Saint Joseph the Worker

Joseph of Nazareth, husband of the Virgin Mary and guardian of Jesus, earned his living as a carpenter, or tekton, a builder who worked with wood and stone. The Gospel of Matthew records that people in Nazareth asked of Jesus, "Is this not the carpenter's son?" For years the Son of God shared that humble workshop and learned a trade at Joseph's side.

In 1955 Pope Pius XII established the feast of Saint Joseph the Worker on May 1, the day many countries celebrate International Workers' Day. He wanted workers to have a heavenly patron and to see that labor is not only a way to earn a living but a path to holiness. The Church's social teaching, from Leo XIII to today, defends just wages, rest and the dignity of the worker, and this feast places those ideas under Joseph's quiet protection.

Many parishes bless tools, work uniforms and the hands of workers on this day, and some unions and Catholic workers' movements attend Mass together. In Latin America and Spain, where May 1 is a public holiday, the feast is often joined to prayers for the unemployed.

May 1 also opens the month of Mary, so many families set up a small May altar with flowers at home.