Feast of Saints Joachim and Anne – July 26

According to traditions preserved in Christian apocryphal writings from the early centuries (especially in the Proto-Gospel of Saint James), Joachim was a priest in the Temple and his wife Anne was barren. In his despair, he went out into the wilderness and fasted for 40 days. Finally, God heard the prayer of the righteous couple and Anne conceived and bore a daughter whom they called Mary. According to ancient Christian belief, God cleansed Mary of all sin in her mother's womb – this is the belief in the Immaculate Conception. According to tradition, when the child was three years old, her parents brought her to the Temple and she stayed there until she was 12.

One can find the tombs of Joachim and Anne near the Tomb of Mary, at the foot of the Mount of Olives.