The Roman Catholic Church honors Saints Joachim and Anne on July 26 as the parents of the Virgin Mary. Through the pain of being childless, the couple's faith and tenacity helped them to conceive and raise the immaculate and sinless woman who would give birth to Christ.

The life of the Virgin Mary's parents is not specifically mentioned in the New Testament, but other non-Biblical writings do give some information about them. The Church's traditional beliefs regarding Joachim, Anne, and their daughter are outlined in these works, although they are not seen as authoritative in the same way as the Bible.

The "Protoevangelium of James," which was most likely completed in the early second century, identifies Mary's father Joachim as a wealthy member of one of Israel's Twelve Tribes. The fact that they were childless devastated Joachim and his wife Anne.

Joachim and Anne started to seclude themselves from one another and society and dedicate themselves to strict prayer and fasting. They considered their inability to have children as a grave tragedy and an embarrassment to the Israelite tribes.

However, it turned out that the pair would receive much greater blessings. An angel revealed this to Anne when he appeared to her and prophesied that all generations would honor their future child.

According to the Protoevangelium of James, when Mary was born, Anne "made a sanctuary" in the baby girl's room and "allowed nothing common or unclean" because of the child's unique holiness. In the same record, it is stated that when she was a year old, her father "made a great feast, and invited the priests, and the scribes, and the elders, and all the people of Israel."

The Protoevangelium continues by relating how Mary's parents and the temple priests ultimately determined she would be offered to God for the remainder of her life as a consecrated Virgin and enter a chaste marriage with the carpenter Joseph.

As the patron saints of grandparents, St. Joachim and St. Anne have long been celebrated in the Church's liturgical calendar. Pope Francis announced in January 2021 that the Church would observe the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly every year on the fourth Sunday in July, which also happens to be the feast day of Sts. Joachim and Anne. Additionally, Saint Anne is invoked as the patron saint of mothers and women in labor.

Other Saints of the Day

Saint Erastus

Saint Bartholomea Capitanjo

Saint Valens

Saint Hyacinth

Blessed William Ward