I recently read an article by the Dublin Inquirer about a shrine in Phibsborough that people pay homage to and leave gifts at in hopes of obtaining a home in Ireland. The Shrine to the Housing God has become a symbol of sorts of the dire state of the housing market in this country, where people feel more optimistic in turning to (or back to) spirituality over the likelihood of the government actually addressing the multifaceted crisis.

This idea of worshiping a deity, saint, or prophet, among other names, is rooted in many religions and often transcends the religion altogether, becoming intertwined with culture. In Ireland, the Child of Prague is probably the most synonymous with this idea—before major events, like a wedding, we put the statue in our back garden in hopes that it brings good weather. Even those who are not practicing Catholics will often find themselves instinctually thinking about the statue the night before a wedding, or at the very least will have a joke made about it to them. A St. Christopher medal may be worn while traveling to keep you safe, and, while not a patron saint, the Miraculous Medal with Mary’s depiction is often given to students before exams as a good luck token. We also often joke about praying to St. Anthony when we lose something in hopes we can find our lost item(s).

With our layered housing crisis and an obvious willingness for people to turn towards spirituality, as we see in Phibsborough, it is interesting that there is not more discussion about Saint Joseph. While St. Joseph is the patron saint of the Universal Church, families, and immigrants, he is also the patron saint of home. After all, it was Joseph who, charged by the angels in the book of Matthew to find a suitable home for his family, was seen as the provider and homemaker—so who better equipped to help us all in navigating our own housing challenges?

While the prayers and rituals (or you may even call it a superstition depending on your level of faith) vary slightly around how to interact with St. Joseph depending on your needs, the intention is the same: to say “Lord, help me navigate this awful experience of finding a home in Ireland”. If you are looking to rent or buy a home, you may say a Novena to St. Joseph for nine days in hopes he and God deliver a safe and affordable home. If you are hoping to sell your house, the idea is that you should bury your statue of St. Joseph in your garden in hopes to speed up the process (it seems we have an affinity for placing our religious statues outside in Ireland). No matter what your wish is, whether to find a home or sell one, you can always write a note listing your hopes and prayers and place it underneath a sleeping St. Joseph statue. You could even go crazy and do all three for good measure!

While we at JCFJ will certainly never tell you to not pray or that prayer isn’t important, the irony is not lost on us that we are saying to find a home, you might have better luck placing a note under a statue than you do by waiting for the government to get its act together. God works in mysterious ways, but so does the Irish government; one is all-knowing though while the other just pretends to be. So here is to hoping St. Joseph can pull through and find you a gaff, and maybe along the way the Department of Housing could learn a thing or two from him.