Saints Joachim and Anne

The Gospels do not name the parents of the Virgin Mary, but an ancient Christian writing from the second century, the Protoevangelium of James, calls them Joachim and Anne. According to this tradition, they were a devout couple who suffered for many years from being childless. Joachim withdrew to the desert to fast and pray, while Anne prayed at home; an angel appeared to each of them announcing that they would have a child, and Mary was born to them.

They are said to have presented Mary in the Temple and raised her in faith and love. Devotion to Saint Anne grew in the East by the sixth century, when Emperor Justinian built a church in her honor in Constantinople, and spread through the West in the Middle Ages. Joachim and Anne remind us that God prepared the coming of his Son through an ordinary family. Pope Francis instituted the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly near their feast.

The Shrine of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré in Quebec and Sainte-Anne-d'Auray in Brittany draw great pilgrimages around July 26. In Spain and Latin America many towns named Santa Ana celebrate their patroness with fiestas, and families honor their grandparents on this day.