St. Joseph’s Mother and Siblings

Posted in: St. Joseph

The father of St. Joseph was Jacob; however, the Bible is silent on the matter of who his mother was. Since the Joseph of the Old Testament appears to prefigure that of the New, and both testaments name Jacob as the name of both fathers, one may piously believe that Rachel is the name of both mothers.

For the identity of Joseph’s mother one may choose to look to the Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur granted writings of the Servant of God, mystic Mother Cecilia Baij (1694-1766) who, as Abbess of the Benedictine Convent of St. Peter in Montefiascone, Italy, received revelations from Our Lord Jesus in the mid-18th century: 17 St. Joseph’s father’s name was Jacob and his mother’s name was Rachel.

Both distinguished themselves by leading very holy lives; they had in common nobility of birth (both were of the family of David) (C. Baij, 1997, pg.1). As to the question of Joseph having siblings, Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich reveals that he had five brothers. Most other mystics, however, claim that St. Joseph was an only child. These “brothers” mentioned by Emmerich were possibly cousins who at times lived with Joseph’s family or perhaps Joseph lived with them for a time. Per Church tradition, and as chronicled by St. Hegesippus (110-180), Cleophas, also referred to as Alpheus, was a relative to St. Joseph who was sometimes referred to as his brother. He was wed to the Virgin Mary’s cousin, who was also named Mary. He is mentioned in the Gospel of St. John (19:25) and St. Luke (24:18).