St. Joseph the Worker (BK 31) Postcard

St. Joseph is traditionally associated with woodworking. Here he is shown on break, deep in thought, and leaning on his axe. In the full-length version, a recently shaped beam lies across his workbench with wood chips scattered on the ground beneath. Although we have little in the way of direct testimonials, we infer from Matt. 1:19 that as a “just” or “righteous” man St. Joseph was a model worker embodying such virtues as reliability, efficiency, and industry as he went about his daily tasks. His attitude is far from servile but rather suggests a dignity and sense of accomplishment in using his God-given abilities to be of service to his community as he provides for his family. + By virtue of his traditional occupation as a carpenter, St. Joseph is patron saint of artisans and laborers. In 1955, Venerable Pope Pius XII instituted a special feast, the feast of “St. Joseph the Worker”, to be celebrated on May 1. Its liturgy emphasizes the right to work and the dignity of labour. + Image Credit (BK 31): Detail of an antique image of St. Joseph the Worker from an early 20th-century devotional print in chromolithography originally published ca. 1909 by B. Kühlen, at Mönchengladbach, Germany, from the designer’s private collection of religious ephemera. + Feast: May 1; Principal Feast: March 19