Happy St. Joseph's Day!

This is traditionally a big week when it comes to celebrating feast days in the Catholic Church. On March 17th, we have St. Patrick’s Day, of course, which is pretty much the biggest saint’s day celebrated in this country, whether you are Irish or not. But two days later, on March 19th, is the Feast of St. Joseph, another saint’s day celebrated by many Catholics, but especially Italians.


St. Joseph was a humble carpenter, the husband of Mary, and the foster father of Jesus. There is not much known about him other than that he seemed like the perfect partner and father: totally reliable, supportive, and protective. To me, he sounds like the ultimate “good Joe.” For such an unassuming man, St. Joseph wears many hats in his patronage and is considered the patron saint of ten countries around the globe, a protector of ordinary people like workers, carpenters, confectioners and pastry makers, those who are dying (for the purpose of a “happy death”), those trying to sell their homes, and, most aptly, fathers. In fact, Father’s Day in Italy, Spain, and Portugal is appropriately celebrated on the Feast of St. Joseph.

I attended St. Joseph High School in downtown Brooklyn and we were taught by the good and sometimes stern Sisters of St. Joseph. Every March 19th, we would process from our school on Bridge Street to St. James Cathedral on Jay Street for Mass. After that, I am pretty sure, we had a half day off. It was a great week for us girls thanks to those two special feast days.

On the home front, the celebration revolved more around food. Many Italians, especially Sicilians, revered St. Joseph by opening up their homes to their friends and neighbors to partake in La Tavola di St. Giuseppe. Distributing food to the poor was also a common practice to commemorate the day. This tradition dates back to the Middle Ages when Sicilians prayed to St. Joseph, widely considered the patron saint of Sicily, to prevent drought and famine. When their prayers were answered, the faithful prepared what is known as La Tavola di St. Giuseppe or Table of St. Joseph in thanksgiving. Many Sicilian immigrants brought this tradition with them to America. The classic table was usually comprised of three tiers which stood for the Holy Trinity or the three members of the Holy Family. These tables were found wherever Sicilian immigrants settled and were and still are very common in New Orleans.

Despite the sumptuous offerings of the St. Joseph table, the feast is essentially meatless because it takes place during Lent. Blessed bread is often distributed and pasta dishes containing breadcrumbs representing sawdust (think carpenter) are prepared. A couple of typical pasta dishes of St. Joseph’s Day include bucatini with sardines and fennel and spaghetti with anchovies and breadcrumb. Fava beans (or lucky beans) are also served on St. Joseph Day because dried fava beans provided sustenance for the Sicilians when food was scarce.

While it may be Lent, there’s just so much abstinence one can handle so St. Joseph’s day still features plenty of sweets including the eponymous St. Joseph pastries. The Sicilian sfingi and the Neopolitan zeppole are deep-fried puffs filled with cannoli cream and custard cream, respectively, and topped with a cherry. In Carroll Gardens, they are available at Court Pastry and Monteleone after the Christmas holidays but you usually do not see them much after March 19th. Naturally, I love both the sfingi and the zeppole so I usually have a half of each one. I also make a bread pudding on that day with any leftover Christmas panettone but this year I have no leftovers, so I’ll be making a migliaccio (or noodle pudding) instead.

At Sacred Hearts of Jesus & Mary/St. Stephen’s Church, the Feast of St. Joseph will be celebrated on March 19th with Mass at 7:00 pm followed by a Tavola di St. Giuseppe in Cabrini Hall. All are welcome to bring a dish and join in the festivities which will also feature singing by the SHSS children’s choir.

So tomorrow, be sure to wish anyone named Joseph, Josephine, Giuseppe, Jose, or even Peppino a Happy Feast Day. Buona festa dear St. Joseph!