Simple Ideas for Creating a St. Joseph Altar at Home

I’m not sure when I first learned about creating a special St. Joseph Altar, or table, heavily laden with food for March 19, but, like many Catholic traditions linked with delicious Italian food, my curiosity was piqued! While I have not been able to convince my husband to create an elaborate three tiered table and invite in the whole neighborhood into our home for a feast, incorporating elements of a St. Joseph table into the day are a great way to live liturgically, and bring a little something extra to Lent, usually at a time when we’re all pretty tired of fasting.

What Is a St. Joseph Altar (or Table)?

Picture it, Sicily- sometime in the middle ages. (Please tell me you get the reference.) The people were suffering due to a drought, and forced to live off fava beans which had previously only been used as livestock feed. They prayed for the intercession of St. Joseph and thankfully, the rain began to fall. After a successful harvest, the people set up tables of food to honor the saint. People ate in celebration, and some of the food was then distributed to the poor. The celebration became a yearly commemoration on St. Joseph’s feast day on March 19.

Through the years, the tradition has grown in size and scope and it now encompassing a litany of special foods and locations around the globe; wherever Sicilians have migrated. Breads are twisted into various shapes, sesame seeds are liberally applied to represent the tears of those early townspeople, and bread crumbs are sprinkled on many dishes to represent sawdust. Since St. Joseph’s Day falls during Lent, and meat was prohibited throughout Lent for many centuries, the food traditionally served at a St. Joseph’s Table is meatless. And many meals are dairy free as well, since fasting excluded dairy for a long time too. (If you’re like our family and a huge fan of Zeppole di San Giuseppe, you’ll quickly realized the sugar and dairy loaded confections would not have been a traditional item on a St. Joseph Table, but you can still enjoy them!)

Now, instead of a simple spread, the altar is typically three tiers and covered with food, decorations, and a large statute of St. Joseph at the top. Everyone is invited, and no one can be turned away. Guests who are able typically bring something as an offering, and it’s common to send guests home with blessed bread, salt, and/ or fava beans or other religious items. Since many Sicilians entered the United States through the Port of New Orleans, that city, though most known for it’s French influence, is still well known for its abundance of St. Joseph Tables.

How Can I Set Up a St. Joseph Table in My Home?

You only need a few key items to set up a St. Joseph Table or Altar at home for your family. Affiliate links below.

The Basic Elements

• Table or surface to display items
• Table cloth or fabric
• Candles and flowers
• A Statute or image of St. Joseph

The Food

• bread – This Italian bakery’s website has great pictures describing many traditional shaped breads.
• pasta
• baked goods covered with sesame seeds – another excuse to get cookies
• vegetables
• citrus fruits (Many varieties are grown in Sicily.)
• Italian cookies like biscotti – homemade is great, but seriously you can find Stella D’oro pretty much anywhere
• a nice bottle of Chianti (optional, but why not???)

How Can My Kids Get Involved With Setting Up a St. Joseph Table?

Like all liturgical practices, if you choose to incorporate it into your family, you don’t need to go crazy with ALL. THE. ITALIAN. THINGS! A few tasks you can outsource would be:

• Let your kids pick the spot for the table/ altar, clear it off, and clean it.
• Give them all the battery powered candles they want.
• If you don’t have a statue of St. Joseph, a coloring page works too.
• Depending where you live, a hand picked bouquet of wildflowers works as well as store bought, as do paper or pipe cleaner floral arrangements. Lilies of any sort are a great option.
• Let them pick a fun new pasta shape to have with the meal.
• Give them bread dough to shape, or let them sprinkle the sesame seeds on something you bake.
• If you have older kids (or you’re feeling brave) let them cook part of the dinner. It’s only pasta; how hard can it be right???
• Let your kids pick out canned foods from your pantry, or the store, to put on the table and then donate to a local food pantry.
• If there’s anything else they think St. Joseph would enjoy, like a plastic tool set or Lego creations, let them put it on the Table.
• In many places, St. Joseph’s Day is also Father’s Day so you can encourage your children to make a card, or say some extra prayers for their dad on the day too.

How to Celebrate the Feast of St. Joseph with A St. Joseph Table

It’s up to you if you want to invite everyone, but maybe another family or two? Bonus if you can get a priest to attend and bless your spread! Say a Litany of St. Joseph together, and eat some bread, pasta, eggplant, orange slices, and cookies. Put on some Italian music! If you’ve got a picture book, go ahead and read that too. Make enough food so you can take a meal to a family in need the next day (or freeze it for the next meal train opportunity), or drop off your canned goods at a food pantry. Since March is the month of St. Joseph, you can leave your display up for the rest of the month and not feel guilty!

Some picture book options:

• Giovanni and the Fava Beans
• Joseph, Guardian of the Holy Family
• Good St. Joseph
• Saint Joseph: Watch Over My Family
• Go To Joseph For Children: Consecration to St. Joseph for Children and Families

Sometimes just getting started is the hardest part. But once you’ve done it your kids will remind you of this new tradition year after year, and look forward to helping you. You might even be able to one day trust them with the whole thing! #bigkidperks I’m looking forward to trying a few new things this year in addition to our usual prayers and zeppole. Our local church, which happens to be St. Joseph’s, will have a St. Joseph table set up in its convent across the street. The building isn’t accessible, but I might stop by to check it out. In asking around, it doesn’t seem like families in the area have a tradition of hosting St. Joseph Tables, but perhaps that’s because the Sicilians who settled here had a special devotion to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel and the focus went to her feast. Who knows? I might continue my research at the local town historic society.

If you host a St. Joseph’s table, let me know in the comments!