Joachim and Anne
The canonical Gospels of the New Testament do not directly mention the parents of the Virgin Mary. The names of Mary’s parents have been passed down through Christian tradition: Joachim (“God grants”) and Anne (“Grace—the gracious one”), as well as the location of their house, in Jerusalem, near the temple. The story of Joachim and Anne appears in the apocryphal Gospel of James, in partly scholarly and partly ordinary text (see the “Protevanelium of James,” 1–4; text in Christian Apocryphal Writings, directed of F. BOVON and P. GEOLTRAIN, La Pléiade, Paris 1997, p. 82–85). This text was probably written around the year 150 AD in Alexandria.
Anne and Joachim were from the tribe of Judah and of the royal line of David. They were rich and owned large herds. They lived a holy life: Joachim is described as a pious man who regularly gave to the poor and to the temple. Despite their fervent prayers, however, they sadly had no children. For the Jews, this was the worst of all curses, and led to Joachim offering to the temple being rejected: as his wife was sterile, the High Priest rejected Joachim and his sacrifice, his wife’s infertility being interpreted as a sign of God’s displeasure.
This greatly distressed Joachim who then withdrew to the desert where he fasted and did penance for forty days and forty nights, saying to himself: “I shall not go down either for food or for drink until the Lord my God visits me; prayer shall be my food and drink.”
According to the Apocrypha, Anne also was greatly distressed, and called upon the Master, saying: “God of my fathers, bless me and hear my prayer, just as you blessed our mother Sarah and gave her a son, Isaac.”
Angels appear to Joachim and Anne to promise them that they would have a child. Anne saw an angel of the Lord standing before her, saying: “Anne, Anne, the Lord God has heard your prayer. You shall conceive and bear children, and your descendants shall be spoken of throughout the world.” And Anne said: “As the Lord God lives, if I beget either male or female, I will bring it as an offering to the Lord my God, and it will minister to Him for all the days of its life.”
At the same time, an angel of the Lord had come down to Joachim, saying: “Joachim, Joachim, the Lord God has heard your prayer. Go down hence. For behold, your wife Anne has conceived.” Joachim returned to Jerusalem, and near the Golden Gate, he found Anne whom he “embraced,” their prayers were heard: Mary, the mother of God, was conceived and her conception is immaculate.
The narratives about Joachim and Anne were included in the Golden Legend of Jacobus de Voragine. They are much represented in Christian art, often by a graceful image of marital love, immortalizing their kiss when they learned that Mary had been conceived.