According
to tradition, Our Lady’s parents were Joachim and Anne to whom, after
years of childlessness, and much prayer, an angel appeared and announced
they would bear a child. Much like Hannah who dedicated her son Samuel
to the service of God (1 Kings), Anne also dedicated Mary to God as a
child. Hence, we find the abundant iconography representing the child
Mary being presented in the Temple.
Eastern tradition of devotion
to the parents of Mary goes back to the sixth century. Relics of St.
Anne were brought from the Holy Land to Constantinople in 710. In the
twelfth century, this devotion reached the West, with Crusaders bringing
back relics of St. Anne to Western Europe.
Two popular shrines
to Saint Anne are that of Ste. Anne D’Auray in Britanny in western
France, and that of St. Anne de Beaupre near Quebec, where countless
mementos hang in thanksgiving for favors and healings granted.
Monday, July 26, 2021
Sts. Joachim and Anne
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