How old was Saint Joseph the Betrothed when he became the guardian of the Mother of God?
According to early Church Tradition, Saint Joseph was eighty years old when betrothed to the Virgin Mary. The Chaste Joseph, as he is sometimes called, was a widower who had four sons and two daughters from his previous marriage; in the Scriptures, these children are called the brothers and sisters of Jesus, though there is no blood relation since Joseph was not the father of Jesus. Besides his irreproachable, trustworthy, and honorable life, the elder Joseph’s great age made him a suitable guardian for the young virgin girl who had vowed to live in perpetual virginity. When the Virgin Mary was found to be with child the elderly Joseph feared to take her as his wife, not because people would think that he fathered the child because he was too old for this, but because people would think that she had fallen into sin with another man; this is why Saint Joseph thought to put her away privately (Matt. 1:19). Saint Joseph reposed at the age of about 100. The last reference to him in Holy Sc
