Image 1 of 1: Saint Anne with the Virgin and Child, South Netherlandish
Saints and feasts
St. Anne
Matron
St. Anne, honored as Mary’s mother and Our Lord’s grandmother, is remembered on July 26. Ancient tradition and centuries of devotion preserve her place in Catholic family prayer.
The reading
ⓘ Supplemental reading source
Novena Regina editorial summary of Frederick Holweck, “St. Anne,” The Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. 1 (1907), transcribed at New Advent.
St. Anne is remembered in Christian tradition as Mary’s mother. Her place in Catholic devotion draws attention to the family into which the Blessed Virgin was born, and through Mary to Jesus Christ.
The canonical Gospels give no biography of Anne or Joachim. Ancient accounts of their prayer and Mary’s birth belong to the tradition surrounding the Holy Family. The Church’s veneration of St. Anne should be distinguished from certainty about every detail in those narratives.
Devotion to her became widespread in both the Eastern and Western Churches. Older Catholic sources record churches, feast days, and shrines in her honor, including St. Anne de Beaupré in Canada. She has especially been invoked by women in childbirth. Her July 26 feast invites families to remember her place in the life of the Blessed Virgin.
Questions about this saint
Is St. Anne named in the Bible?
The canonical Gospels do not name Mary’s parents. The names Anne and Joachim come through ancient Christian tradition and apocryphal writings. The 1907 Catholic Encyclopedia distinguishes these accounts from Scripture.
Who was St. Anne’s husband?
Christian tradition names him Joachim. The familiar account of their childlessness and Mary’s birth comes from the Protoevangelium of James; its narrative details should be identified as tradition.
When is St. Anne’s feast day?
July 26 in the traditional Roman calendar followed here. Her veneration developed over centuries in East and West; the feast was extended to the universal Latin Church in 1584.
Source for these reading notes
The introduction and answers are Novena Regina editorial summaries of the older reference below. The brief life above has its own source citation at the top of the page.
Frederick Holweck, “St. Anne,” The Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. 1 (1907), transcribed at New Advent
Carry this reading into prayer
Prayer to St. Anne
The printed prayer in With God (1911), page 763, asks the intercession of St. Anne; it is not presented as a prayer used by the saint.
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Novena to St. Anne
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St. Anne Novena (Complete 1925 Edition)
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