President Donald Trump made history last Thursday by becoming the first known president to acknowledge St. Joseph’s Day and recognize its cultural significance.
St. Joseph’s Day is a major feast day in Catholicism and Western Christianity, celebrated each year on March 19. The day honors St. Joseph, husband of the Virgin Mary and the earthly, adoptive father of Jesus Christ. According to the American Presidency Project, there has never been a presidential message for the Feast of St. Joseph, indicating the historical significance of Trump’s presidential message.
“Today, I send my best wishes to Catholics and other Christians celebrating the Feast of Saint Joseph — the earthly father of Jesus Christ and one of the most revered figures in the Bible,” read Trump’s message on March 19.
“Saint Joseph was a model father, husband, and worker, as well as a living embodiment of Christian virtue,” Trump said. “He spent his life working tirelessly, without accolades or recognition, to protect his family and raise the Son of God. Through every trial and tribulation, Saint Joseph led his family with dignity, strength, and moral courage. In the face of uncertainty and danger, time and again, he valiantly surrendered to God’s will with faith, fortitude, humility, and obedience — playing a central role in the life of Jesus Christ and the history of salvation.”
The United States has had two Catholic presidents: John F. Kennedy and Joe Biden. Neither of them acknowledged St. Joseph’s Day. It should be noted that it took Trump, who isn’t Catholic, to acknowledge and recognize a holy day that his Catholic predecessor, Biden, never did. In eight years as vice president and four years as president, Biden — who regularly bragged about going to a Catholic mass daily during his adolescent years — never recognized St. Joseph’s Day.
Trump also noted the significance of the day to the Italian American community, an honor and recognition that, in an era of touting cultural diversity, not one president before Trump felt compelled to do.
“Saint Joseph also holds a distinct place in American culture, especially for the Italian American community,” said Trump. “Every March 19, Catholics in New Orleans, Louisiana, and throughout the Nation construct beautiful altars in his honor. From the factories of St. Louis, Missouri, and the deserts of Santa Fe, New Mexico, to churches, chapels, and homes all across our country, Catholics have credited him with extraordinary miracles.”
“He is recognized as the head of the Holy Family, the patron saint of workers, and the ‘Terror of Demons,’ and he remains revered by countless citizens for his tremendous example of what it means to be a man, father, and husband,” noted Trump.
Furthermore, Trump’s recognition of the importance of St. Joseph’s Day in the Italian American community would also appear to be a first. It is a much-appreciated historical recognition of all who celebrate St. Joseph’s Day, who, for years, decades, and centuries, did not receive any acknowledgment from the nation’s leader for the occasion. The recognition did not go unnoticed by the National Italian American Foundation.
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“St. Joseph is a figure of tremendous significance to the entire Christian world and particularly to Italy, where he is revered as a symbol of protection, humility, and fatherhood,” said NIAF President and CEO Robert Allegrini. “As such, we appreciate President Trump’s thoughtful and appropriate recognition of St. Joseph’s Day, and we share St. Joseph’s universal message of love of family and devotion to human freedom.”
“President Trump is the greatest champion of religion ever to serve as President of the United States,” White House spokeswoman Allison Schuster told me when discussing Trump’s monumental recognition of St. Joseph’s Day. “Ever since promising to bring back ‘Merry Christmas’ during his historic 2016 campaign, he hasn’t wavered in honoring and defending our first freedom – religious liberty. Recognizing the day devoted to Saint Joseph is the President honoring the millions of proud Catholic Americans who help make our country special.”
Trump deserves praise for bucking the presidential trend and having the class, courage, and political wherewithal to recognize St. Joseph’s Day. His message shows an unprecedented strength in defending Christian and Catholic values after years of politicians seeking to diminish them, an important realization that the president mentioned in his message.
