Pietro Annigoni’s portrait of St. Joseph the worker, captures a deeply contemplative and strong image of the earthly father of Jesus, humble, hardworking, and quietly devoted to nurturing and protecting Christ. I first encountered this image over 20 years ago during my first retreat as an REC. The portrait hung in the foyer of the Josephite Spirituality Centre in Kincumber. The artist masterfully conveys Joseph’s profound love for Jesus in this work. Years later, while traveling alone, I was astonished to, quite literally, stumble upon the original in the Basilica of San Lorenzo, Florence, an unexpected and deeply moving encounter.
When reflecting on the Parable of the Barren Fig Tree (Luke 13:6-9) through this image of St. Joseph, I’d like to explore three key themes.
Patience and Nurturing
In the parable, the gardener intercedes on behalf of the barren tree, asking for more time to tend it with care and nourishment. This care and service mirrors St. Joseph’s patient and nurturing role in the Holy Family. He was given great responsibility and he worked quietly and persistently, cultivating a faithful and fruitful life for Jesus and Mary. Like St. Joseph, we are called to be caretakers of the faith in ourselves and others. True spiritual growth requires time, patience, and effort, we must be gardener-like, tending to our faith with prayer, works of love, and trusting in God’s plan. Just as Annigoni’s Joseph is contemplative yet strong, we are reminded that holiness often grows in quiet faithfulness rather than dramatic acts.
Faith in Action
The fig tree was planted with a purpose, to bear fruit. But it remained barren and was likely to be cut down. Similarly, St. Joseph’s life was deeply fruitful, not through public miracles or preaching, but through his faithfulness to God’s will. He lived out his vocation through quiet action, trust, and care for Jesus and Mary. Annigoni’s St. Joseph is a worker, a man who bore spiritual fruit through labour and love. Our faith, like Joseph’s, must be active, expressed in deeds of service, kindness, and devotion. The barren tree warns against passivity in faith; St. Joseph, by contrast, embodies a life of quiet but deep spiritual fruitfulness.
Jubilee of Hope
In this year of Jubilee we are called to renewal. In the parable, the gardener pleads for mercy, offering to nurture the tree so that it may bear fruit. This reflects the mercy of God and the role of St. Joseph as a protector and guide. Annigoni’s painting captures Joseph’s deep interior life, his strength rooted in trust and hope, rather than fear. Like the gardener, Joseph trusted in God’s timing and grace, even when he didn’t fully understand God’s plans. The fig tree reminds us that God gives second chances, and St. Joseph shows how trust and obedience lead to a fruitful life. The world often values power and recognition, but Joseph and the gardener in the parable show that true holiness lies in faithfulness, even when unnoticed.
The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree challenges us to examine our own spiritual fruitfulness, while Pietro Annigoni’s St. Joseph gives us an image of patient, faithful cultivation of holiness.
Are we bearing fruit in our lives, or are we stagnant?
Are we patient and nurturing with ourselves and others, like the gardener and St. Joseph?
Do we trust in God’s timing and mercy, using the time we are given to grow in faith and love?
Like St. Joseph, in the year of Jubilee may we cultivate our faith with humility, action, and trust so that when the vineyard owner comes, we will have borne fruit that lasts.
Virginia Fortunat
