The Catholic Church dedicates each month of March to St. Joseph, chaste spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary and foster father of Jesus. The Catholic Church seeks out St. Joseph for his patronage and protection. Pope Leo XIII in his encyclical Quamquam Pluries (On the Devotion to St. Joseph) in 1889 reveals why we put so much trust in St. Joseph. In 1989, Pope St. John Paul II expanded on this in his Apostolic Exhortation Redemptoris Custos (Guardian of the Redeemer). St. Joseph is a role model for fathers and husbands. The St. Joseph’s Day table or altar is primarily an Italian American tradition dating back to the Middle Ages when there was a severe drought and famine in Sicily. The peasants prayed to St. Joseph and the rains arrived! His feast day is March 19th each year. St. Joseph, terror of demons…pray for us!