St. Joachim and St. Anne

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In the quiet shadows of salvation history stand two figures whose faith helped prepare the way for the Incarnation—St. Joachim and St. Anne, the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the grandparents of Jesus Christ. Though the canonical Scriptures do not mention them by name, their memory has been venerated since the earliest centuries of the Church, especially in apostolic traditions preserved in the East.

Their names come to us through the Protoevangelium of James, a 2nd-century apocryphal gospel. While not inspired Scripture, this document preserves authentic early Christian traditions. According to it, Joachim and Anne were a devout Jewish couple living in Jerusalem, long childless—a condition often interpreted in Jewish culture as a sign of divine disfavor. But like Abraham and Sarah before them, they remained faithful.

In their old age, both received angelic visions announcing that their prayers had been heard. Anne conceived and gave birth to Mary, whom they consecrated to the Lord. They raised her in purity, faith, and obedience, laying the moral and spiritual foundation for her “yes” to the Angel Gabriel. In this sense, Joachim and Anne are not peripheral to the Gospel—they are its necessary soil. The Immaculate Conception did not occur in a vacuum; it was prepared by generations of faithful Israelites. As St. John Damascene preached in the 8th century:

“O blessed couple! All creation is in your debt. For through you it offered the Creator a gift above all gifts: a spotless Mother.”

The Church’s veneration of Anne and Joachim began early, flourishing especially in the Eastern rites. By the 6th century, churches were built in their honor. In the West, devotion to St. Anne gained immense popularity in the Middle Ages, particularly in France and Germany. Pilgrimages to her shrine in Saint-Anne-de-Beaupré, Canada, continue to this day.

Their legacy is one of hidden holiness. They are patrons of grandparents, married couples, and those struggling with infertility. They remind us that God often works His greatest miracles in the quiet fidelity of family life—through those who plant seeds of grace that will one day bloom in salvation.

In honoring Joachim and Anne, the Church honors the sanctity of the family, the wisdom of age, and the sacred lineage of Mary, in whom God prepared a dwelling fit for the Word made flesh.