Patron Saints for Grandparents

Grandchildren are a gift from God. Of all grandparents, the most highly blessed were St. Anne and St. Joachim, whose grandson was Jesus Christ and whose feast day is today.

The Gospels make no mention of the Blessed Virgin Mary’s parents, but the Protoevangelium of James, an apocryphal work written about 150, gives us a complete story of Sts. Anne and Joachim. Even in the early centuries of the Church, the Fathers could not sort out what was legendary in this book from what (if anything) was true. Obviously the Blessed Virgin Mary had parents. Considering the extraordinary graces God bestowed upon Mary, it stands to reason that her mother and father were also greatly loved by God. More than that, no one can say with certainty. What follows, then, is the legend of Sts. Anne and Joachim.

Continued here.