Patron Saint of Workers
Saint Joseph, the husband of the Virgin Mary and foster-father of Jesus, is venerated across the Christian traditions as patron of workers, fathers, families, and the dying. Pope Pius IX declared Joseph the patron of the universal Catholic Church in 1870, and Pope Pius XII in 1955 instituted the feast of Saint Joseph the Worker on May 1, explicitly framing it as a Christian counterpart to the secular labor day.
Prayer
To you, O blessed Joseph, do we have recourse in our affliction, and having implored the help of your most holy spouse, we confidently invoke your patronage also. Through that charity which bound you to the Immaculate Virgin Mother of God, and through the paternal love with which you embraced the Child Jesus, we humbly beg you to graciously regard the inheritance which Jesus Christ has purchased by his Blood, and with your power and strength to aid us in our necessities. O most watchful Guardian of the Holy Family, defend the chosen people of Jesus Christ; keep far from us, most loving Father, all blight of error and corruption; aid us from on high, most valiant defender, in this conflict with the powers of darkness; and, as you once rescued the Child Jesus from the peril of his life, so now defend God's Holy Church from the snares of the enemy and from all adversity. Shield each one of us by your constant protection, so that, supported by your example and your aid, we may be able to live a holy life, die a happy death, and obtain everlasting happiness in heaven. Amen.
Traditional novena: 9 days.
Why Saint Joseph is invoked for workers
The Gospels describe Joseph as a tekton — a Greek term most often translated "carpenter" but covering a broader trade of craftsman or builder. Because he supported the Holy Family by manual labor, he has been venerated since at least the early medieval period as the model and patron of working people. The specific feast of Saint Joseph the Worker, observed on May 1, was instituted by Pope Pius XII in 1955 to provide a distinctly Christian observance of the day already widely celebrated as International Workers' Day, and to affirm the dignity of human labor as participation in God's creative work.
How the novena is prayed
The traditional novena to Saint Joseph is prayed over nine consecutive days, often leading up to one of his two principal feasts: the Solemnity of Saint Joseph on March 19, or the feast of Saint Joseph the Worker on May 1. Each day the petitioner recites the prayer above (or a comparable text such as the Memorare to Saint Joseph), brings forward the intention — commonly for employment, for the success or integrity of one's labor, for one's family, or for the grace of a happy death — and concludes with the Lord's Prayer, the Hail Mary, and the Glory Be. Many petitioners also pray a daily decade of the rosary in his honor.
Major shrines
The Oratory of Saint Joseph on Mount Royal in Montreal, Canada — founded by the lay Holy Cross brother Saint André Bessette in 1904 — is the largest shrine to Saint Joseph in the world and one of the most visited Christian pilgrimage sites in North America. In Italy, the Sanctuary of Saint Joseph in Asti and Saint Joseph's Oratory at the Vatican are notable centers of devotion. In the Eastern tradition, Joseph is commemorated in the Synaxis of the Ancestors of God on the Sunday after the Nativity, and is depicted in nearly every Nativity icon.