Today's saint is St. Joseph, husband of Mary and foster father of Jesus Christ. There is very little known about St. Joseph. We know that he was a descendant of the line of David, though Luke and Matthew disagree on the exact lineage, and that he was a carpenter. He was not wealthy, indeed, when they went to the temple 40 days after Mary gave birth for her to be cleansed and Christ to be circumcised, they sacrificed two turtledoves, which was only done if you were unable to afford a goat.
In spite of being poor, they still made the trip to Jerusalem for the Passover as was expected of devout Jews. We know that Joseph was a kind man, as he planned to "put her (Mary) away quietly" when he found her pregnant, before learning that it was the Child of God. Given that Mary would likely have been stoned to death had he done so publicly, this shows that he was a caring man. We know he cared greatly for Jesus, and that he was willing, first to live in Egypt, and then to move to Nazareth in order to protect Mary and Jesus from Herod.
Given that St. Joseph is not mentioned during the ministry of Jesus, it is commonly believed that he died before Jesus began his public ministry.
St. Joseph is the patron saint of the dying, the universal Church, fathers, carpenters, and social justice.
He has two feast days: March 19 for Joseph the Husband of Mary and May 1 as Joseph the Worker.
