MIRACULOUS MIRACLES™

Saint — Anne

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St. Anne
1st century BC — 1st century AD
Mother of the Mother of God — Grandmother of Our Lord
Church of St. Anne, Jerusalem (traditional site of her house), Israel
Feast
July 26 (with St. Joachim)
Life

St. Anne is named in the second-century Protoevangelium of James as the mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary, wife of Joachim, of the line of Aaron. Long-childless, she and Joachim prayed at the Temple; an angel announced the conception of a daughter who would be a sign of grace.

She raised Mary at Jerusalem and presented her in the Temple at three (the Eastern feast of the Presentation of the Theotokos). The Gospels do not name her directly; her veneration grew from the earliest Christian centuries through devotion and tradition.

The shrine of Ste-Anne-de-Beaupré in Quebec (founded 1658) and the Breton shrine of Sainte-Anne-d'Auray (1623) are the two great northern centers of her devotion. Both report extensive recorded healings — the votive crutches and ex-votos of Beaupré are among the most striking displays in North American Marian sites.

Miracles & Phenomena

  • Conception of the Virgin Mary

    Born to Anne after long prayer at the Temple — the mother of the Mother of God.

  • Healings at Ste-Anne-de-Beaupré

    Thousands of healings and graces have been attributed to her intercession at the great Quebec shrine; the basilica walls bear votive crutches dating to the 17th century.

Relics
  • Bodily relic
    Wrist relic of St. Anne
    Ste-Anne-de-Beaupré Basilica, Quebec

    A wrist relic of St. Anne, donated by Pope Leo XIII in 1892 and venerated by millions of pilgrims annually.

Iconography
  • St. Anne Teaching the Virgin to Read

    The most-painted scene of Anne — seated, with the child Mary in her lap, opening a book of the Scriptures. The original of the iconographic theme.

Prayers to This Saint
  • Novena to St. AnneNovena

    The nine days before 26 July, with Leo XIII's indulgenced prayer to the mother of the Virgin and the manual's petition 'to obtain some special favour' — 'Good St. Anne, mother of her who is our life, our sweetness, and our hope, pray to her for us.'

    Read the full prayer →
  • Prayer to St. Joachim

    To the father of the Blessed Virgin and grandfather of Christ: 'thou wast chosen from among all the saints to co-operate in the divine mysteries, and enrich the world by bestowing on it the great Mother of God.'

    Read the full prayer →
  • Universal Prayer to St. Anne

    'God the Father loves thee as the mother of His beloved daughter; the Son of God loves thee for having given Him a mother' — the grandmother of Christ addressed by the whole Trinity's reasons at once.

    Read the full prayer →
Patronages
GrandmothersMothersChildless couplesQuebec (province)Brittany
Sources & Further Reading
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