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In Fermoy, Ireland |
St. JosephJoseph was the son of Heli, and foster father of Jesus Christ. All that is told us of Joseph in the New Testament may be summed up in a few words. He was a just man, and of the house and lineage of David. He lived at Nazareth in Galilee. He espoused Mary, the daughter and heir of his uncle Jacob, and before he took her home as his wife, received the angelic communication recorded in Matthew 1:20.  St Joseph the Father When Jesus was twelve years old, Joseph and Mary took him with them to keep the Passover at Jerusalem, and when they returned to Nazareth, he continued to act as a father to the child Jesus, and was reputed to be so indeed.  St Joseph the Carpenter St. Joseph was the step-Father of Jesus appointed by God to raise him during his young years. Joseph was alive when Jesus was 12 years old, but after that we hear nothing of him. When Jesus starts his Ministry at the age of 30, there is no mention of Joseph, in fact, at the wedding of Cana he is loudly absent. Only Mary his mother, is there.  St Joseph and Jesus Here, our knowledge of Joseph ends. That he died before our Lord's crucifixion is indeed tolerably certain, by what is related, John 19:27, and perhaps Mark 6:3, may imply that he was then dead. But where, when or how he died we know not. This gives rise to many traditions, one of which is that Joseph was an older man when he married Mary, and he is often depicted as an older man.  St. Joseph |
