Saint Joachim, Father of the Blessed Virgin

SAINT JOACHIM, FATHER OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN

Feast: July 26

Nothing is known of St. Joachim save what is told in apocryphal literature. He was a man of Galilee, husband of Anne, and both he and Anne were in the decline of life when Mary was born. Tradition relates that while Joachim was away from home he had a vision that Anne was to be blessed with a child, and that on his return home, his wife ran forth to tell of the visitation of an angel who had revealed to her the same good tidings. There was ancient belief that a child born of an elderly mother who had given up hope of having offspring was destined for some high purpose and would be blessed by all the world. Parallels occur in the Old Testament in the cases of Rachel, mother of Joseph, and that of Hannah, mother of Samuel. The traditional tomb of St. Anne and St. Joachim was rediscovered in Jerusalem in 1889.

Saint Joachim, Father of the Blessed Virgin. Scriptural Saint. Celebration of Feast Day is July 26. Taken from "Lives of Saints", Published by John J. Crawley & Co., Inc.