Sts. Joachim and Anne
“Blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.”
Honored as Mary's parents and Jesus' grandparents, Joachim and Anne represent the quiet generations through whom God prepared the coming of Christ.
The story
The canonical Gospels do not name the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The names Joachim and Anne first appear in the Protoevangelium of James, an influential Christian writing from the middle of the second century that was not accepted into the canon of Scripture. The Church received their names through this early tradition while recognizing that the work's narrative details are not established history.
According to the Protoevangelium, Joachim and Anne were a devout married couple who grieved because they had no child. Joachim withdrew to pray, while Anne also pleaded with God. An angel announced that their prayer had been heard, and Anne later gave birth to Mary. The text says that they dedicated their daughter to God's service at the Temple. These scenes inspired Christian art, preaching, and devotion, but they remain pious tradition rather than facts recorded in the Gospels.
Veneration of St. Anne developed early in the Christian East, where churches were dedicated in her honor by the sixth century. Her cult later became widespread in the West. Devotion to St. Joachim developed more gradually, and their feast days shifted over the centuries. Following the reform of the Roman Calendar in 1969, the two were commemorated together on July 26. They were not canonized through a modern judicial process but are honored as saints through ancient and enduring liturgical cult.
The Church securely confesses that Mary had human parents and that Jesus truly entered a human family and history. It does not require Catholics to treat every episode in the Protoevangelium as factual. The dogma of the Immaculate Conception concerns Mary's preservation from original sin from the first moment of her conception. It should not be confused with legendary details about her parents. The memorial of Joachim and Anne honors the family in which Mary was raised and also remembers the hidden faithfulness of parents and grandparents who pass on trust in God.
What Joachim teaches
Sts. Joachim and Anne remind families that faith is usually handed on through patient love, prayer, example, and ordinary duties. Grandparents have a special place in preserving memory and encouraging hope. CCC 2226 teaches that family catechesis precedes and accompanies other forms of instruction in the faith.
Patronage
grandparents, married couples, parents, mothers.
Prayer
God of our ancestors, you prepared a faithful family for the Blessed Virgin Mary and for the coming of your Son. Through the intercession of Sts. Joachim and Anne, bless parents, grandparents, married couples, and all who hand on the faith. Make our homes places of prayer, patience, and charity. Amen.