St Joachim and St Anne (Parents of Our Lady)
.1st C. ~ Joachim and Anne are recognized traditionally as the parents of Mary, but little is known of their lives. They are not mentioned once in the Bible, but their names were derived from an early writing which appears in the “Apocryphal Gospel” called “Protevangelium of James”. It is mentioned in this passage that Joachim was born in Nazareth and he married Anne when both were quite young. They had a very long and happy marriage, but had no children. Once Joachim was publicly reprimanded about their childlessness so he went to the desert to pray and he fasted for forty days. Anne remained at home, praying and grieving. An angel visited her and promised she would give birth to a daughter to be called Mary and she would be the mother of Jesus. It is not known what happened after this event.