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Local Italian-Americans build elaborate altars to honor the relief of St. Joseph, husband to the Virgin Mary and earthly father figure of Jesus, provided during a famine in Sicily.The tradition began in the late 1800s when Sicilian immigrants settled in New Orleans. (The St. Joseph’s Altar is a Sicilian tradition dating back to the Middle Ages.) The Feast of St. Joseph is celebrated on March 19. Italians celebrate Father’s Day the same day.

44 ROUSES MARCH AP R I L 2021