The Man's Saint

ST. LOUIS--The name St. Joseph seems to be all around us. Cities in Missouri, Illinois, and at least five other states bear his name. At least 27 Catholic churches in the St. Louis and Belleville, Ill., dioceses are called St. Joseph. Schools and hospitals bear his name. In this region, thousands of Christians are given the name of this first-century Jewish carpenter in baptism as a first, or, even more commonly, as a second name.

Until now there have been few books about him.

Most Christians can identify Joseph as Mary's husband. He's Jesus' stepfather, the man with a beard, and usually a lantern, in the Christmas Nativity scene.

The gospels of Matthew and Luke say he was a descendant of King David and a carpenter. Joseph acted on his dreams. In one dream, he was told not to divorce Mary because the Holy Spirit was the father of the child in Mary's womb. Both writers stress that Mary was a virgin.

After the Magi visited the newborn Jesus, Joseph dreamed that he was to get up immediately and flee to Egypt with Mary and Jesus. The family rushed to escape the jealous Palestinian King Herod's edict to kill all male newborns who might be the Magi's "king of the Jews." Joseph makes his last appearance in Scripture when Jesus, then 12, is lost after the family visited the Temple in Jerusalem.

Many people want to know more about Joseph.

"People are always calling our archives asking for information about Joseph," said Sister Charline Sullivan, archivist at the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet motherhouse in Carondelet, Mo. "The reality about Joseph is that he is sort of in a vacuum--the silent saint."

Sullivan has stacks of prayers and hymns but few books about Joseph.

Since 1837, when her order arrived in this area, its sisters--410 live in the region today--always encouraged interest in Joseph. Many Christians, especially Eastern Orthodox Christians and Catholics, venerate Joseph.

Revived interest in men's spirituality among many denominations has made Joseph the topic of men's retreats and church study groups. Most secular and Christian bookstores in St. Louis have no books on Joseph.

"People ask for books on Joseph because he is such a good example for living day in and day out," said Michael Murphy, book buyer at the three Catholic Supply stores here.

Now, a company owned by Protestants in Texas--Summit Publishing--is publishing a book on Joseph and male spirituality. It was written by a priest and amateur archaeologist from O'Fallon, Mo.

The Rev. Gerald Joseph Kleba said he wrote "Joseph Remembered" because there are few examples of compassionate, yet fearless men in a culture that prizes machismo.

"There is so much quality writing about women's spirituality and so little for men," said Kleba, 58, an associate pastor at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church-Dardenne.

"Men can feel lost. And as women become more confident, the men feel even more lost. Men want to be able to look at someone and say, 'I want to be like that.'"

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