St. Anne

**St. Anne** (Hebrew: חַנָּה, *Ḥannāh*; Greek: Ἄννα) is venerated as the mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary and grandmother of Jesus Christ. Her name means "grace" or "favor." Though not mentioned in the canonical Gospels, her story comes from the second-century *Protoevangelium of James* and other apocryphal sources that shaped Christian devotion across East and West. ## Life According to Tradition Anne and her husband Joachim lived in Nazareth (or, in some traditions, near Jerusalem). Childless into old age, they endured the social stigma that barrenness carried in ancient Israel. According to the *Protoevangelium*, Joachim retreated to the wilderness to fast and pray while Anne remained at home, lamenting her condition. An angel appeared to each separately, announcing that Anne would conceive a child destined for greatness. They met at the Golden Gate of Jerusalem, and Anne conceived the one who would bear the Savior. Mary was born and, at age three, presented at the Temple in Jerusalem—an event celebrated liturgically as the Presentation of Mary. Anne's role as the woman who raised the future Mother of God gave her a unique place in salvation history: the grandmother who formed the young woman who would say *fiat* to Gabriel. The *Anna Selbdritt* ("Anne, third of her line") became a beloved artistic motif in medieval Europe: Anne seated with Mary on her lap and the Christ Child on Mary's knee—three generations of sacred lineage in a single composition. ## Patronage St. Anne is patron of: - Mothers and grandmothers - Pregnant women and those struggling with infertility - Miners (who work underground, as Mary grew in Anne's womb) - Cabinetmakers and woodworkers - Housewives - Women in labor - The Province of Quebec - Brittany, France ## Feast Day **July 26** — The feast of Saints Joachim and Anne is celebrated throughout the universal Church. Anne's feast was observed separately on July 26 in the West before the 1969 calendar reform united the parents of Mary on a single day. ## Relics Relics attributed to St. Anne are venerated at numerous sites: - **Sainte-Anne-d'Auray** (Brittany, France) — major pilgrimage site - **Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré** (Quebec, Canada) — North America's principal Anne shrine - **Annaberg** (Austria) — Austria's first St. Anne pilgrimage, with a skull relic donated by Emperor Leopold I in 1660 - **Düren** (Germany) — head relic brought from Mainz in 1501 - **Apt** (France) — body relic discovered in 792, venerated since Carolingian times ## Iconography St. Anne is typically depicted: - Teaching the young Mary to read (symbolic of faith transmitted through generations) - In the *Anna Selbdritt* composition with Mary and Jesus - Meeting Joachim at the Golden Gate - Dressed in green (symbolizing life and hope) with a red or blue mantle ## Further Reading Jason, Ronald. [*The Life of St. Anne*](https://www.amazon.com/life-St-Anne-Ronald-Jason/dp/B0D21XZ1P9) - A comprehensive biography of the grandmother of Jesus, exploring her life, virtues, and enduring devotion. ## Sources [St. Anne](https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01538a.htm) — Catholic Encyclopedia biography with devotional history. (*New Advent*) [Protoevangelium of James](https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0847.htm) — The apocryphal text describing Anne's life and Mary's birth. (*New Advent*)