The parish hall of St. Ann’s Church was comfortably full of people on March 17. Parishioners and members of several nearby non-Catholic Christian churches gathered to celebrate, no, not St. Patrick’s Day, although the “wearin’ of the green” was seen on many there. St. Ann’s was celebrating St. Joseph’s Day a bit early. The centerpiece of the celebration was the annual St. Joseph’s Table.

What is a St. Joseph’s Table? St. Joseph, husband of Mary and foster father of Jesus, is the patron of many Christian institutions, including the Universal Catholic Church. As such he is revered, prayed to and celebrated around the world every March 19. Some of the traditions associated with St. Joseph include lilies, Masses in his honor and, beginning in the Middle Ages, a unique tradition stemming from a Medieval drought in Sicily.