Sts. Joachim and Anne, Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary

On Tuesday, July 26th, we celebrate the Feast of Sts. Joachim and Anne. Joachim and Anne were the parents of Jesus’ mother, Mary. We don’t know many details about their lives because they are never mentioned in the New Testament. Everything we know about them comes down through tradition — the stories people told about them.

We believe that they were respected members of the Jewish community and that they wanted to become parents so much that Joachim went into the desert to fast and pray that God would hear their prayer. It is said that an angel told them that they would soon have a daughter who would become famous throughout the world.

Months later, Mary, our Blessed Mother, was born. Tradition tells us that when Mary was three years old, Anne and Joachim took her to the temple in Jerusalem to consecrate her for special service to the Lord. We call this celebration the “Presentation of the Virgin Mary.” It means that Mary was to play an important part in God’s loving plan for the world.

We honor Mary’s parents, Joachim and Anne, as saints. We celebrate their joint feast day on July 26th. Their love for one another and for Mary is an example to us of how God calls us to live. They also remind us to honor our own grandparents and to thank them for the blessings they have passed down to us in love.

The beautiful shrine of Ste. Anne de Beaupre in Quebec, Canada, is devoted to St. Anne, and in the Middle Ages numerous churches, chapels, and confraternities were dedicated to her. There is a church of St. Anne in Jerusalem, and it is believed to be built on the site of the home of Sts. Joachim and Anne when they lived in Jerusalem.

Anne is the patron of grandmothers, among many other things, and Joachim of grandfathers and grandparents.

Fr. Chester