Statue of St. Joseph is thought to be helpful in selling the house

St. Joseph, the patron saint of carpenters may be helpful to homeowners wanting to sell real estate.

No matter what a person's religion may be, most people have a saint, a talisman, or a good-luck charm. It is to this they appeal to when they feel a situation is out of their control.

Catholics have thousands of saints, and to each, they attribute a special influence, for example, St. Rita who helps troubled marriages, St. Barbara who protects from storms, St. Christopher protects travelers, and of course, St Joseph, patron saint of carpenters.

According to SimpleMost.com's article published on the 20th of April 2018, a new homeowner had been settling into their new home and replanting the garden when they came across a curious find.

They discovered a gallon-sized zippered bag buried in the backyard, and inside it was a little statue of a man holding a child in his arms.

The statue looked like the kind of figure you might find in a nativity scene and though the family was not Catholic, they were reminded of the type of figurines they had seen in churches and in friends' homes.

They later discovered it was a statue of St. Joseph holding a baby Jesus, and it was supposed to help the homeowners make a quick and profitable house sale.

In Europe, It has been a long-established custom to bury a St. Joseph in a garden when you wish to sell a house, but it only became a widespread and popular practice in the USA in the mid-fifties.

Fascinated, the family started to research the superstition and discovered there was an elaborate ritual involving the statue of St. Joseph.

Whether or not the saint has any influence is debatable, but the practice had, and still has, many followers. Anyone looking to sell a house may want to give St. Joseph a try.

All you need is a St.Joseph, which you should be able to buy online, or in a religious artifact store for a reasonable amount. After you have your saint, you may want to follow the correct procedure detailed below.

1. Bury St. Joseph in your yard.

You should bury your St.Joseph upside down in the front yard facing the house. This guarantees that he will work hard to sell the right house. If you own a condo and don't have a yard, bury St. Joseph in a pot near the front door. You should wrap him in a cloth before burying him, to protect him from the elements.

2. Say a prayer to St. Joseph.

It doesn’t seem to matter how you pray, as long as you pray for St. Joseph’s help. Here is a classic prayer to St. Joseph, from a Roman Catholic site:

O, Saint Joseph, you who taught our Lord the carpenter’s trade, and saw to it that he was always properly housed, hear my earnest plea. I want you to help me now as you helped your foster-child Jesus, and as you have helped many others in the matter of housing. I wish to sell this [house/property] quickly, easily, and profitably and I implore you to grant my wish by bringing me a good buyer, one who is eager, compliant, and honest, and by letting nothing impede the rapid conclusion of the sale. Amen

3. Once you get your house sold, thank St. Joseph properly.

After you have sold your house, you should thank St. Joseph by digging him up and taking him with you to your new home, where he should be put in a “place of honor.”

There is no proof this ritual works, but people who have 'planted' St. Joseph in their yards swear by it.And they all take the saint on to their new happy ever after home.