Saint Joachim and Anne
Saints Joachim and Anne (flourished c. 1st century BC) were the parents of the Virgin Mary and thus the maternal grandparents of Jesus Christ. Their names do not appear in the canonical Scriptures; they are known from the 2nd-century Protoevangelium of James, which describes them as a righteous elderly couple in Jerusalem who had been childless; God answered their prayers with the miraculous conception of Mary. Anne is the patron saint of mothers, grandmothers, and pregnant women. Joachim is the patron of fathers and grandfathers. Their feast day is July 26.
Stored in Cargo: Saint Joachim and Anne
| Saint Joachim and Anne | |
|---|---|
| Feast Day | July 26 |
| Profession | Lay Jewish couple; parents of the Virgin Mary |
| Rel. Affiliation | Catholic Church; Jewish background; parents of the Virgin Mary; grandparents of Jesus Christ |
| Patronage | Anne: mothers; grandmothers; pregnant women; women in labor; miners; lace-makers; Brittany; Quebec; Canada; Hausgeister (household spirits); cabinet-makers. Joachim: fathers; grandfathers; parents of large families |
| Attributes | Anne teaching Mary to read (''Anna selbdritt'' iconography — Anne with Mary and the Christ Child); Joachim with a shepherd's crook (he was a shepherd by tradition); lily (purity); golden gate (their meeting at the Golden Gate of Jerusalem) |
| Birthplace | Jerusalem, Judea (by tradition) |
| Death Place | Jerusalem, Judea (by tradition) |
| Cause of Death | Natural causes; died in Jerusalem; their deaths are not recorded in Scripture |
| Primary Shrine | Church of Saint Anne, Jerusalem — the traditional site of their home and Mary's birthplace; one of the most visited holy sites in the Holy Land. Also: Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, Quebec (500,000 pilgrims/year) and Sainte-Anne-d'Auray, Brittany (800,000/year) |
| Liturgical Class | Memorial (Roman Calendar, July 26) |
| Historic Class | Feast (July 26 — Anne; Joachim was separately August 16) |
Biography
The names of the parents of the Virgin Mary do not appear in the canonical Scriptures (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, or the Epistles). They are first given in the Protoevangelium of James (also called the Infancy Gospel of James), a 2nd-century apocryphal text that became enormously influential in shaping Eastern and Western Marian devotion.
According to this text, Joachim was a wealthy and righteous man of the tribe of Reuben, and Anne was his wife. They had been married twenty years without conceiving a child. When Joachim went to offer gifts at the temple, the priest rebuked him: It is not lawful for you first to bring your offerings, seeing that you have gotten no offspring in Israel. Joachim, shamed, withdrew to the desert to pray and fast.
Anne, at home, also prayed and fasted. Angels appeared to both of them, announcing that they would conceive a child who would be known throughout the world. They hurried to the Golden Gate of Jerusalem and met in joyful embrace. The child conceived was Mary.
Mary was born and at the age of three was presented in the Temple, where she lived under the care of the priests — a scene depicted in many famous works of art (the Presentation of Mary).
The cult of Saint Anne arose in the East from the 4th century, spread to the West in the medieval period, and became one of the most popular cults in the Church, with major shrines in Jerusalem, Provence (Apt, where relics of Anne were claimed from the 8th century), Brittany, and Quebec.
Significant locations
Legend
Birth location: Jerusalem, Judea (by tradition)
Death location: Jerusalem, Judea (by tradition)
Notable location:
Notable location: The most important Marian and Anne pilgrimage shrine in France; an apparition of Saint Anne to a peasant named Yves Nicolazic in 1625 led to the founding of this shrine; it draws 800,000 pilgrims annually; one of the great pilgrimage centers of western France (Sainte-Anne-d'Auray, Morbihan, Brittany, France)
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Parishes
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Shrines
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Known shrines
- Church of Saint Anne, Jerusalem — traditional birthplace of Mary; Crusader church; major pilgrimage site.
- Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, Quebec, Canada — 500,000 pilgrims/year; miraculous healing tradition.
- Basilica of Sainte-Anne-d'Auray, Brittany, France — 800,000 pilgrims/year; apparition 1625.
- Cathedral of Apt, Provence, France — ancient relics of Saint Anne.
Feast day
July 26
Veneration
Saints Joachim and Anne are venerated in the Roman Catholic Church on July 26 as a Memorial. Anne is one of the most widely venerated saints in the world; her shrines are found on every continent.
Prayers
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