Saint Anne

Anna also known as Saint Anne is known by tradition as mother of The Virgin Mary. According to the Gospel of James, Anna and her husband Joachim, after years of childlessness, were visited by an angel who told them that they would conceive a child. Anna promised to dedicate the child to God's service. Joachim and Anna brought Mary to live in the Temple when Mary was about three years old. St. Anne is a patron saint of Quebec, and patroness of women in labor and miners.

The story is similar to the story of Samuel whose mother had also been childless and was named Hannah. The story was not accepted in the Western church until the 13th century although in the Eastern church dedications to Saint Anne date to the sixth century.

In the fourth and fifteenth centuries, a belief arose that Mary was born of Anna by virgin birth. This was denied as an error by the Vatican in 1677.

External Link: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01538a.htm