Women in History: Lessons from Saint Anne

For Holy Women's History Month, Patrice Fagnant-MacArthur explains how Saint Anne became an unexpected patron saint and worthy role model.

An Unexpected Blessing

I would love to say that when I was 16 years old, I picked my Confirmation saint name with great intention and love for my new patron saint. Alas, I was a huge Anne of Green Gables fan and picked the name because I wanted to take after “Anne-with-an-E.” The fact that Saint Anne, the mother of Mary and grandmother of Jesus, was a worthy role model was a secondary consideration.

However, as is sometimes said, sometimes our patron saints pick us, and I feel that this is truly one of those cases. While at 16, I didn’t feel much in common with her, Saint Anne would come to be more important to me once I was married and became a mother. It was coincidental that I got married on the eve of her feast day, but I took it as a good sign that Saint Anne was looking out for me in my marriage. In the years since, she has become a heavenly friend whom I ask for help from daily.

A Hidden Life

Saint Anne is not mentioned at all in Scripture, but tradition holds that she and her husband, Joachim, were childless for some time before conceiving Mary. The couple promised to offer their daughter to God and brought her to the temple at a young age to be educated. Little is known about Saint Anne’s life, but we can presume she lived as a faithful Jewish wife and mother.

Was she aware of how special her daughter was or the role she would play in salvation history? Or did Saint Anne simply try to do the best she could each day, ignorant of the plans God had for her and her family? How did she feel when Mary came to her with the story of the angel and her miraculous pregnancy?

A spiritual director once suggested to me that perhaps Saint Anne was the one who encouraged Mary to visit her cousin Elizabeth to avoid the danger of being unwed and pregnant in their community. While there is no way to know, it sounds like something a worried mother would do.

This hidden saint offers an example for all of us who live quiet lives caring for our families. I ask for her help daily to watch over my children and help me be a good mother. God trusted Saint Anne to be the grandmother of His son. He had amazing plans for her and her family, even if she didn’t realize it at first. Saint Anne reminds me to do the best I can each day and to remember that God is in charge of the bigger story of my family.

A Patron Saint of Homeschooling

If anyone had asked sixteen-year-old me if I would homeschool my future children, I would have been dumbfounded. First of all, back in 1991, I wasn’t even aware of homeschooling. Second, why wouldn’t my kids go to school? Homeschooling my children was definitely not in the life plan. But God laughed, and I’ve ended up homeschooling for eighteen years and counting. Once I became a homeschooler, I began to relate to Saint Anne in a deeper way.

Saint Anne is often pictured teaching the Blessed Virgin Mary as a child. As a parent and then as a homeschooler, I came to love that image, even more so when I had a daughter of my own. She is a patron saint of teaching one’s children (something all mothers do). Saint Anne was helping to prepare Mary for her future role in life, one in which she would teach the Son of God. Our children also have a God-given role to play in the world, and it is our job to prepare them for it.

I have a print of Saint Anne teaching the Blessed Mother in my bedroom, which I love, but I was even more excited when, about ten years ago, I found a garden statue with that image on Amazon. It brings me great joy every time I see it among my flowers. It serves as a friendly reminder of Saint Anne’s help in my life and that I should embrace my role as a homeschooling mom.

Saint Anne, pray for us!

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Copyright 2026 Patrice Fagnant-MacArthur
Images: (banner) Trinity Mirror / Mirrorpix / Alamy Stock Photo; iStockPhoto.com, licensed for use by Holy Cross Family Ministries

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