jesus.   He was engaged to Mary when Mary became pregnant with Jesus and even though he thought about breaking the engagement because he didn’t want to marry a woman that was pregnant by another man an angel sent by God went to Joseph to explain to him that the child that Mary was carrying was the child of the Holy Spirit and that she hadn’t been with another man.   Once Joseph the Carpenter understood the role that God wanted him to play as foster father to Jesus he accepted Mary as his wife and raised Jesus just as if Jesus was his own child. 

While Jesus was still a child Joseph was told that King Herod would try to kill Jesus and that Joseph needed to take the family and leave in order to protect the child.   Even though it meant leaving their home and all their possessions except the ones that they could carry Joseph the Carpenter packed up his family and fled to Egypt. Once they got to Egypt he started over again with nothing and built a home and a business to provide for his family. After King Herod’s death he once again packed up his family so that they could return home.

Joseph the Carpenter is the patron saint of fathers and families, homes and real estate because of his connection with his family and because he put a great deal of emphasis on always providing a safe home for his family.   But Joseph the Carpenter is also the patron saint of workers and tradespeople.   Joseph was a working man all his life and knew what it was like to work hard at a craft. Working people everywhere pray to Joseph the Carpenter when they are having work troubles or when they need to find a job and can’t seem to find the right one.

Hundreds of years ago German carpenters and construction workers would place small blessed medals and statues of Joseph the Carpenter in the walls and foundations of the homes that they were building praying to St. Joseph to keep the families that would live in the houses healthy and happy for a long time.   Because of his connection to the workers and his role as a father figure they thought that Saint Joseph would be the best saint to pray to in order to bless the house.   Often the houses where the workmen placed the statues of Saint Joseph sold much more quickly than the houses that had not been blessed which is said to be one of the reasons that today people bury a statue of Saint Joseph in their yards when they want to sell their home.  

Joseph the Carpenter was always considered a saint within the Church.   Even in the earliest days of the Church Joseph was honored for the role that he played in Jesus’ life.   Joseph was not made an official saint in the Church or given an official feast day until hundreds of years after the formation of the Church but even without being officially recognized as a Saint Joseph the Carpenter was venerated as s saint within the Church.   In the 1800’s Pope Pious IX declared Joseph the patron saint and Universal Father of the Church.

Eric Lord