St. Joachim & St. Anne
Share
Feast Day: July 26
“The fruit of their union was the most blessed of all women—the Mother of God.”
Joachim and Anne are remembered as the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The Bible does not tell us their names.
Their story comes from ancient Christian tradition.
According to that tradition, Joachim and Anne were a faithful married couple who had suffered the sorrow of childlessness.
They prayed.
They waited.
And eventually, they were blessed with a daughter:
Mary.
They could not have known everything God would do through her.
They simply had to raise her faithfully.
Teach her to pray.
Teach her the faith of Israel.
Teach her to love God.
From their home would come the woman who would one day say:
“Let it be done to me according to your word.”
And through Mary would come Jesus Christ.
Joachim and Anne remind us that some of the most important work in salvation history happens quietly inside a family.
Sts. Joachim and Anne, pray for us.
Who Were Sts. Joachim and Anne?
Sts. Joachim and Anne are traditionally honored as the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary and therefore the grandparents of Jesus.
Their names do not appear in the canonical Gospels.
They come from ancient Christian tradition, especially writings such as the second-century Protoevangelium of James.
That text is not part of Scripture.
But it preserves early traditions concerning Mary’s family and childhood.
Their Longing for a Child
Ancient tradition describes Joachim and Anne as a devout married couple who had been unable to have children.
In the biblical world, infertility could bring deep sorrow and even social shame.
Their story therefore echoes other couples in Scripture who waited for children:
Abraham and Sarah.
Hannah.
Zechariah and Elizabeth.
Joachim and Anne continued to trust God.
The Birth of Mary
According to tradition, their prayers were answered with the birth of Mary.
Her birth was not the Incarnation.
Mary is fully human.
But God had prepared a unique role for her.
She would become the mother of Jesus Christ.
The Church honors Joachim and Anne because their family became part of God’s providential preparation for the coming of the Savior.
Raising the Blessed Virgin Mary
Scripture tells us almost nothing about Mary’s childhood.
But Mary did not grow up in isolation.
She belonged to a family.
She learned the prayers and Scriptures of Israel.
She learned ordinary household life.
She grew within the faith of her people.
Christian tradition naturally looked toward Joachim and Anne as those who first formed her.
Before Mary taught Jesus His first prayers as a child, someone had taught Mary.
The Hidden Work of Parents
That makes Joachim and Anne especially important for parents and grandparents.
Most parents do not know what God will ask of their children in the future.
Their responsibility is simpler:
teach them to pray.
Teach them truth.
Model virtue.
Correct them.
Love them.
Prepare them to say yes to God.
Much of that work remains hidden.
But hidden does not mean unimportant.
Grandparents of Jesus
Because Mary is truly the mother of Jesus, Joachim and Anne are traditionally called the grandparents of Christ according to His human ancestry.
This is a beautiful reminder of the reality of the Incarnation.
Jesus did not merely appear human.
He entered a real human family.
He had a mother.
Relatives.
Ancestors.
A people.
God truly entered human history.
St. Anne in Christian Devotion
Devotion to St. Anne became especially strong in both Eastern and Western Christianity.
Churches were dedicated to her.
Families asked for her intercession.
She became especially associated with mothers, grandmothers, married couples, and women hoping for children.
Christian art often depicts Anne teaching the young Mary to read.
The image expresses her role as a mother forming her daughter in faith.
St. Joachim
St. Joachim is often portrayed as a quiet, faithful father.
Tradition emphasizes his prayer, patience, and trust in God.
He became especially associated with fathers, grandfathers, and family life.
His holiness is remembered not through famous sermons or public miracles, but through his place within the family God chose for Mary.
The Protoevangelium of James
Much of the traditional story about Joachim and Anne comes from the Protoevangelium of James.
This ancient Christian writing contains stories about Mary’s birth and childhood.
The Church never included it in the biblical canon.
That means Catholics should distinguish between:
what Scripture reveals,
what ancient tradition preserves,
and what later devotional stories add.
The names Joachim and Anne belong to ancient Christian tradition, but not every detail in later accounts must be treated as historical fact.
The Immaculate Conception
Because Anne is Mary’s mother, she is sometimes depicted in art connected with the Immaculate Conception.
It is important to understand the doctrine correctly.
The Immaculate Conception refers to Mary being preserved by God’s grace from original sin from the first moment of her own conception.
It does not mean Mary was conceived without normal human parents.
Joachim and Anne were truly her father and mother.
Mary’s unique holiness came from the grace of God through the saving merits of Christ.
A Family Preparing for Christ
The feast of Joachim and Anne helps us look one generation behind Mary.
Before the Annunciation came years of family formation.
Before Mary stood at the Cross, she had first been a child.
Before she taught Jesus, she had been taught.
God often works this way.
Great moments of grace are prepared by years of ordinary faithfulness.
What Sts. Joachim and Anne Teach Us
Sts. Joachim and Anne teach us that family life can become part of God’s plan in ways we may never see.
Parents may spend years repeating the same lessons.
Say your prayers.
Tell the truth.
Forgive.
Be generous.
Love God.
Those lessons can shape a lifetime.
They also remind grandparents that their spiritual influence matters.
A grandparent’s prayer.
Advice.
Example.
And faith can help form generations.
The world may never notice that work.
God does.
When Is the Feast of Sts. Joachim and Anne?
The Catholic Church celebrates the Memorial of Sts. Joachim and Anne, Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary, on July 26.
They are especially honored as patrons of parents, grandparents, married couples, and family life.
Prayer Inspired by Sts. Joachim and Anne
Lord God,
through the intercession of Sts. Joachim and Anne, bless our families.
Strengthen parents as they form their children in faith.
Bless grandparents and help them pass wisdom and prayer to the next generation.
Comfort couples who long for children.
Help every Christian home become a place where You are known and loved.
And teach us to trust that quiet faithfulness can prepare the way for extraordinary grace.
Sts. Joachim and Anne, pray for us. Amen.
