Feast Day: July 26
Patronage: Mothers, Grandmothers, Childless women, Women in labor, Educators, Miners
Name Meaning: Anne derives from the Hebrew Hannah, meaning “grace” or “favor”
✦ Life and Veneration
Saint Anne, though not mentioned in Sacred Scripture, holds a revered place in the Tradition of the Church as the mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary and grandmother of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Her life is known primarily through apocryphal sources, especially the Protoevangelium of James, an early Christian text dating from the 2nd century, which, while not canonical, reflects the early Church’s devotion and belief.
Anne was married to Saint Joachim, a pious and wealthy man of the tribe of Judah. According to tradition, the couple lived in Jerusalem or Nazareth and were devout observers of the Law of Moses. Despite their faithfulness, they suffered for many years the sorrow of childlessness, which at the time was seen as a mark of divine displeasure.
In their old age, after fervent prayer and fasting, an angel appeared to Anne (and to Joachim separately), announcing that they would conceive a child. In deep gratitude, they promised to dedicate the child to God. Thus, Anne conceived Mary, who from her very conception was preserved from original sin—the Immaculate Conception—a singular grace in preparation for her role as the Mother of the Savior.
According to Tradition, Saint Anne raised Mary in a home of holiness and piety, and later entrusted her to the service of God at the Temple in Jerusalem when she was still a young girl, fulfilling the promise made at Anne’s conception.
✦ Liturgical Honor and Devotion
The cult of Saint Anne developed in the East by the 6th century and in the West by the 8th century. Her feast was fixed on July 26 in the Latin Church by the 14th century and spread widely through the influence of popular devotion, especially in France and Germany. The Franciscans and Benedictines played a significant role in promoting her veneration.
One of the most notable sites of pilgrimage to Saint Anne is Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré in Québec, Canada, where countless miracles have been reported, especially healings. Many Catholics wear a St. Anne medal, asking her intercession particularly in matters of marriage, family, and childbirth.
✦ Attributes in Sacred Art
Saint Anne is often depicted:
- With the Blessed Virgin Mary as a child, sometimes teaching her from the Scriptures
- Holding a book or scroll, symbolizing her role as an educator
- In scenes with Saint Joachim and the Holy Family, as a matriarchal figure
These images honor her as a model of motherly virtue, faith, and patience in suffering.
✦ Lessons and Spiritual Legacy
Saint Anne is a powerful exemplar of:
- Persevering prayer – Trusting God even when hope seems lost
- Marital fidelity – Her and Joachim’s holy marriage mirrors the sacramental ideal
- Parental holiness – Forming a soul as pure and obedient as the Blessed Virgin speaks of Anne’s sanctity
- Hidden sanctity – Though her story is little-known and largely outside Scripture, the Church elevates her as a model for all women who serve God in quiet fidelity
✦ Traditional Prayers to Saint Anne
Prayer for Mothers:
“O glorious Saint Anne, mother of the blessed Virgin Mary, filled with compassion for those who invoke thee and with love for those who suffer, I cast myself at thy feet and humbly beg of thee to take the present affair which I recommend to thee under thy special protection…“
Novena to St. Anne (often prayed from July 17 to July 25) is a beloved devotion invoking her intercession for family needs, especially for mothers and childless couples.
✦ Closing Thought
Though Saint Anne remains in the shadows compared to her glorious daughter and divine Grandson, her holiness prepared the way for the Incarnation. In honoring her, the Church honors the hidden sanctity of those who, by faith and perseverance, participate quietly in the great mysteries of salvation.
“Dearest St. Anne, obtain for me a share in thy humility, faith, and trust. Teach me to wait upon God and to raise holy children for Him.”