Francis Patrick Kenrick

She was espoused to him, and truly his wife, although he did not exercise the rights of a husband. These espousals were necessary to shield her from censure, since the mystery could not be at once declared and proved to the public generally. Her genealogy would seem necessary to establish the descent of our Lord from David ; but it was not customary to trace female descents, and the fact of her espousals to Joseph enabled the evangelist to prove our Lord's descent through him. Although not, in reality, the father of Christ, he was legally reputed such, which was sufficient to trace descent.