METAIRIE, La – It’s a feast.
It’s a bountiful buffet.
And it’s a tradition that started in Sicily.
Sicilian immigrants brought their tradition and their custom of honoring St. Joseph to New Orleans.
It happens every year on March 19.
It’s the tradition of the St. Joseph Day Altar across the city.
One of the biggest and best in the New Orleans metro area is in Metairie, Louisiana,
That’s where WGNO News with a Twist features guy Wild Bill Wood takes his camera.
The St. Joseph Day Altar is at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church and School. The address for the church is 444 Metairie Road, Metairie, Louisiana 70005.
The school address is actually 215 Betz Place, Metairie, Louisiana 70005.
The St. Francis Xavier School is located just behind the church on Metairie Road.
What’s on the altar that honors St. Joseph is a feast for the eyes. And for the heart.
It’s a bountiful buffet put together by the people of the church.
According to legend, back in Sicily, a severe drought and famine threatened the country.
So the people there prayed to St. Joseph, the father of Jesus here on Earth.
This was during the Middle Ages.
The drought and famine wiped out most of the farms. Many people in Sicily died from starvation.
As they prayed to St. Joseph to help them out of their situation, they made a promise then and there.
If they were saved, they would celebrate him with a feast day every year. And they would build altars to honor him.
At midnight on March 19, their prayers were answered with rain that ended the drought.
Since, then the St. Joseph’s Day Altars have been a way to remember and honor.
At St. Francis Xavier Church and School, the altar is one of the biggest and best.