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 Madonna and Child Enthroned with Two Angels and Saints Joachim and Anne From Fresco by Francesco Melanzio (1516) Christmas Issue of 2009 (Scott 1433) July 26 marks the Feast of Saints Joachim and Anne, the parents of Mary, the mother of Christ. Although the Gospels of Matthew and Luke provide a telling of the lineage of Christ's family history, there is no direct mention of Mary's family, and there is nothing known factually about them, except that they existed. Even their names come from sources written more than a century after Jesus died.  Joachim and Anne at the Golden Gate By Hans Fries (c. 1512) From Wikimedia Commons, in the Public Domain However, Joachim and Anne represent the ancestors of Mary who "faithfully performed their duties, practiced their faith, and established an atmosphere for the coming of the Messiah". Appropriately, Saints Joachim and Anne are the patron saints of grandparents. Saint Anne is also the patron saint of mothers and women in labor. The stamps issued for Christmas in 2009 come from a work of Renaissance painter Francesco Melanzio entitled Madonna and Child Enthroned with Two Angels and Saints Joachim and Anne. The two stamps of the issue illustrate the entire painting (0.65 euro, shown above) and a close-up of the Madonna and Child (on the 0.60 euro stamp). The individual stamps were issued in sheets of 10 stamps. In addition, a booklet containing a pane of four copies of the 0.65 euro stamp was issued. An event tied to the worldly Grandparents of Jesus Christ is the annual World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly, which falls on the Sunday closest to the Feast of Saints Joachim and Anne. For 2026, the World Day and the feast of the saints coincided yesterday. REFERENCES: |
