By Zoya João
Saint Anne (Ann, Anna) is the traditional name of the mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Jesus’ grandmother. The name Anne in   Hebrew is Hannah which means grace.

She is the patron saint for grandparents, homemakers/housewives, lost articles, miners, mothers, pregnancy, sterility, childless people and women in labour.
St Anne is recognised by her depiction in a red robe and green mantle, often holding a book. She is also depicted holding the Blessed Virgin Mary who in turn holds an infant Christ. She is also represented teaching the Virgin Mary to read and also with her husband Joachim at their betrothal or their marriage.
Anne was born in Bethlehem, the land where Jesus was born years later. She married Joachim of Nazareth. Their marriage was blessed in many ways and they loved each other very much. Joachim used to supply sheep for sacrifices in the temple
Even after 20 years of marriage Anne and Joachim had no children. They prayed fervently to the Lord seeking a child and promised to dedicate the child they would bear to God. On the Feast of Dedication when Joachim had gone to the temple to offer sacrifice, Ruben and others ridiculed him for not being able to father a child. Hurt by the remarks, he retired to Jerusalem for 40 days to fast and pray to God. As he was praying an angel appeared to him and revealed that the Lord had answered his prayer and would bless him with a child, Mary and to dedicate her to God. As a sign the angel told Joachim that he would meet his wife Anne at the Golden Gate and his sorrows would be turned to joy.
Not knowing where her husband had gone, Anne was worried but the angel of the Lord appeared to her and revealed that the Lord had heard her prayer and as a sign she too would meet Joachim at the Golden Gate in Jerusalem. They met there and joyfully shared the news the angel had revealed. Returning home Anne conceived and bore a daughter   and named her Mary.
Saint Anne led the life of a typical Jewish woman of her time and this simple way of living is seen even today in third world countries including India. This simple way of life includes spending much time in household activities and needs of the family - being very busy from morning to night – spending their time getting water from the well, tending to their children, combing their hair, gathering firewood for cooking, gathering the produce from their gardens and selling it in the market, rearing goats, helping the husband in plantations and above all leading a prayerful life praising and thanking God.
This daily routine in life is spiced with moments of celebration of births and marriages and sad gatherings in times of illness and death.
The devotion to Saint Anne continues till date. S Anne is the patron saint of Brittany (land of sailors) in France and the largest pilgrimage centre in Europe is the shrine of Saint Anne d’Auray. From there on the devotion has spread to Canada, Quebec since 1658, at the shrine of St Anne de Beaupré.
In 1905, the monastery dedicated to St Anne was built over a coal mine at Sancraton, Pennsylvania by the American Passionist priests. This monastery was rocked by mine subsidence and a gigantic slide but through the intercession of St Anne it was restored and now the weekly Saint Ann’ s novena is   held every Monday at the shrine
Her feast day is celebrated on July 26 in the   Western churches and in the Eastern churches on July 25. In the   Western churches her feast is celebrated along with the feast of St Joachim on July 26 and is observed as Grandparents day all over the world
Few houses in Goa have this Saint as their patron saint, and it is our family patron Saint too and we have the main altar consecrated to St Anne where we have traditional novena prayers – Oração de Santa Ana, and Ladainha de Santa Ana
In Goa, the feast of St Anne will be celebrated with great fervour at the Church of St Anne at Talaulim on the August 1 under the pastoral guidance of the parish priest Fr Lourdinho Pereira. This feast is traditionally known as “The Cucumber Feast”. Pepino (cucumber/teoxem), urido (pulse), colher (spoon) are offered by devotees who beseech the blessings of this Saint.
In modern devotions, St Anne and her husband, St Joachim are invoked for protection for the unborn.