Saint Joachim

Joachim was, according to Christian Sacred tradition, the husband of Saint Anne, the father of Mary and grandfather of Jesus. The story of Joachim and Anne first appears in the Gospel of James, part of the New Testament apocrypha. His feast day is 26 July, a date shared with Saint Anne. The story of Joachim, his wife Anne (or Anna), and the miraculous birth of their child Mary, the mother of Jesus, was told for the first time in the 2nd-century apocryphal infancy-gospel the Gospel of James (also called the Protoevangelium of James). Joachim was a rich and pious man, who regularly gave to the poor; however, Charles Souvay, writing in the Catholic Encyclopedia, says that the idea that Joachim possessed large herds and flocks is doubtful. At the temple, Joachim's sacrifice was rejected, as the couple's childlessness was interpreted as a sign of divine displeasure. Joachim consequently withdrew to the desert, where he fasted and did penance for 40 days. Angels then appeared to both Joachim and Anne to promise them a child. Joachim later returned to Jerusalem and embraced Anne at the city gate, located in the Walls of Jerusalem. An ancient belief held that a child born of an elderly mother who had given up hope of having offspring was destined for great things. Parallels occur in the Hebrew Bible in the case of Sarah, the wife of Abraham and mother of Isaac; Hannah, the mother of Samuel; and in the New Testament in the case of the parents of John the Baptist. The cycle of legends concerning Joachim and Anne was included in the Golden Legend (around 1260) by Jacobus de Voragine. This cycle remained popular in Christian art until the Council of Trent (1545–1563) restricted the depiction of apocryphal events. No liturgical celebration of Saint Joachim was included in the Tridentine calendar. It was added to the General Roman Calendar in 1584, for celebration on 20 March, the day after the feast day of Saint Joseph.