18 Σεπτεμβρίου Μνήμη του Αγίου Ιωσήφ de Copertino

The Church celebrates the memorial of Saint Joseph of Copertino on September 18.

Born Joseph Maria Desa on June 17, 1603, in Copertino, Italy, the saint was born in a stable after his family fell into poverty. His father, Felice Desa, lost the family home and his work as a carriage maker after acting as a guarantor for a friend's debt. Following Felice's death, his widow and children lived in difficult conditions due to heavy taxes in the Salento region.

Because he could not master carpentry or locksmithing, Joseph found work in a shop. Under the laws of the time, as the only male child, he was required to work without pay upon reaching adulthood to settle his father's debt. The Archdiocese of Naxos, Andros, Tinos, and Mykonos notes that becoming a priest or a monk appeared to be his only way to escape this fate.