19 March

Today is the Solemnity of St. Joseph, the husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the foster-father of Our Lord Jesus Christ. All that is known for certain of his life is found in the first and second chapters of St. Matthew's Gospel and the second chapter of St. Luke's Gospel. There are fascinating stories in the revelations of the Venerable Anne Catherine Emmerich and some of the other mystics, some of which mention historical details that have been independently confirmed. But only the Gospels are affirmed by the Church as reliable.