Saints Anne and Joachim

26th July

Saint Anne and Saint Joachim were the parents of the Virgin Mary. Their names are not mentioned in the Bible, but their names are based on a Tradition that is found in the writings known as Apocrypha. However, they had a crucial role in God’s plan of salvation for humankind.

It was through them that Mary was born as the only person without the original sin. The Catholic Church celebrates this feast on the 8th December – Immaculate Conception.

These two saints are considered the patron saints of grandparents and the elderly.

Saint Anne and Saint Joachim gave birth to Mary without sin so that she can be the mother of the Son of God. This was God’s plan for them.

With older children one can discuss God’s plan for us (naturally, in a simple way!). God has a plan for every one of us. This is what we call a Vocation.

Start a dialogue with the children:

  • Listen to their thoughts
  • Reinforce positive ideas
  • Help them identify persons that can help/hinder God’s plan for them

Family Prayer Time: During prayer, besides praying for our grandparents, we should also pray for those elderly people who are alone, for those who are no longer visited by their relatives and friends.

Saint Anne and Saint Joachim were Mary’s parents and Jesus’s grandparents! They prayed a lot and were a very lovely family. Because of this, God sent them Mary to be Jesus’s loving mother. These two characters are therefore viewed in relation to the grandparents’ love towards their grandchildren, and vice-versa.

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Today make a beautiful card to your grandparents to show them how much you love them and that you pray for them, and therefore do not forget to write a lovely message!

Those children without grandparents can still prepare a card addressed to an elderly member of their family, an aunt/uncle of their parents that they have not seen in a while.

While we are during the holidays, we can go visit them to give them the card and also to spend some time with them, or maybe even to help them with some chores or to listen to some stories they would like to share with us.

If they are living in a retirement home for the elderly, we can prepare more than one card with positive thoughts so as to pass them on to our grandparents’ friends.

If we got to know elderly persons from our parish church, we should look to talk with them whenever we get the opportunity to do so. A smile or a “Good morning!” can mean a lot to them. We should not let too many days go by without contacting our grandparents or other elderly relatives and friend. If we cannot visit them, we should call them and show them that they are in our thoughts.

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How to use this space

God speaks to us in many ways, including through the Saints of the Church. Here you will find useful background and activities to better understand the holy life, helping you to connect the saints to daily life in a meaningful way.