www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Faith & Theology St. Joseph's Tomb

Is there a burial place for St. Joseph in the Holy Land?

Paul

Brother Paul,

I logged onto newadvent.org and used the search encyclopedia for Saint Joseph, interesting stuff, it stated that he may be buried in the Valley of Josaphat or Nazareth. Anyway check it out.

James

James,

Thank you.

Travelers: Does anyone know if there is a church at either of these two sites?

God bless you,

Paul

Dear Paromer,

In the Church of the Tomb of the Virgin Mary, located in the area of the Garden of Gethsemane, there is a side chapel that the Greek Orthodox claim as the tomb of Saint Joseph. On the opposite side, there is the tomb that the Orthodox claim as that of Saints Anna and Joachim.

There is a wonderful website that shows images of the various Christian shrines in the Holy Land. The site is: www.christusrex.com [christusrex.com] . There you can see an image of the Tomb of Saint Joseph.

The authenticity of the tomb as being that of Saint Joseph's is very doubtful. It is more likely that the tombs claimed by the Orthodox as being that of Joseph, Anna, and Joachim are tombs of Crusader royalty who were buried there during the time of the Crusades.

Eastern tradition - based on apocryphal writings-states that St. Joseph died in Nazareth. The tradition in the Roman Catholic church also states that Saint Joseph died in Nazareth. I am not aware of any church in Nazareth that claims to house the tomb of Saint Joseph.

An interesting note- there was a Belgian Benedictine mystic who stated in his writings that the body of Saint Joseph lies perfectly incorrupt, awaiting the day when it will be discovered when devotion to Saint Joseph has reached the status he rightly deserves.

I hope this helps.

I saw the relic of St. Anne, Mary's mother. I can't remember if it's just a part of her body or if it's a whole body. I just know there's a large side chapel in her honor.

A lot of saints' bodies were brought to Rome from Jerusalem especially during the Crusades to protect them.

SPDundas
Deaf Byzantine

Dear griego catolico,

Thank you for your post. Good information/pics on St. Joseph's tomb.

It is very interesting about the body of St. Joseph being incorrupt. Will it be discovered??

Christ's Peace,

Paul

Dear SPDundas,

Thank You.

I enjoyed reading your account of your visit to Rome.

Christ's Peace,

Paul

Dear Friends,

There is also a tradition that says that St Joseph was also assumed, body and soul, into heaven . . .

This belief became very popular in certain Western countries as a tradition, along with the belief in his "Immaculate Conception."

Alex

griego catolico wrote:
I am not aware of any church in Nazareth that claims to house the tomb of Saint Joseph.



Paromer,

Christ Is Risen!

I stand corrected!! Just yesterday, I was looking at a wall map of the Holy Land, which contained pictures of the various Christian shrines. To my surprises, one of the pictures showed a tomb with the caption, "Nazareth -Tomb presumed to be Saint Joseph's".

It is not like the other tomb of Saint Joseph in Jerusalem. The Nazareth tomb is a complete tomb with rollaway stone and stairway leading down to the tomb. I do not know if this Nazareth tomb of Saint Joseph is located within a church, most likely so. I will look for more information and get back to you.