Saint Ann
Saint Anne, chosen by God to be the mother of Mary, His own Blessed Mother on earth, was the spouse of Saint Joachim. Ancestor of the Eternal King and High Priest, Joachim was of the royal house of David, while Anne was of Levitical descent. Their lives were wholly occupied with prayer and good works. One thing only was wanting to their union — they were childless, and this was held as a bitter misfortune among the Jews. At length, when Anne was well advanced in age, Mary was born, the fruit rather of grace than of nature, and the child more of God than of man.
With the birth of Mary the holy matron began a new life; she watched Her every movement with reverent tenderness, and, aware of the little one’s destiny, felt herself hourly sanctified by the presence of her Immaculate Child. But she had vowed her daughter to God; to God the child Mary had already consecrated Herself, and to Him Anne gave Her back. Mary was three years old when Anne and Joachim led Her to the Temple steps, saw Her pass by Herself into the inner sanctuary, and then saw Her no more. Thus was Anne left childless in her old age, and deprived of her purest earthly joy. The holiest parents on earth could not, in the plan of God, raise this Child as was needed: Mary had to suffer from Her earliest years. Saint Anne and Saint Joachim humbly adored the Divine Will, and continued to watch and pray, until God called them to unending rest.
France and Canada possess the principal sanctuaries of Saint Anne: in France, at Apt in Provence, and at Auray in Britanny; in Canada at Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré in the Province of Quebec. At Apt the discovery in 792 of Saint Anne’s relics, brought by Lazarus and his two sisters to France, was wholly miraculous, authenticated by the presence of Charlemagne during the discovery, and the signature of Pope Adrian I on the written account of the facts.
"Saint. Anne's feast day is celebrated on July 26. On the Feast of Saint Anne, whom I like to call Jesus’ grandma, is a beautiful day to celebrate grandmothers. While I was incensing I saw something beautiful: the statue of St Anne is not crowned, her daughter, Mary, is crowned. And this is beautiful. St Anne is the woman who prepared her daughter to become queen, to become queen of heaven and earth. This woman did a good job! St Anne, patron saint of Caserta, gathered in this square various parts of the Diocesan Community with the Bishop and with the presence of the civic leaders and representatives of various social organizations. I wish to encourage all of you to experience the feast of the patron saint free of all prejudice, in the pure expression of the faith of a people who recognize themselves as the family of God and which strengthens the bonds of brotherhood and solidarity. Perhaps St Anne heard her daughter Mary proclaim the words of the Magnificat, which Mary surely repeated many times: “He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted those of low degree; he has filled the hungry with good things” (Lk 1:52-53). May she help you to seek the sole treasure, Jesus, and teach you to discover God’s criteria for behaviour; He overturns the world’s judgments and comes in aid of the poor and the small ones and fills the lowly with good things, those who entrust their existence to Him. Have hope, the hope which does not disappoint. And I like to repeat to you: do not let them steal your hope!" (His Holiness, Pope Francis, 2014)
We ask for the intercession of Saint Anne, to watch over our school community in safeguarding our faith, knowledge and imagination!
Saint Anne, pray for us.