The Feast of Saint Joseph the Virgin, celebrated annually on March 19, holds deep spiritual and familial significance, particularly for our Bejjani family, Youssef, a name we have proudly carried for generations. On this blessed anniversary, we implore God and His angels to protect our beloved son Youssef and our grandson Joseph, both of whom bear this holy name.
This sacred feast is an important occasion in the Maronite-Roman Catholic tradition, honoring the life of Saint Joseph, the esteemed stepfather of Jesus and the chaste spouse of the Virgin Mary. Among devout believers, particularly the Lebanese Maronites, March 19 is not only a day of commemoration but is also regarded as the birthday of Saint Joseph. His life, characterized by devotion, obedience, humility, and unwavering faith, serves as a guiding light for countless families who hold him in deep reverence.
In Lebanon, Saint Joseph is venerated as the patron saint of families, admired for his exemplary role as a devoted husband and father. His life embodies faith, honesty, generosity, and tireless dedication—virtues long cherished and practiced by Lebanese families and deeply rooted within our own family values.
Saint Joseph’s divine mission was of the utmost importance; entrusted by God with the care of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary, he fulfilled his responsibilities with deep love, dedication, and selflessness. As the earthly guardian of the Holy Family, he exemplified loyalty and an unshakable commitment to his divine calling, making him a timeless symbol of fatherhood, protection, and faith.
As we honor Saint Joseph today, we reflect on the virtues he embodied—his humility, strength, and steadfast devotion to carrying out God’s will. May his legacy continue to inspire us to fulfill our paternal and pastoral roles within our families and communities, striving to emulate his unwavering faith, love, and selflessness.
On this holy and blessed day, we offer prayers of gratitude and supplication to the Lord for all His gifts and blessings. We extend our heartfelt blessings to all who bear the name Joseph, praying that they follow in the footsteps of our beloved saint and uphold his virtuous example in their lives.
Faith Background St. Joseph St. Joseph, (flourished 1st century CE, Nazareth, Galilee, region of Palestine; principal feast day March 19, Feast of St. Joseph the Worker May 1), in the New Testament, Jesus’ earthly father and the Virgin Mary’s husband. St. Joseph is the patron of the universal church in Roman Catholicism, and his life is recorded in the Gospels, particularly Matthew and Luke. Joseph was a descendant of the house of King David. After marrying Mary, he found her already pregnant and, “being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace” (Matthew 1:19), decided to divorce her quietly, but an angel told him that the child was the Son of God and was conceived by the Holy Spirit. Obeying the angel, Joseph took Mary as his wife. After Jesus’ birth at Bethlehem in Judaea, where the Holy Family received the Magi, an angel warned Joseph and Mary about the impending violence against the child by King Herod the Great of Judaea, whereupon they fled to Egypt. There the angel again appeared to Joseph, informing him of Herod’s death and instructing him to return to the Holy Land. Avoiding Bethlehem out of fear of Herod’s successor, Joseph, Mary, and Jesus settled in Nazareth (Matthew 2:22–23) in Galilee, where Joseph taught his craft of carpentry to Jesus. Joseph is last mentioned in the Gospels when he and Mary frantically searched for the lost young Jesus in Jerusalem, where they found him in the Temple (Luke 2:41–49). Like Mary, Joseph failed to comprehend Jesus’ ironic question, “ ‘Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?’ ” The circumstances of Joseph’s death are unknown, except that he probably died before Jesus’ public ministry began and was certainly dead before the Crucifixion (John 19:26–27).
Saint Annual Joseph’s Day The feast day of St. Joseph is celebrated annually on March 19. Joseph, husband of the Virgin Mary and foster-father of Jesus, has been honored as a saint since the earliest days of the Christian Church. But very little is known about his life, or even the exact date of his death, which is believed to have occurred when Jesus Christ was eighteen. The basis of saint day remembrances-for St. Joseph as well as other saints-is found in ancient Roman tradition. On the anniversary of a death, families would share a ritual meal at the grave site of an ancestor. This practice was adopted by Christians who began observing a ritual meal on the death anniversary of ancestors in the faith, especially martyrs. As a result, most Christian saint days are associated with the death of the saint. There are three important exceptions. John the Baptist, the Virgin Mary, and Jesus are honored on their nativities (birthdays). Many who suffered martyrdom are remembered on saint days in the calendars of several Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant sects. By the thirteenth century, the Roman Catholic Church had instituted canonization, the process of making a person a saint. Before that, Christians venerated people they considered saints. In 1870 Pope Pius IX formally proclaimed Joseph the patron of the universal church. It is worth mentioning that St. Joseph’s Day is a Maronite and Roman Catholic feast day that commemorates the life of St. Joseph, the step-father of Jesus and husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel Matthew 01/18-25/This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
