Joseph, St. The husband of the Virgin Mary. In Matthew 1–2 and Luke 1–2 Mary is said to have been ‘betrothed’ to him when Jesus was born. According to Matthew 13. 55 he was a carpenter. From 1479, his feast day in the W. was on 19 Mar. Between 1914 and 1955 his feast day was on the third Wednesday after Easter. In 1955 it was transferred (as St Joseph the Worker) to 1 May, to align it with the secular holiday. It ceased to be obligatory in 1969. In the E. it is the first Sunday after Christmas.

Joseph, Saint In the New Testament, husband of Mary and the legal father of Jesus Christ. He was a carpenter from Nazareth, n Palestine. His feast day is March 19 or May 1.