π° St. Joseph the Worker of Nazareth.
O glorious patriarch, Saint Joseph, humble and just craftsman of Nazareth, you gave to all Christians an example of a perfect life of assiduous work and of admirable unity with Mary and Jesus. Help us in our daily work so that we might find in it an effective means of glorifying our Lord, of sanctifying ourselves and of being useful to the society in which we live. Obtain for us from our Lord, o beloved protector, humility and simplicity of heart, attachment to work, benevolence towards those who work with us, compliance with the divine will in the difficulties of this life and joy in bearing them, consciousness of our specific social mission and the sense of our social responsibility, a spirit of discipline and prayer, docility and respect for our superiors, fraternity towards our equals, support in times of stress, charity and indulgence for our dependents. Help us to follow your example and to keep our sight fixed on Mary, our Mother, your gentle wife, who wove silently in a corner of your humble shop, smiling sweetly. May we never avert our eyes from Jesus, who worked with you at your carpenter's bench, so that we may in like manner lead peaceful and holy lives on earth, the prelude to the eternally happy one which awaits us in heaven for ever more. Amen.
π° Sts. Acius and Aceolus (French, deacon and subdeacon, martyred by beheading c. 303)
π° St. Aldebrando of Sorrivoli (Italian, bishop of Fossombrone, died at about age 100 in 1219)
π° St. Amator of Auxerre (French, bishop, d. 418)
π° St. Andeolus of Smyrna (from Asia Minor [now called Turkey], subdeacon, martyred by beheading in 208)
π° Sts. Augustine SchΓΆffler of Mittelbronn [Augustin] and John Louis Bonnard of Saint-Christo-en-Jarez [Jean-Louis] (French, missionary priests in Vietnam, both martyred by beheading at about age 28 in 1851 or 1852 [beatified 1900, canonized 1988])
π° St. Bertha of Avenay (French, Benedictine abbess, martyred c. 680)
π° St. Brioc of Cardiganshire (Welsh, abbot in France, died at about age 90 c. 510)
π° St. Ceallach of Killala (Irish, bishop, hermit, possibly martyred, 6th Century)
π° St. Evermarus of Tongres (pilgrim, martyred in Belgium c. 700)
π° St. Grata of Bergamo (Italian, duke's daughter, widow)
π° St. Isidora (Egyptian, nun, hermitess, c. 365)
π° St. Jeremiah (Israelite, Old Testament prophet, may have been stoned to death in Egypt at about age 55 c. 595 B.C.)
π° St. Kevoca of Kyle (Scottish, virgin, 7th Century)
π° St. Marculf of Bayeux (French, nobleman, missionary in France, hermit, abbot, d. 558)
π° Sts. Orentius and Patientia of Loret (Spanish, married couple, martyred c. 240)
π° St. Orentius of Auch (French, bishop for over 40 years, c. 439)
π° Bl. Panacea of Quarona (Italian, five-year-old girl killed while praying [by stepmother] in 1383 [beatified 1867])
π° St. Peregrine Laziosi of Forli [Pellegrino] (Italian, Servite priest, penitent and tireless worker [never sitting for 30 years], cured of cancer, died at about age 79 in 1345 [beatified 1702, canonized 1726] [incorruptible])
π° St. Richard Pampuri of Trivolzio [Riccardo] [baptized Erminio Filippo] (Italian, orphan, Franciscan tertiary, World War I sergeant, medical doctor dedicated to the poor, member of Hospitaller Order of St. John of God, died at age 32 in 1930 [beatified 1981, canonized 1989])
King St. Sigismund of Burgundy (French, monarch, repentant murderer of his son, martyred in 523)
π° St. Theodard of Narbonne (French, Benedictine monk, archbishop, d. 893)
π° St. Thorette (sheperdess, hermitess)
[In 1955, Pope Pius XII inaugurated the feast of St. Joseph the Worker on May 1 to counterbalance the May Day celebrations of the Communists. Here is a prayer for the intercession of Saint Joseph, patron saint of workers:]