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. In 1738, it was transferred to the Sunday within the
Octave of the
Assumption of Mary. As part of his effort to allow the liturgy of Sundays to be celebrated,
Pope Pius X (term 1903–1914) transferred it to 16 August, the day after the Assumption, so Joachim may be remembered in the celebration of Mary's triumph. On May 28, 1906, Pope Saint Pius X introduced the
indulgence of 300 days, that can be obtained once a day, for each invocation of "Saint Joachim, spouse of Saint Anne and father of the Blessed Virgin". '', with Joachim wearing a
Jewish hat|left The feast was then celebrated as a
Double of the Second Class, a rank that was changed in 1960 to that of
Second Class Feast. In the
1969 revision of the General Roman Calendar, it was joined to that of Anne, for celebration on 26 July. The
Eastern Orthodox Church and
Eastern Catholic Churches commemorate Joachim on 9 September, the
Synaxis of Joachim and Anne, the day after the
Nativity of Mary. Joachim is
remembered (with Anne) in the
Church of England with a
Lesser Festival on
26 July.
Patronage Joachim is named as the
patron saint of fathers, grandfathers, grandparents, married couples, cabinet makers, and linen traders.
Iconography In medieval art, he often wears a conical
Jewish hat. He is often treated as a saint, with a
halo, but in the
Latin Church, there was some awareness that he had quite likely died too soon to be counted as a Christian.
Joachim and Anne Meeting at the Golden Gate was a popular subject in artistic renditions of the
life of the Virgin. Symbols associated with Saint Joachim include a book or scroll representing linen makers, a
shepherd's staff for the Christian Word, and a basket of doves representing peace. He is almost always clothed in green, the color of hope. ==In Islam==