Attend Mass
The feast of St. Joseph is celebrated on the same day on both the old and new calendars.
If you would like to attend a traditional Mass for the feast, find a Traditional Latin Mass near you (click here to explore).
Complete Consecration to St. Joseph
We highly recommend Father Donald Calloway’s “Consecration to St. Joseph: The Wonders of Our Spiritual Father”. This book is an excellent way to draw closer to our spiritual father St. Joseph. Be sure to start your reading for the consecration 33 days in advance of March 20.
Host a party in honor of St. Joseph
The feast of St. Joseph is a very important day to Italians because, in the Middle Ages, Sicily was saved from a serious drought through his intercession. Why not celebrate with Italian food?
Soup
- Minestone
Entree
- Pasta di San Giuse
Sides
- Fava Beans
Dessert
- Sfinge di San Giuseppe (St. Joseph’s Cream Puffs)
Read Pope Leo XIII’s Quamquam pluries
Quamquam pluries is an encyclical on Saint Joseph by Pope Leo XIII. It was issued on August 15, 1889 in Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome.
Pray the litany of st. Joseph
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God the Father of Heaven, (have mercy on us.)
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, (have mercy on us.)
God the Holy Spirit, (have mercy on us.)
Holy Trinity, One God, (have mercy on us.)
Holy Mary,*
St. Joseph,
Noble scion of David,
Light of the Patriarchs,
Spouse of the Mother of God,
Chaste Guardian of the Virgin,
Foster-father of the Son of God,
Sedulous Defender of Christ,
Head of the Holy Family,
Joseph most just,
Joseph most chaste,
Joseph most prudent,
Joseph most valiant,
Joseph most obedient,
Joseph most faithful,
Mirror of patience,
Lover of poverty,
Model of all who labor,
Glory of family life,
Protector of virgins,
Pillar of families,
Consolation of the afflicted,
Hope of the sick,
Patron of the dying,
Terror of the demons,
Protector of Holy Church,
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, (spare us, O Lord.)
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, (graciously hear us, O Lord.)
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, (have mercy on us.)
He made him the lord of his household. (And prince over all his possessions.)
Let us pray.
God, Who, in Thine ineffable Providence didst vouchsafe to choose blessed Joseph to be the Spouse of Thy most holy Mother; grant, we beseech Thee, that we may be worthy to have him for our intercessor in Heaven whom, on earth, we venearate as our protector. Who livest and reignest world without end.
Amen.
*”Pray for us”
Pray the Novena to St. Joseph
Say once a day for nine days, especially beginning on 10 March and ending on 18 March, the eve of the Feast of St. Joseph.
O glorious descendant of the kings of Judah, Inheritor of the virtues of all the patriarchs. Just and happy St. Joseph, listen to my prayer. Thou art my glorious protector, and shall ever be, after Jesus and Mary the object of my most profound veneration and confidence. Thou art the most hidden, though the greatest Saint, and art particularly the patron of those who serve God with the greatest purity and fervor. In union with all those who have ever been most devoted to thee I now dedicate myself to thy service; beseeching thee, for the sake of Jesus Christ, who vouchsafed to love and obey thee as a son, to become a father to me; and to obtain for me the filial respect, confidence and love of a child towards thee.
O powerful advocate of all Christians, whose intercession, as St. Theresa assures us, has never been found to fail, deign to intercede for me now, and to implore for me the particular intention of this Novena.
(Mention your intentions here.)
Recite one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory Be.
Present me O great Saint to the adorable Trinity, with Whom thou hadst so glorious and so intimate a correspondence. Obtain that I may never efface by sin the Sacred Image according to the likeness of which, I was created. Beg for me that my divine Redeemer would enkindle in my heart and in all hearts, the fire of His Love, and infuse therein the virtues of His adorable infancy, His purity, simplicity, obedience, and humility.
Obtain for me likewise a lively devotion to thy virgin spouse, and protect me so powerfully in life and death, that I may have the happiness of dying as thou didst, in the friendship of my Creator, and under the immediate protection of the Mother of God.
Amen.