St. Joseph the Worker

O saintly Workman, Model of all workers,
Teach us the lessons of good Christian living,
That all our labor and our very workshops may be made holy!
- Hymn at Matins

"On May 1, 1955, Pope Pius XII instituted the feast of St. Joseph the Workman and selected May 1 as the date for its liturgical observance. By this move the Sovereign Pontiff of Christendom consecrated and sanctified a day dedicated to the labor and the workingman in certain countries of the world. In the address given on the occasion of the feast's inauguration, Pius XII expressed the wish that it would contribute significantly to a universal appreciation of the high dignity of labor. The theology and noble ideals expressed in the new Mass and Office should imbue and help guide the various associations of workers in their efforts to establish the proper balance between rights and duties, as well as inspire those whose function it is to make laws for their fellowman. We may say that in this manner May 1 was 'baptized,' and now as a liturgical feast it serves as a constant incentive to the modern workingman, his employer, and the government to continue their striving toward the realizations of a better social order." - Dr. Pius Parsch

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From the Saints
on St. Joseph the Worker:

“He [St. Joseph] belongs to the working-class, and he bore the burdens of poverty for himself and the Holy Family, whose tender and vigilant head he was.” - Pope Pius XI

“Truly, I doubt not that the angels, wondering and adoring, came thronging in countless multitudes to that poor workshop to admire the humility of him who guarded that dear and divine child, and labored at his carpenter’s trade to support the son and the mother who were committed to his care.” - St. Francis de Sales

"St. Joseph was a just man, a tireless worker, the upright guardian of those entrusted to his care. May he always guard, protect, and enlighten families." - Pope St. John Paul II

​O God, Creator of all things, Who dost impose on man the law of work;
grant in Thy goodness that, by the example and patronage of blessed Joseph,
we may both accomplish the work Thou dost command
and attain the reward Thou hast promised ... [and] may the works of our hands,
that we offer Thee in sacrifice, O Lord, become for us,
by the intercession of blessed Joseph, a pledge of unity and peace ...  " 
- Collect and Secret: Mass of St. Joseph the Worker