On March 19th Ibiza, along with the rest of Spain, will celebrate the patron's day in honour of Saint Joseph.
Whilst, in actual fact, he has two feast days (on 1st May he is celebrated as Joseph the Worker) this has been the principal day of Saint Joseph in Western Christianity since the tenth century, and
is in honour of Joseph the Husband of Mary.
Despite his humble work and means (he was a carpenter by trade) Joseph came from royal lineage, descended from the House of David. That said, very few details are known about his background or what
became of him, but as the Bible does not mention him at any time during Jesus's public life, nor at his death and resurrection, it is generally assumed that he died before Jesus entered public
ministry.
What is commonly understood and accepted about Joseph is that he was a compassionate and caring man, dedicated to Mary and Jesus, and a man of faith, obedient to whatever God asked of him without
knowing the outcome.
Throughout the Catholic Church, Saint Joseph has always been regarded as the family protector...when severe famine hit Sicily centuries ago, the farmers prayed to Saint Joseph for
help, and the famine soon ended, and today, it is known for people to bury small statues of Saint Joseph upside down in their garden if they are trying to sell their property!
Perhaps not surprisingly, being the foster dad of Jesus, Joseph is Patron Saint of Fathers, and his feast day on 19th March is also Fathers' Day in Spain.
Celebrations in Ibiza
In Sant Josep de Sa Talaia, Ibiza this year, the celebrations will run from 3rd March right through to 14th April. A wide range of activities and events has been organised by the Council, including
wine tasting, exhibitions, poetry recitals, gymnastic displays, football championship, clowns, dance performances and raffles, to name but a few.
On the 19th, there will be Mass in the church at midday, followed by a procession then, in true Ibiza style, wine and live music in the village square.
To see full details in Catalan (perhaps with the aid of Google Translate!), visit http://www.santjosep.biz/images/stories/pdf/festes_sant_josep_2013.pdf
