March 19, marks the Auspicious Saint Joseph's Day also referred to as the Feast of Joseph or the Solemnity of Saint Joseph which is highly recognized or remembered by Assumption University of Thailand (AU) as a Catholic University.

St. Joseph

Feastday: March 19

Patron: of the Universal Church, unborn children, fathers, workers, travelers, immigrants, and a happy death

St. Joseph, (flourished 1st century CE, Nazareth, Galilee, region of Palestine; principal feast day March 19, Feast of St. Joseph the Worker May 1), in the New Testament, Jesus’ earthly father and the Virgin Mary’s husband. St. Joseph is the patron of the universal church in Roman Catholicism, and his life is recorded in the Gospels, particularly Matthew and Luke.

Joseph is the patron saint of the dying because, assuming he died before Jesus' public life, he died with Jesus and Mary close to him, the way we all would like to leave this earth.

Joseph is also patron saint of the Universal Church, families, fathers, expectant mothers (pregnant women), travelers, immigrants, house sellers and buyers, craftsmen, engineers, and working people in general.

We celebrate two feast days for Joseph: March 19 for Joseph the Husband of Mary and May 1 for Joseph the Worker. March 19 has been the most commonly celebrated feast day for Joseph, and it wasn't until 1955 that Pope Pius XII established the Feast of "St. Joseph the Worker" to be celebrated on May 1. This is also May Day (International Workers' Day) and believed to reflect Joseph's status as the patron of workers.

Many places and churches all over the world are named after St. Joseph, including the Spanish form, San Jose, which is the most commonly named place in the world. Joseph is considered by many to also be the patron saint of the New World; of the countries China, Canada, Korea, Mexico, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Peru, Vietnam; of the regions Carinthia, Styria, Tyrol, Sicily; and of several main cities and dioceses.

Sources

St.Joseph. (n.d.). https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=4

St.Joseph biblical figure. (n.d.). https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Joseph

Italian Father’s Day: March 19 (St. Joseph’s Day): https://anamericaninrome.com/2018/03/italian-fathers-day-march-19/ 

At Assumption University of Thailand

The significance of such Feast Day of Saint Joseph was evidently & respectfully displayed when Rev. Bro. Dr. Prathip Martin Komolmas, President Emeritus, named the 25 Years of Dedicated Service Awards: i.e. the awards presented to AU personnel who have faithfully rendered 25 years of service. Such honorable St. Joseph awards were firstly presented on December 24, 2009.

AU Awards for Excellence

Each award was named after an illustrious person found in Catholic Church history and also in memory of our predecessors who had worked long and hard to carry out their teaching mission. The general policies governing each award were laid down by the AU Academic Awards Committee in 1997.

These policies are subject to review, re-interpretation and modification as may be called for. Except for the St. Montfort Award, St. De La Salle Award and St. Joseph Award, the awards are given in three classes. The second and third class awards are meant to recognize mid-level and junior AU faculty members and staff who have performed well above the norm as compared to their peer group. The awards are as follows:

  1. St. Montfort Award for Illustrious Service 

  2. St. Michael Award for Public Service

  3. St. Hilaire Award for Distinction in Writing 

  4. St. Martin de Tours Award for Excellence in Performance

  5. St. Bernard Award for Special Merit

  6. St. Thomas Aquinas Award for Research

  7. St. De La Salle Award for Commendable Service

  8. St. Joseph Award for Dedicated Service.