St. Joseph Altars carry Sicilian tradition in faith

Handmade baked goods are seen on a St. Joseph Altar at St. Joseph Parish in Houston. The St. Joseph Altar, a Sicilian tradition that honors the patron saint of the poor, features dozens of baked goods fashioned in Christian shapes like fish, crosses and other symbols. Several parishes around the Archdiocese are hosting St. Joseph Altars in the month of March. (photo by James Ramos/Herald)SPRING — March 19 is the feast day of St. Joseph, a solemnity honoring the earthly father of Jesus, husband of Mary and protector of the Holy Family.

He is also the patron saint of Italians, particularly those from the Mediterranean island of Sicily. Several parishes in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston commemorate this feast day with a variety of customs and foods made especially for the occasion.

It all started in the Middle Ages in Sicily during a terrible famine. Sicilians prayed to their patron saint, St. Joseph, to bring rain and alleviate their suffering. 

Rain soon arrived, and the crops survived. Thus, they created this feast to honor St. Joseph by preparing tables laden with food they had harvested. Furthermore, they shared food with the poor and less fortunate. 

Father Norbert Maduzia, pastor of St. Ignatius of Loyola Catholic Church in Spring, said, “The St. Joseph Altar tradition at St. Ignatius started in 2009 with a few Sicilian ladies in our parish who were brought up with the altar in their homes and love the tradition. They brought the idea of having the altar in our church.”

Father Maduzia said he grew up in a Sicilian–Polish family with a dominant factor leaning on the Sicilian side.

“When I was young, my great-aunt held three St. Joseph Altars in her home as a promise to St. Joseph if he would intercede on behalf of her son, who had leukemia,” he said.

The feast is a meatless celebration. First, because the celebration falls during the Lenten season, and second, because many Sicilian peasants did not have access to meat.

Nowadays, the altar at St. Ignatius is adorned with specialty breads in the shapes of crosses, hammers and saws in honor of St. Joseph being a carpenter. There are also a variety of fruits and vegetables, stuffed artichokes, whole baked fish, orange baskets, pignolatti (or haystacks), and other cakes in the shapes of lambs and eggs.  

The altar is constructed in three tiers representing the Holy Trinity, and at the center of the bottom tier is a beautiful Bible cake.

“We also make fig cakes in the shape of a cross, fish, sacred heart, a monstrance or sandals,” Father Maduzia said. “And, of course, there is a home-cooked spaghetti supper consisting of pasta, sauce with a hard-boiled egg (no meat during Lent, so the egg is the protein substitute for the meat), green beans, salad and Italian bread. Dessert consists of cakes and cookies made by the ladies of the St. Joseph Altar Guild.”

The altar celebration begins with the “Tupa Tupa” (“Knock Knock” in Italian), a traditional Italian custom for St. Joseph’s Day, where children act out the Holy Family’s search for food and shelter by knocking on three doors.

At St. Ignatius, the children who have made First Holy Communion are selected for the roles of Jesus, Mary, Joseph, St. Ignatius, St. Lucy and St. Frances Cabrini.

“There are several hundred guests gathered in our Christus Center, and the saints knock on three doors until they are welcomed into a beautifully set table. The saints are also invited to help the pastor with the blessing of the altar,” Father Maduzia said. “The saints are then served their delicious meatless pasta meal, and the guests soon follow after the pastor bellows, ‘Mangia! Mangia!’”

According to Father Maduzia, there are about 75 volunteers to make the St. Joseph Altar event possible. They are tasked with hospitality, greeting guests with fava (or luck) beans, serving drinks, serving on the food line, selling cookies and cannoli, and all the other functions necessary to support the event.

There is no charge for the event, but donations cover the cost of dinner.

“The tradition of the St. Joseph Altar was to feed the poor from the first fruits of the crops that came after the rains came at the end of the famine. Thus, ‘feeding the poor’ has always been a part of the tradition,” Father Maduzia said.

Other parishes in the Archdiocese are also celebrating St. Joseph. 

On March 14, St. Maximilian Kolbe Parish in Houston and St. Helen Parish in Pearland will be hosting their celebration. St. Rose of Lima Parish in Houston will hold theirs on March 21, and Christ the Redeemer Parish hosts theirs on March 22. Parishioners can call their parish office to see if a celebration is being held locally. 

A popular cry during most celebrations is “BUONA FESTA DI SAN GIUSEPPE!” which translates to “Happy Feast of St. Joseph!” ​