About St. Joachim
St. Joachim was the father of the Virgin Mary and husband of St. Anne, though he is not mentioned in the canonical Gospels. Most of what we know about him comes from early Christian tradition and the apocryphal Gospel of James. According to these accounts, Joachim and Anne were a wealthy but childless couple who faced public shame for their inability to conceive. After their prayers were answered with the birth of Mary in their old age, they dedicated her to God’s service in the Temple. Tradition holds that Joachim was of the house of David, making him part of Jesus’s royal lineage. He is often depicted in art embracing his wife Anne at Jerusalem’s Golden Gate, where an angel reportedly told them they would have a child, or shown with the infant Mary. His feast day is celebrated jointly with St. Anne on July 26th in the Catholic Church. Despite limited historical information, his role as the grandfather of Jesus and father of Mary has made him an important figure in Christian devotion, particularly invoked by those struggling with infertility or seeking to become parents.
Prayers & Devotions
