St. Anne
Feast 07-26 · Canonized Pre-Congregation
Patron of
About
Anne is honored as the mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the grandmother of Jesus. She is not mentioned in the Bible, but her story is told in the apocryphal Protoevangelium of James, which describes her and her husband Joachim as a devout couple who suffered many years of childlessness before God blessed them with a daughter, Mary.
Devotion to Anne developed early in the Eastern Church and spread throughout the West in the Middle Ages. She is especially venerated in France, where the shrine of Sainte-Anne-d'Auray and the basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré in Canada draw many pilgrims.
As the mother of Mary, Anne is a natural patron of mothers, grandmothers, and women hoping to conceive. She is also invoked by those who care for children and by homemakers.
Suggested prayer
O God, who after long years of waiting blessed Anne with the daughter who would bear the Savior, grant through her intercession that mothers and grandmothers may raise their children in faith and love. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
