St. Anne is the mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the grandmother of Jesus. With her husband, St. Joachim, she is the patron of grandparents, mothers, expectant mothers, women hoping for a child and Christian families. Shrines to St. Anne, especially Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré in Quebec, draw pilgrims from around the world, and many favors have been attributed to her prayers.
Below are two traditional prayers to St. Anne from Catholic prayer books of 1911 and 1925, a prayer for grandparents, a simple novena, and what we know of her life.
Prayer to St. Anne
This prayer is from Father Lasance’s With God (1911):
Glorious St. Anne, thou hast shown thyself so powerful in thy intercession, so tender and compassionate toward those who honor thee and invoke thee in suffering and distress, that I cast myself at thy feet with perfect confidence and beseech thee most humbly and earnestly to take me under thy protection in my present necessities and to obtain for me the favor I desire. Vouchsafe to recommend my request to Mary, thy beloved daughter, the merciful Queen of heaven, that she may plead my cause with you before the throne of Jesus, her divine Son. Cease not to intercede for me until my request is granted. Above all, obtain for me a great love for Jesus and Mary, that my heart may be adorned with their virtues, that I may live a good life and die a happy death, and one day behold my God face to face in the blissful abode of the saints. Amen.
Another prayer to St. Anne
This prayer, indulgenced by Pope Leo XIII in 1886, asks St. Anne to obtain the virtues of a good Christian life and a holy death:
With a heart full of sincere filial veneration, I prostrate myself before thee, O blessed St. Anne. Thou art that beloved and privileged creature who, because of thy extraordinary virtue and sanctity, didst deserve of God that chief of graces of giving life to the treasury of grace, the blessed among women, the Mother of the incarnate Lord, the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Ah! in consideration of such exalted favors deign, O most tender saint, to receive me among the number of thy truly devoted servants, for such I protest myself to be and wish to remain for the rest of my life. Surround me with thy gracious patronage, and obtain for me from God the imitation of those virtues with which thou wert so profusely adorned. Obtain for me a knowledge of my sins and sorrow for them; an ardent love for Jesus and Mary; a faithful and constant observance of the duties of my state of life. Save me from all dangers in life and assist me at the hour of my death, that I may safely reach paradise, there to praise with thee, most happy mother, the Word of God, made man in the womb of thy most pure daughter, the Blessed Virgin Mary. Amen.
Then pray the Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be three times.
A prayer for grandparents
Written for this page:
Saints Joachim and Anne, grandparents of Jesus,
bless all grandparents and the elderly.
Give them health, wisdom and joy,
and make them faithful witnesses of the faith to their grandchildren.
Comfort those who are lonely or sick,
and unite every family in love. Amen.
Since 2021 the Church celebrates the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly on the fourth Sunday of July, near the feast of Sts. Joachim and Anne.
A prayer for a child
Tradition tells that Joachim and Anne waited many years for a child. Many couples hoping for a baby pray to St. Anne. Written for this page:
St. Anne, you waited and prayed for a child,
and God gave you Mary, the Mother of his Son.
Pray for us who long for a child.
Give us patience and hope, and if it is God’s will, the joy of a baby. Amen.
A novena to St. Anne
Pray one of the prayers to St. Anne above daily for nine days, with an Our Father, a Hail Mary and a Glory Be. The traditional novena runs from July 17 to 25, ending on the eve of her feast on July 26.
Who was St. Anne?
The Gospels do not name Mary’s parents. Their names, Joachim and Anne, come from an early Christian writing, the Protoevangelium of James (second century), which tells that after long years without children an angel announced to them the birth of Mary. The Church has honored them since ancient times: a church in Jerusalem near the Pool of Bethesda is dedicated to St. Anne, and devotion to her spread widely in the Middle Ages. Since 1969 the Church celebrates Saints Joachim and Anne together on July 26.
Frequently asked questions
What is St. Anne the patron saint of?
Grandmothers, mothers, expectant mothers, women in labor, childless couples, homemakers, and Quebec and Brittany.
When is St. Anne’s feast day?
July 26, together with St. Joachim.
Where is the shrine of St. Anne?
The best known is the Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré near Quebec City, Canada. Others are in Jerusalem, Auray (Brittany) and Detroit.
More prayers and saints
- Presentation of Mary in the Temple
- Nativity of Mary (September 8)
- St. Gerard prayer for mothers
- Catholic prayer for pregnancy
- Patron saints of the family
- Catholic prayer for family
- The Hail Mary
- Catholic birthday prayers
Texts and sources
- Prayer to St. Anne: F. X. Lasance, With God (1911), Various Other Devotions, public domain (Wikisource).
- Another prayer to St. Anne: Charles J. Callan and John A. McHugh, Blessed Be God (1925), Devotions in Honor of the Saints, public domain (Wikisource).
- The prayers for grandparents and for a child were written for this page.