Wisconsin honors the patron saint of workers on May 1
By Roy Rasmussen | For On Mission
On May 1, the state of Wisconsin officially recognizes St. Joseph the Worker Day. Celebrated by Catholics since 1955, this feast honors St. Joseph as patron of workers, looking to him as a role model and source of aid. Learn about its history, its recognition by the state of Wisconsin, what St. Joseph means for workers and how to invoke his intercession.
History of the Memorial of St. Joseph the Worker
While feasts dedicated to St. Joseph the Carpenter stretched back to the early church, attention to St. Joseph’s patronage of workers grew after Blessed Pope Pius IX recognized him as patron of the universal Church in his 1870 decree Quemadmodum Deus. Pope Leo XIII subsequently highlighted St. Joseph as patron of workers in his 1889 encyclical Quamquam pluries. St. Pope Pius X composed a Prayer to St. Joseph the Worker and established a Solemnity of St. Joseph on the third Wednesday after Easter.
This set the stage for Venerable Pope Pius XII to declare May 1 the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker in 1955. The feast countered the Communist tradition of using “May Day” demonstrations and riots to manipulate labor unrest, begun in 1889 on the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution — the same year Pope Leo XIII drew attention to St. Joseph’s patronage of workers.
Pope Pius XII held up St. Joseph as a Catholic alternative for workers seeking moral guidance on how to pursue a just social order. After 1969, the feast was changed from a solemnity to an optional memorial, but its significance has continued to grow.
Recognition of St. Joseph the Worker Day in Wisconsin
Wisconsin’s recognition of St. Joseph the Worker Day emerged thanks largely to the work of Fr. Donald Calloway, MIC. In 2019, Fr. Calloway was preparing to publish “Consecration to St. Joseph,” presenting a 33-day guide modeled on St. Louis de Montfort’s Marian consecration. He wrote a letter to Pope Francis, inspiring the pontiff to publish Patris corde on December 8, 2020, commemorating the 150th anniversary of Pope Pius IX’s declaration. This letter inaugurated a Year of St. Joseph.
Louisiana Catholics then convinced their state legislature to pass a resolution commemorating 2021 as the Year of St. Joseph and recognizing May 1 as St. Joseph the Worker Day in appreciation of the dignity of Louisiana workers. This inspired Wisconsin Catholic legislators in 2025 to introduce Senate Joint Resolution 16, recognizing May 1 of each year as St. Joseph the Worker Day and honoring the dignity of workers.
What St. Joseph means for workers
Pope Leo XIII drew attention to St. Joseph’s role as patron of workers in Quamquam pluries. He observed that St. Joseph’s patronage of the universal Church stemmed from his unique dignity as spouse of the Mother of God, foster father of the Son of God and head of the Holy Family. Through these familial bonds, St. Joseph participated in the fullness of grace bestowed upon Mary and the divine grace incarnate in Jesus. His dignity as head of the Holy Family gave him an obligation to protect and provide for them, lending their nobility to his work.
The Holy Family contained the start of the Church, Pope Leo XIII observed, and St. Joseph’s role serves as a model and source of dignity for Catholic workers. St. Joseph was descended from the royal house of King David, married to a wife blessed above all women, and foster father of the King of the Universe. Yet he did not deem it beneath him to labor with his hands, be content with few possessions and bear trials for his family’s sake. His embrace of labor lent divine dignity to work, just as Jesus elevated human nature by becoming man.
Likewise, Pope Leo XIII taught, St. Joseph’s model ennobles workers who labor for a living, pointing to the example of Jesus. Moreover, workers have recourse to St. Joseph as a special right. St. Joseph hears the prayers of workers because their labors are one with his work and that of his wife and foster son.
Pope Pius XII reaffirmed these teachings and elaborated on their social significance. He stressed the Church’s role in teaching Christian workers the moral principles that follow from the dignity of workers and promote a just social order through peaceful means, healing social unrest and violence.
Ways to pray to St. Joseph the Worker
How can Catholics, especially Catholic workers and family providers, invoke St. Joseph on May 1 and throughout the year? Here are some suggestions:
- Attend Mass on the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker
- Say the Prayer to St. Joseph the Worker before beginning work
- Add the Prayer to St. Joseph after the Rosary
- Recite the Litany of St. Joseph
- Follow Fr. Calloway’s “Consecration to St. Joseph”
- Place a blessed statue of St. Joseph in your home
- Join the Pious Union of St. Joseph
- Make a pilgrimage to the National Shrine of St. Joseph in De Pere
- Participate in the May 2 Walk to Mary from the National Shrine of St. Joseph to the National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion
May St. Joseph bless you, your work, and your household and family!