Question 162 – How did St. Joseph die?

Interview Organization: Confraternity of Our Lady of Fatima
Interviewer Name: Christopher P. Wendt
Date: January 13, 2023
We lack definitive revelation about St. Joseph's death, and the Church does not endorse apocryphal writings. It's reasonable to infer he died before Jesus' public ministry, as he isn't mentioned afterward. Tradition suggests he passed away surrounded by Jesus and Mary, but these details aren't essential for salvation.
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Transcript:

I don't have a revelation about this, we don't have anything in the Holy Scripture about this. Some apocryphal writings from the centuries contain some information. However, the Church cannot give guarantees about this apocryphal information. Some saints probably had revelations, but the Church does not declare them as official teachings. So, you are free. Our salvation doesn't need to know these details, like how St. Joseph died. Therefore, we can form reasonable, pious opinions and draw some conclusions from the Holy Scripture.

For instance, we can conclude that when Jesus started His public ministry, He was 30. There is no more mention of St. Joseph after that. When Our Lady accompanied Jesus during His public preaching, someone mentioned, "Your mother is waiting there with your brothers" (referring to the cousins of Our Lord or some relatives). Still, there was no more mention of Joseph. This could indicate that St. Joseph must have already passed away because, according to the old Jewish tradition, a married woman would go into public company with her husband. So, it is reasonable to assume that when the Lord died, there was no mention of St. Joseph. Otherwise, St. Joseph would have been mentioned, and we can conclude that he died already before our Lord started to preach publicly.

We can also assume, based on the example of holy families, that when St. Joseph was dying, he was surely accompanied by Our Lord and Our Lady. So, according to the pious tradition of the Church, St. Joseph died in the company of Jesus and Mary.