This statue of St. Joseph the Worker is found at the St. Joseph the Worker employment ministry in Phoenix. (Courtesy of St. Joseph the Worker)
This statue of St. Joseph the Worker is found at the St. Joseph the Worker employment ministry in Phoenix. (Courtesy of St. Joseph the Worker)

May 1

Though his principal feast is March 19, St. Joseph also is honored for his labors as a carpenter in providing for his family’s needs in Nazareth. The carpentry trade in first-century Palestine covered building houses, which were mostly made of wood; by tradition, Jesus joined the family business.

Throughout Church history, Joseph was honored as a craftsman, but this feast was set in 1956 to give Christian meaning to what had become a secular association of May 1 with labor.

He is the patron of St. Joseph the Worker Parish in Williams and of St. Joseph the Worker employment ministry based in Phoenix.