Curious Facts about Saint Anne and Saint Joachim

Saints Joachim and Anne are, according to Christian tradition, the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary and therefore the grandparents of Jesus Christ. The Catholic Church honors them as those who raised Mary in the faith, instilling in her a deep love for God and preparing her for her mission as the Mother of the Savior.

Their feast day is celebrated on July 26 in the Roman Rite, a date established after the reforms of the Second Vatican Council to commemorate both saints together. In the Orthodox Church, however, they are remembered on September 9, the day after the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin.

Devotion to Saint Anne is notably older and more widespread, with roots going back at least to the 4th century in the East. By contrast, devotion to Saint Joachim, while very significant among Greek Christians, appeared much later in the West, only in the 15th century.

The unification of their feast in the modern Roman calendar reflects a fuller understanding of their shared role as a married couple in the history of salvation.

Saints Joachim and Anne are recognized as patrons of grandparents, but they are also invoked by parents, married couples, and expectant mothers. In addition, they are patrons of various trades, including carpenters, miners, and lace makers.

1. History of Saint Anne and Saint Joachim

A Holy Marriage

Anne married Joachim following a prophetic revelation. For many years, she had prayed earnestly for the grace of a righteous husband. She came from a wealthy family, and both Anne and Joachim were known for their piety and generosity, especially toward the poor.

Tradition says they would bring double offerings to the Temple: one for the people and another for the atonement of their own sins. They also divided their possessions into three parts—one for orphans, widows, and the poor; another for the priests serving God; and the third for their own household needs.

The trial of childlessness

Despite their virtue and wealth, the couple suffered the heavy cross of infertility—a condition seen at the time as a sign of God’s disfavor. It brought them deep sorrow.

One feast day, Joachim went to the Temple to present his offering but was rejected. According to the Protoevangelium of James, a priest named Ruben rebuked him, saying that a man without descendants was unworthy to stand among the righteous. Publicly humiliated, Joachim was filled with shame and grief.

Prayer in the Desert

Heartbroken, Joachim did not return home. Instead, he withdrew into the desert, fasting and praying for forty days and forty nights, begging God for the gift of a child.

Meanwhile, Anne remained at home, weeping both for her barrenness and the absence of her husband. At that moment, an angel appeared to her, announcing that the Lord had heard her prayer: she would conceive and bear a daughter whose life would be a blessing to the whole world. In gratitude, Anne promised to dedicate this child to the service of the Lord.

At the same time, the same angel appeared to Joachim in the desert, confirming that God had heard his prayer and that Anne would conceive a daughter destined to play a central role in the plan of salvation.

The Meeting at the Golden Gate

After receiving this angelic message, Joachim returned to Jerusalem. The Protoevangelium of James and the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew describe the tender meeting of Joachim and Anne at Jerusalem’s Golden Gate. They embraced with joy, a sign that their sorrow had ended and God’s promise was being fulfilled.

Christian art often depicts this moment as a symbol of hope and joy after long suffering.

The Nativity of Mary and Her Presentation in the Temple

In due time, Anne conceived and gave birth to a daughter, whom they named Mary, as instructed by the angel.

Faithful to their vow, Joachim and Anne brought Mary to the Temple when she was three years old, consecrating her entirely to the Lord. There she grew in holiness, learning the Scriptures and preparing for her extraordinary mission as the Mother of the Savior.

Their final years

According to apocryphal writings and mystical visions, Saint Joachim died while the Virgin Mary was still living in the Temple.

Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich relates that Saint Anne lived longer and even met the Child Jesus, passing away during His youth.

2. The Church of Saint Anne

One of the oldest and most iconic churches in Jerusalem is the Basilica of Saint Anne, also called the Basilica of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary. It stands in the Muslim Quarter of the Old City, near the Pool of Bethesda—where Jesus healed a man who had been sick for thirty-eight years—and the Lion’s Gate.

During the Roman Empire, the pool was covered and a pagan temple dedicated to the god Serapis was built over it. Later, in the 5th century, a Byzantine basilica was constructed but destroyed during the Persian invasion of Jerusalem in 614 AD.

The current structure, a beautiful example of Romanesque architecture, was built between 1131 and 1138 under Queen Melisende. Its crypt is especially venerated, as tradition holds it to be the birthplace of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

After the conquest of Jerusalem in 1187, Saladin converted it into a mosque. Over time, it was abandoned and fell into ruin. In 1856, Ottoman Sultan Abdülmecid I gifted it to Napoleon III, and since then it has belonged to the French government.

Since 1877, the basilica has been entrusted to the Missionaries of Africa, commonly known as the White Fathers.

• For more information about this Church, visit the website of the Church of Saint Anne in Jerusalem.
• Location: Q6JP+9F Jerusalem, Israel.

3. Prayers

Prayer of Saint Anne to Ask for a Good Husband

This prayer was written by the Spanish mystic and venerable María de Jesús de Ágreda. The Blessed Virgin revealed to her that this was the prayer Saint Anne prayed in asking for a holy spouse.

Most High and Eternal God, from whom all being flows and upon whom the destiny of humanity depends:
Prostrate before Your royal presence, I humbly beg that Your Infinite Goodness look upon the longing of my soul and hear my petitions.

Before Your eyes, my desires are laid bare—that in the holy state of matrimony You may grant me the company of a husband who will help me keep Your divine law and sacred covenant, that together we may grow in holiness and in the observance of Your commandments. Holy God, Infinitely Provident Father, hide not Your mercy from me; do not allow my supplication to be cast aside, for You are my Father.

Since You, my Lord, command me to ask with confidence, knowing You are mighty and rich in mercy, grant me what I seek and desire for Your sake, for in asking You I fulfill Your Holy Will in obedience. And if my faults stand in the way of Your mercies, remove from me all that displeases You or hinders Your grace.

Mighty are You, O Lord, God of Israel; all that is Your Will, You can accomplish without resistance. Let my petitions reach Your ears. I am poor and small, yet You are Infinite and ever inclined to show mercy to the lowly. Where shall I go but to You, Lord of lords and Almighty God?

You Yourself have taught me to desire and to hope in Your generosity. I have surrendered my heart and mind to Your Will. Turn my eyes away from vanity.

If it please You to grant my request, I will dedicate it entirely to Your service, my Father, to help spread the Kingdom of God on earth. Do with me whatever pleases You, and gladden, O Lord, my spirit with the fulfillment of this hope. Look down from Your throne upon this humble dust and raise it up, that it may magnify and adore You, and in all things may Your Will be done, not mine. Amen.

Prayer to Saint Anne for Children

Glorious Saint Anne, Patroness of Christian families, to you I entrust my children. I know they have been given to me by God and belong ultimately to Him; therefore I beg you to obtain for me the grace to accept whatever His Divine Providence wills for them.

Bless them, O merciful Saint Anne, and take them under your protection. I do not ask for exceptional privileges for them; I only wish to consecrate their souls and their bodies to you, that you may preserve them from all evil. To you I entrust their temporal needs and their eternal salvation.

Imprint upon their hearts, my good Saint Anne, a holy fear of sin; keep them far from vice; preserve them from corruption; keep alive in their souls the faith, uprightness, and Christian virtues; and teach them, as you taught your purest Daughter, the Immaculate Virgin Mary, to love God above all things.

Saint Anne, you who were a Mirror of Patience, grant me the virtue to suffer with patience and love the difficulties that arise in raising my children. For them and for myself, I ask your blessing, O gracious Heavenly Mother.

May we always honor you, as we honor Jesus and Mary; may we live according to the will of God; and after this life may we find happiness in the next, reunited with you in glory for all eternity.

So be it.

Prayer to Saint Anne and Saint Joachim for Grandparents

Lord Jesus, You were born of the Virgin Mary,
daughter of Saint Joachim and Saint Anne.
Look with love upon all the grandparents of the world.
Protect them! They are a source of enrichment
for families, for the Church,
and for all of society.

Sustain them! So that, as they grow old,
they may remain for their families
strong pillars of Gospel faith,
guardians of noble ideals and of the home,
living treasures of solid religious traditions.
Make them teachers of wisdom and courage,
passing on to future generations
the fruit of their rich human and spiritual experience.

Lord Jesus, help families and society
to value the presence and the role of grandparents.
May they never be ignored or excluded,
but rather find respect and love.
Help them to live in serenity
and to feel welcomed all the days of life
that You grant them.

Mary, Mother of all the living,
constantly watch over all grandparents;
accompany them on their earthly pilgrimage,
and by your prayers obtain that all families
may one day be reunited in our heavenly homeland,
where you await all humanity
for the great embrace of life without end.

Amen.

Prayer to Saint Anne and Saint Joachim for the Family

Illustrious and glorious patriarch Saint Joachim and most kind Saint Anne, what joy fills my heart in considering that you were chosen above all the saints of God to bring forth and enrich the world with the great Mother of God, the Blessed Virgin Mary! By this singular privilege, you have gained the greatest influence with both Mother and Son, to obtain for us the graces we most need.

With great confidence I turn to your powerful protection and commend to you all my spiritual and material needs, as well as those of my family. Especially the particular grace I now entrust to your care, which I fervently desire to obtain through your intercession.

As you were perfect examples of an interior life, obtain for me the gift of the most sincere prayer. May I never set my heart on the fleeting goods of this life.

Grant me a living and constant love for Jesus and Mary. Obtain for me also a true devotion and obedience to the Holy Church and to the Pope who governs it, so that I may live and die in faith, hope, and perfect charity.

May I always invoke the holy Names of Jesus and Mary, and thus be saved.

Amen

4. The Example of Saint Anne and Saint Joachim

The lives of Joachim and Anne are a moving testimony of faith, patience, and unwavering trust in God—even amid the painful trial of infertility. They are true models of holy marriage, whose love, piety, and prayer sustained them through hardship.

As the parents of Mary and grandparents of Jesus, they became chosen instruments in God’s plan of salvation. That is why they are powerful intercessors for families, married couples, and especially grandparents, who play an irreplaceable role in passing on the faith to future generations.

Their story reveals how God’s providence works in mysterious ways, transforming barrenness into spiritual fruitfulness. In them, we see the home as a true sanctuary of faith and life, reminding us that holiness begins in the simplicity of daily life.

Today, more than ever, Saints Joachim and Anne remain a living inspiration for couples longing for children, for families seeking to strengthen their faith, and for grandparents lovingly guiding the spiritual growth of their grandchildren.

Their example encourages us to trust always in God, who can bring forth unimaginable miracles. But it also reminds us of the need for humility, obedience, and surrender to His divine will.