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

Joachim and Anne are the traditional names given to the parents of the Virgin Mary. These names do not appear in the canonical Gospels, but come from the Protoevangelium of James (about 170–80), a second-century apocryphal gospel, without historical value. In this work, Joachim and Anne are portrayed as old and childless, and one day while Anne was at prayer, an angel appeared to inform her that she would bear a child. The angel proclaimed the same message to Joachim as he was in his desert hermitage. Inasmuch as Joachim and Anne were chosen by God to be the parents of the immaculate Mother of God, it is not unreasonable to attribute holiness to them as well. Devotion to St. Anne preceded devotion to St. Joachim. By the middle of the sixth century, a church was dedicated to her in Jerusalem, built on the traditional site of her home, and about the same time a church was dedicated (550) to her in Constantinople (now Istanbul). Her feast was celebrated in Rome by the eighth century, but it became popular in Europe with the return of the crusaders, who brought the devotion back with them. A feast honoring St. Joachim was first introduced in the fifteenth century. The popularity of devotion to SS. Joachim and Anne is easily explained by their close connection to Mary, and because they were the grandparents of our Lord, they also share in being members of the extended Holy Family.