March 11, 2025 - Introduced by Representatives Wichgers, Behnke, Donovan, Goodwin, Gundrum and Murphy, cosponsored by Senators Tomczyk, Jacque and Marklein. Referred to Committee on Rules.
***AUTHORS SUBJECT TO CHANGE***
AJR16,1,3
1Relating to: recognizing May 1 of each year as St. Joseph the Worker Day in
2Wisconsin and recognizing and appreciating the dignity of all working men
3and women in Wisconsin. AJR16,1,74Whereas, Pope Francis, in his apostolic letter entitled Patris Corde (With a 5Father’s Heart), describes St. Joseph as a beloved father, a tender and loving father, 6an obedient father, an accepting father, a father who is creatively courageous, a 7working father, and a father in the shadows; and AJR16,1,108Whereas, in a much more sublime and supernatural way, Joseph found favor 9with his heavenly Father and was entrusted with the Father’s greatest treasures, 10his only begotten son, Jesus Christ, and Mary, the mother of Jesus; and AJR16,1,1211Whereas, the Gospel of St. Matthew attests to the holiness of Joseph when he 12is described as “a righteous man” (Matthew 1:19); and AJR16,2,413Whereas, as head of the family, Joseph’s responsibilities would have included 14leading the family in common prayers before meals, gathering the family for
1synagogue services on the Sabbath, and leading the family on annual pilgrimages 2to the temple in Jerusalem to celebrate “The Festival of Unleavened Bread,” “The 3Festival of Weeks,” and “The Festival of Shelters” (Deuteronomy 16:16) and “The 4Passover Festival” (Luke 2:41); and AJR16,2,75Whereas, three times in scripture, Joseph heard the word of the Lord in a 6dream (Matthew 1:20, 2:13, 2:22), and each time, Joseph arose and “did as the angel 7of the Lord had commanded him” (Matthew 1:24); and AJR16,2,118Whereas, Jesus and Mary needed housing, food, and clothing; it was Joseph 9who provided for these necessities through his manual labor as a carpenter and 10who taught Jesus to work, and Jesus himself was referred to as a carpenter: “Is this 11not the carpenter, the son of Mary?” (Mark 6:3); and AJR16,2,1512Whereas, when the angry King Herod ordered the massacre of all male 13children two years old and younger, it was to Joseph as protector of the family that 14the angel of the Lord was sent; Joseph took heed and fled into Egypt with the child 15and Mary and thwarted the attempt on Jesus’s life (Matthew 2:13–15); and AJR16,2,1816Whereas, Christians for hundreds of years have invoked Joseph for his great 17chastity in taking Mary into his home and for respecting the fact that she belonged 18exclusively to God; and AJR16,2,2119Whereas, during turbulent times in 1870, these truths inspired Pope Pius IX 20to once again “Go to Joseph,” and on December 8, 1870, to proclaim Joseph as St. 21Joseph, Patron of the Universal Church; and AJR16,3,722Whereas, in 1909, Pope Pius X approved the Litany of St. Joseph, highlighting 23Joseph’s titles, privileges, and heroic virtues as follows: noble offspring of David,
1light of patriarchs, the spouse of the Mother of God, chaste guardian of the Virgin 2Mary, foster father of the Son of God, zealous defender of Christ, head of the holy 3family, Joseph most just, Joseph most chaste, Joseph most prudent, Joseph most 4courageous, Joseph most obedient, Joseph most faithful, mirror of patience, lover of 5poverty, model of workmen, glory of domestic life, guardian of virgins, pillar of 6families, comfort of the afflicted, hope of the sick, patron of the dying, terror of 7demons, and protector of the Holy Church; and AJR16,3,98Whereas, Pope Pius XII, in 1955, established the Feast of St. Joseph the 9Worker on May 1 of each calendar year; and AJR16,3,1410Whereas, on May 1, 2021, Pope Francis added seven new titles to Joseph in 11the Litany of St. Joseph, as follows: custos redemptoris (guardian of the redeemer); 12serve Christi (servant of Christ); minister salutis (minister of salvation); fulcimen in 13difficultatibus (support in difficulties); patrone exsulum (patron of exiles); patrone 14afflictorum (patron of the afflicted); and patrone pauperum (patron of the poor); and AJR16,3,2015Whereas, in a time of trial and distress, when all of Egypt and the entire world 16became hungry and begged for bread, Pharaoh told the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph; 17what he says to you, do” (Genesis 41:55); while Pharaoh was referring to Joseph the 18son of Jacob, who was sold into slavery because of the jealousy of his brothers 19(Genesis 37:11–28) and who subsequently became a viceroy of Egypt (Genesis 2041:41–44), popular trust in St. Joseph is seen in the expression “Go to Joseph”; and AJR16,3,2321Whereas, our situation in the world today is not unlike the situation of God’s 22people during the great famine in Egypt; we recognize our need for heavenly power 23to safeguard and steer us through the many trials of our day; now, therefore, be it AJR16,4,3
1Resolved by the assembly, the senate concurring, That the Wisconsin 2Legislature does hereby recognize May 1 of each year as St. Joseph the Worker Day 3in the state of Wisconsin; and, be it further AJR16,4,84Resolved, That the Wisconsin Legislature does hereby recognize May 1 of 5each year as a day to be observed to honor the working men and women in 6Wisconsin, who get up every day and work hard to provide for and lift up their 7families, their communities, the state of Wisconsin, and the United States of 8America; and be it further AJR16,4,129Resolved, That the Wisconsin Legislature does hereby urge and request the 10executive branch of the State of Wisconsin to cause an appropriate celebration on 11May 1 of each year to bring recognition and appreciation to the dignity of all 12working men and women in Wisconsin.
