Saints' of the Week

Saint Joseph

Feast Day: 19th March

Virtue: Industry

The heavenly father chose Joseph a young carpenter of Nazareth to be the foster father of

 Jesus and the husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

After they were betrothed, an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him that Mary would bear a child who would be the son of God.

Mary and Joseph had to travel to Bethlehem to register for the census. There Mary brought forth her Son and laid him in a manger.

At the word of an angel, Joseph took Jesus and Mary to Egypt to save the child from being killed by Herod. He stayed there till an Angel told him that it was safe to go back to Nazareth.

When Jesus was twelve years old, he was lost in Jerusalem. For three days Mary and Joseph looked for him with great sorrow and found him in the temple.

At Nazareth, Jesus worked along with Joseph in the carpenter shop and obeyed him. Joseph died in the arms of Jesus and Mary.

Saint Lucy Filippini 

Feast Day: 25th March 

Virtue: Knowledge 

The name Lucy means “light.” And Lucy Filippini worked tirelessly all her life to bring the

 light of Christ to others. 

Lucy was born in 1672 in Tarquinia, about sixty miles from Rome. her parents died shortly after her birth. 

Even while quite young, Lucy was drawn to a life of prayer and always showed concern for others. These qualities brought her to the attention of Cardinal Barbarigo. 

The Cardinal sent her to Montefiascone to work under Blessed Rose Venerini who founded a school to train new teachers. 

There Lucy began her life’s work devoted entirely to Christian education. She started many new schools. And support was never lacking because people admired her modesty, charity and deep spirituality. 

In 1707 at the request of Pope Clement IX she founded several schools in Rome, which prospered because of her zeal and enthusiasm. 

Lucy died a saintly death on March 25th 1732, the exact day she had predicted.