Editor’s note: This saint series will feature a saint and how they are a meaningful example for us today.

Pope Francis once wrote that “the saints help all the faithful” for “their lives are concrete proof that it is possible to put the Gospel into practice.” St. Joseph provides proof of courageous fatherhood.

The Gospel of Matthew shares that Joseph was a just man and that an angel revealed to him that he was to name Mary’s baby “Jesus.” We can infer that Joseph was the first human to utter the name “Jesus.”

Shortly after Jesus’ birth, Matthew wrote that Joseph was told by an angel in a dream to go to Egypt for there were some who wanted to kill Jesus. Joseph “got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt” (Mt. 2:14-15). This is courageous fatherhood in protecting his family and leading them through the dark and frightening times.

Pope Francis, in his letter titled With a Father’s Heart, described St. Joseph as creatively courageous for there were situations where Joseph had to step up in times of uncertainty. For example, at the birth of Jesus there was no room in the inn. However, Joseph prepared a stable for the birth. He was someone who was decisive through what Pope Francis calls creative courage.

Another insight seen through St. Joseph is how God worked through this lowly carpenter. Pope Francis shared that often in life we think that “the world is at the mercy of the strong and mighty” however, the Gospel displays something different. According to Pope Francis, “God always finds a way to carry out His saving plan.” Even amidst the challenge of not having an ideal place for Mary to give birth, Joseph turned what Pope Francis calls a “problem into a possibility.”

One might think “why didn’t God help Joseph and Mary more at the time of Jesus’ birth?” Pope Francis shares that God trusted Joseph to be creatively courageous and that Joseph trusted that God could work through his frailty, weaknesses, and hardships. There was a mutual trust, a relationship, between the earthly father of Jesus and the Heavenly Father.

St. Joseph received four dreams in which an angel told him what to do and each time Joseph acted immediately. He also protected his wife Mary and foster child Jesus amidst the hardships of traveling between countries.

As found in the data of the U.S. Census Bureau, according to the National Fatherhood Initiative, one in four children in the United States lives “without a biological, step, or adoptive father in the home.” In 2022 there was a study by Robert Bozick which utilized data from three different sources that surveyed nearly 18,000 men. The survey focused on questions concerning fatherhood over the last twenty years. Bozick found an “increasing disinterest” in becoming a father amongst men who do not currently have children of their own.

Pope Francis wrote “our world today needs fathers.” Our world, in particular the United States, needs fathers who are courageous like St. Joseph.

Luke Daghir is a seminarian for the Diocese of Erie. He is with St. Joseph and St. Luke Parishes in Warren County for his parish mission. His favorite saints are St. Andrew, St. Ignatius, St. Hubert, and Pope St. John Paul II.