Coordinates	33°51′35.9″N151°12′40″N
Show name	Maronite Church
Founder	Maron, AD 410; John Maron, 7th century
Recognition	Catholic Church, Eastern Catholic Churches
Territory	Syria, Lebanon, USA, Israel, Australia, Brazil
Possessions	—
Language	Syriac (liturgy), Arabic (used to be exclusively Syriac)
Population	3,500,000
Website	}}

The Maronite Syriac Church of Antioch ( ''''; '' al-kanīsa al-antākīyya al-seryānīyya al-mārwnīyya''; ) is an Eastern Catholic Church in full communion with the Holy See of Rome (in other words, Maronites are part of the Catholic Church). It traces its heritage back to the community founded by Maron, a 4th-century Syriac monk venerated as a saint. The first Maronite Patriarch, John Maron, was elected in the late 7th century. Although reduced in numbers today, Maronites remain one of the principal ethno-religious groups in Lebanon. The Maronite Church asserts that it has always remained true to Church of Rome.

Before the conquest by Arabian Muslims reached Lebanon, the Lebanese people including those who would become Muslim and the majority who would remain Christian, spoke a dialect of Aramaic. Syriac (Christian Aramaic) still remains the liturgical language of the Maronite Church. The members of the Maronite Church are a part of the Syriac people; though they have, over time, developed a distinctive Maronite character, this has not obscured their Antiochene and Syriac origin.

History

The followers of Jesus Christ first became known as "Christians" in Antioch (Acts 11:26), and the city became a center for Christianity - especially after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. According to Catholic tradition, the first Bishop was Saint Peter before his travels to Rome. The third Bishop was the Apostolic Father Ignatius of Antioch. Antioch became one of the five original Patriarchates (the Pentarchy) after Constantine recognized Christianity.

St. Maron, a fourth-century monk and the contemporary and friend of St. John Chrysostom, left Antioch for the Orontes River to lead an ascetic life, following the traditions of Anthony the Great of the Desert and Pachomius. Many of his followers also lived a monastic lifestyle. Following the death of Maron in 410 AD, his disciples built a monastery in his memory and formed the nucleus of the Maronite Church.

The Maronites held fast to the beliefs of the Council of Chalcedon in 451 AD. When 350 monks were slain by the Monophysites of Antioch, the Maronites sought refuge in the mountains of Lebanon. Correspondence concerning the event brought papal and orthodox recognition of the Maronites, which was solidified by Pope Hormisdas (514-523 AD) on February 10, AD 518. A monastery was built around the shrine of St. Maro after the Council of Chalcedon.

The martyrdom of the Patriarch of Antioch in the first decade of the seventh century, either at the hands of Persian soldiers or local Jews, left the Maronites without a leader, a situation which continued because of the final and most devastating Byzantine–Sassanid War of 602–628. In the aftermath of the war, the Emperor Heraclius propagated a new Christological doctrine in an attempt to unify the various Christian churches of the east who were divided over accepting the Council of Chalcedon. This doctrine, monothelitism, was meant as a compromise between supporters of Chalcedon, like the Maronites, and opponents, like the Jacobites. Instead this new doctrine caused greater controversy, and was declared a heresy at the Sixth Ecumenical Council in 680-681. Contemporary Greek and Arab sources, however, claimed that the Maronites accepted monothelitism, rejected the sixth council, and continued to maintain a belief in the largely discredited monothelete doctrine for centuries, only moving away from monothelitism in the time of the crusades in order to avoid being branded heretics by the crusaders. The modern Maronite Church, however, rejects the assertion that the Maronites were ever monothelites, and the question remains a major controversy to this day.

In 687 AD, the Emperor Justinian II agreed to evacuate many thousands of Maronites from Lebanon and settle them elsewhere. The chaos and utter depression which followed led the Maronites to elect their first Patriarch, John Maroun, that year. This, however, was seen as a usurpation by the Orthodox churches. Thus, at a time when Islam was rising on the borders of the Byzantine Empire and a united front was necessary to keep out Islamic infiltration, the Maronites were focused on a struggle to retain their independence against imperial power. This situation was mirrored in other Christian communities in the Byzantine Empire and helped facilitate the Muslim conquest of most of Eastern Christendom by the end of the century.

Muslim rule

After they came under Arab rule following the Muslim conquest of Syria, the Maronites experienced an improvement in their relationship with the Byzantine Empire. The imperial court, seeing its earlier mistake, saw an advantage in the situation. Thus, Byzantine Emperor Constantine IV provided direct ecclesiastical, political and military support to the Maronites. The new alliance soon coordinated devastating raids on Muslim forces, providing a welcome relief to besieged Christians throughout the Middle East. Some of the Maronites relocated to Mount Lebanon at this time and formed several communities that became known as the Marada. That is from the view of 17th century Patriarch Estephan El Douaihy (also known as Stephane Al Doueihi Arabic: أسطفان الدويهي‎, “The Father of Maronite History” and the “Pillar of the Maronite Church”).

Another view is of Ibn al-Qilaii, a Maronite scholar from the 16th century who proposed that Maronites fled Muslim persecutions of the Umayyads in the late 9th century AD.

The most widely accepted theory postulates that the Maronites fled Jacobite monophysite persecution, because of Monothelite heresy as advanced by Sergius of Tyr, a scholar of the 10th century AD. It is most probable, because nearly all the sects became Monothelite after that it was introduced by Patriarch Sergius I of Constantinople. The Maronite migration to the mountains took place over a long period, but its peak must have been during the 7th century.

Around AD 1017, a new Muslim sect emerged calling themselves the Druze. At this time, the Maronites, as dhimmi, were required to wear black robes and black turbans, so as to be easily identified; they were also forbidden to ride horses.

It was late in the 11th century when the Crusaders made their way to the lands of the Levant to overthrow Islamic rule; on their way, they passed through Lebanon, where they came across the Maronites. The Maronites had been largely cut off from the rest of the Christian world for around 400 years. The Church in Rome had been unaware that the Maronites were still in existence. The crusaders and Maronites established ties and from this point provided each other with mutual assistance.

After AD 637, the Maronites were effectively isolated from Christians of the Byzantine Empire and Western Europe. As a result, they appointed their own Patriarch, starting with John Maron, who had been a bishop of Batroun, Mount Lebanon. Through him, the Maronites of today claim full apostolic succession through the See of Antioch. Nonetheless, controversy surrounds this claim as some Maronites have been accused of having fully adopted the Monothelite heresy; this led to a number of civil wars (e.g. 1282 and 1499 AD).

Following the conquest of Eastern Christendom outside of Anatolia and Europe by the Muslims, and the establishment of secured lines of control between Islamic Caliphs and Byzantine Emperors, little was heard from the Maronites for 400 years. Secure in their mountain strongholds, it was not until the crusader Raymond of Toulouse on his way to conquer Jerusalem in the Great Crusade that the Maronites were re-discovered in the mountains near Tripoli, Lebanon. Raymond later returned to besiege Tripoli after his conquest of Jerusalem and relations between the Maronites and European Christianity were re-established.

Crusades

During the Crusades in the 12th century AD, Maronites assisted the Crusaders and affirmed their affiliation with the Holy See in 1182 AD. Consequently, from this point onwards, the Maronites have upheld an unbroken ecclesiastical orthodoxy and unity with the Catholic Church. To commemorate their communion, Maronite Patriarch Youseff Al Jirjisi received the crown and staff marking his patriarchal authority, from Pope Paschal II in 1100 AD. In 1131, Maronite Patriarch Gregorious Al Halati received letters from Pope Innocent II in which the Papacy recognized the authority of the Patriarchate.

It was in the 17th century AD when Western religious groups started settling in Lebanon. The migration began in 1626 with the Capuchins, followed by the Jesuits. The groups moving at this time did this in order to serve the Lebanese, opening schools for the Maronite people until there was a school next to each church. This made it possible for the Maronites to acquire a formal education. The Maronites were on the forefront of the cultural Renaissance in the Middle East.

However, connection to Rome was arduously maintained and through diplomacy and maneuvering, European powers helped keep the Maronite community from destruction. Eventually, a Maronite College was established at Rome on July 5, 1584. From this college, the Maronite community obtained some valuable assistance in maintaining their Christian identity. In 1610, the Maronite monks of the Monastery of Saint Anthony of Qozhaya imported one of the first printing presses in what is known as the Arabic-speaking world; however that press was printing in the Syriac language and not Arabic. The monasteries of Lebanon would later become key players in the Arabic Renaissance of the late 19th century as a result of developing Arabic, as well as Syriac, printable script.

Ottoman rule

Following the defeat of the Mamelukes by the Ottoman Empire, and to reward their new Druze ally who fought with them in the battle of Marj Dabek (1516), the Ottomans rewarded Prince Fakher el Din al Maani I, with the Principality of Lebanon, where he established a Druze-Maronite alliance lasting for hundreds of years; this prosperous principality would be the base of the modern Lebanese Republic.

The Maronites were partners in governing the new principality; often the post of Moudabbir (roughly Prime Minister) and the post of Army Commander were given to a Maronite, usually a Khazen or a Hobeich of Keserwan. During this period (1516-1840), the Maronites started returning to southern Mount Lebanon, where they had lived before they were almost exterminated by the Mamelukes in 1307. Thus, the historic Keserwan and all the Druze mountains were repopulated. It was this love and affection between the Maronites and Druze that helped establish the Lebanese identity.

On July 15, 1584, a Maronite college was established in Rome, with Pope Gregory hosting the grand opening.

Fakhr-al-din II, who was said to have been brought up by a Maronite el Khazen family, fought for Lebanese independence for over 50 years. In the mid-16th century, 25,000 Ottoman troops launched an attack on Lebanon. During the ensuing battles, Fakhr and three of his sons were captured; they were subsequently executed in Istanbul on the 13th day of April 1635.

In 1638, France declared that it would protect all Catholics within the Ottoman Empire, including the Maronites.

In 1856, the Maronites' uprising took place against governor (Dawood Pasha). Youssef Karam was the son of Sheikh Boutros Karam, at that time the Sheikh was lord of Ehden and surrounding district.

In 1997, Pope John Paul II visited Lebanon to give hope to Lebanese Catholics. He said, "Lebanon is more than a country, it is a message."

Organization

The head of the Maronite Church is the Maronite Patriarch of Antioch, who is elected by the Maronite bishops and resides in Bkerké, close to Jounieh, north of Beirut (the Maronite Patriarch resides in the northern town of Dimane during the summer months). The current Patriarch (since March 2011) is Bechara Boutros Rahi, while Cardinal Mar Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir is Patriarch Emeritus. When a new patriarch is elected and enthroned, he requests ecclesiastical recognition by the Pope, thus maintaining their communion with the Holy See. As an Eastern patriarch, the patriarch is usually created a Cardinal by the Pope in the rank of a Cardinal Bishop; he does not receive a suburbicarian see, since he is a head of a sui iuris Church.

Maronites share the same doctrine as other Catholics, but they retain their own liturgy, theology, spirituality, discipline and hierarchy. Strictly speaking, the Maronite church belongs to the Antiochene tradition and is a West Syro-Antiochene Rite. Syriac is the liturgical language. Nevertheless, they are considered, to be among the most Latinized of the Eastern Catholic Churches although there have been moves to return to Eastern practices.

Cardinal Sfeir's personal commitment accelerated liturgical reforms in the 1980s and 1990s, bearing fruit in 1992 with the publication of a new Maronite Missal. This represents an attempt to return to the original form of the Antiochene Liturgy, removing the liturgical Latinization of past centuries. The Service of the Word has been described as far more enriched than in previous missals, and it features six Anaphoras (Eucharistic Prayers).

Celibacy is not strictly required for Maronite deacons and priests outside of North America with parishes; monks, however, must remain celibate, as well as bishops who are normally selected from the monasteries. Due to a long-term understanding with their Latin counterparts in North America, Maronite priests in that area are expected to remain celibate. The bishops who serve as eparchs and archeparchs of the eparchies and archeparchies (the equivalent of diocese and archdiocese in the Latin Catholic Church) are answerable to the Patriarch.

Eparchies

The church has twenty six eparchies and patriarchal vicariats as follows:

In Lebanon: Zahleh, Tyre, Tripoli, Sidon, Sarba (vicariat), Jounieh (vicariat), Zgharta (vicariat), Joubbeh (vicariat), Jbeil, Beirut, Batroun, Baalbeck and Deir el Ahmar and Antelias

In Syria: Latakia, Damascus and Aleppo

In Israel: Haifa, Holy Land and the Patriarchal Vicar

Elsewhere: Cyprus, Cairo, Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo, Sydney, Montreal, Mexico, Los Angeles and Brooklyn

Population

Group	Maronites
Population	3,500,000
Founder	Disciples of Saint Maroun (A.D. 410)
Region1
Pop1	1,062,000
Region2
Pop2	750,000
Region3
Pop3	550,000
Region4
Pop4	215,000
Region5
Pop5	160,000
Region6
Pop6	150,000
Region7
Pop7	85,000
Region8
Pop8	52,100
Region9
Pop19	52,000
Region10
Pop10	25,000
Region11
Pop11	10,500
Region12
Pop12	2,500
Region13
Pop13	6,700
Region14
Pop14	5,400
Region15
Pop15	5,300
Region16
Pop16	5,000
Region17
Pop17	3,400
Region18
Pop18	2,470
Region19
Pop19	2,000
Langs	Vernacular:Lebanese Arabic, Cypriot Maronite Arabic Liturgical:Syriac, Aramaic
Scrips	Bible }}

Origins

A number of Maronite historians claim that the Maronites were the descendants of the Marada (''ܡܪܕܐ''), the original inhabitants of Lebanon who refused both Byzantine and Arab authorities. The reason for their adoption of the name is disputed and historian disagree whether this is attributed to Mar Maron, a 4th century Syriac saint, or to John Maron, the first bishop of Lebanon.

Numbers

The exact worldwide Maronite population is not exactly known, being estimated at more than 3 million, according to the Catholic Near East Welfare Association.

Lebanon

Based on a 2007 report, there are approximately 930,000 Maronites in Lebanon, where they constitute up to 22% of the population. According to an agreement between the various political and religious leaders of Lebanon, the president of the country must be a Maronite.

Syria

Syrian Maronites total 51,000 and they follow the archdioceses of Aleppo and Damascus and the Diocese of Latakia.

Cyprus

There is also a Maronite community in Cyprus, which speaks Cypriot Maronite Arabic. They are a recognized religious minority on the island and the community elects a representative to sit in the House of Representatives to voice their interests. They are descended from those Maronites who accompanied the crusaders, although more recent Lebanese immigrants are often included as part of the community, which now numbers 10,000.

Israel

A noticeable Maronite community exists in northern Israel, numbering 7,504, composed of the long existing community in Jish area, and former recent fugitives (mostly SLA militia members and their families) who fled South Lebanon to Galilee in April-May 2000.

Diaspora

The two residing eparchies in the United States have issued their own "Maronite Census", designed to estimate how many Maronites reside in the United States. Many Maronites have been assimilated into Western Catholicism as there were no Maronite parishes or priests available. The "Maronite Census" was designed to locate these Maronites. There are also eparchies at São Paulo in Brazil; and in Argentina, Australia, Canada and Mexico.

Genetic Studies in Lebanon

A study in the genetic marker of the Phoenicians led by Pierre Zalloua, showed that the Phoenician genetic marker was found in 1 out of 17 males in the region surrounding the Mediterranean and Phoenician trading centers such as the Levant, Tunisia, Morocco, Cyprus, and Malta. The study focused on the male Y-chromosome of a sample of 1,330 males from the Mediterranean. Colin Groves, biological anthropologist of the Australia National University in Canberra says that the study does not suggest that the Phoenicians were restricted to a certain place, but that their DNA still lingers 3,000 years later.

In Lebanon, almost 1 in 3 of Lebanese carry the Phoenician gene in their DNA. This Phoenician signature is distributed equally among different groups (both Christians and Muslims) in Lebanon and that the overall genetic makeup of the Lebanese was found to be similar across various backgrounds. The Phoenician gene in this study refers to haplogroup J2 plus the haplotypes PCS1+ to PCS6+, however the study also states that the Phoenicians also likely had other haplogroups.

In addition, the study found that the J2 ("old levantine haplogroup") was found in an "unusually high proportion" (about 20-30%) among Levantine people such as the Syrians, Lebanese, and the Palestinians. The ancestor haplogroup J is common to about 50% of the Arabic-speaking people of the Southwest Asian portion of the Middle East. A Lebanese Christian who was tested as having the J2 haplogroup stated that "It carries no big meaning," and added he views himself as "Lebanese, Arab and Christian -- in that order."

Another Lebanese citizen tested stated he would be "very proud" to discover he had Phoenician roots."I will be more than happy to have Phoenician roots," said Nabil. Phoenicians started the civilization, they are the ones who invented the alphabet, I would be very proud to be a Phoenician," he adds. Dr Pierre Zalloua says the project's discovery is a "truly unifying message".

He explained,"I think it's a truly unifying message, and for me its very gratifying. Lebanon has been hammered by so many divides, and now a piece of heritage has been unravelled in this project which reminds us that maybe we should forget about differences and pay attention to our common heritage," stated Dr. Pierre Zalloua.

Names

Modern Maronites often adopt French or other Western European given names (with biblical origins) for their children like Michel, Marc, Marie, Georges, Carole, Charles, Antoine and Pierre.

Given names of Arabic origins identical with those of their Muslim neighbors are also common, such as Khalil, Samir, Salim, Jameel, Hisham, or Toufic. Other common names are strictly Christian and are Aramaic, or Arabic, forms of biblical, Hebrew, or Greek Christian names, such as Antun (Anthony or Antonios), Butros (Peter), Boulos (Paul), Semaan or Shamaoun (Simon), Jergyes (George), Elie (Ilyas or Elias), Iskander (Alexander) and Beshara (literally Good News in reference to the Gospel). Other common names are Sarkis (Sergius) and Bakhos (Bacchus), while others are common both among Christians and Muslims, such as Youssef (Joseph) or Ibrahim (Abraham).

Some Maronite Christians are named in honour of Maronite saints, including the Aramaic names Maroun (after their patron saint, Maron), Nimtullah, Charbel and Rafqa.

Persecution & struggle

Maronite Christians felt fear and exclusion from Pan Arabism in Lebanon. Part of its historic suffering is the Damour massacre by the PLO, which was a response to the Karantina massacre by Phalangist Christians. Until recently, the Cyprus Maronites battle to preserve their ancestral language. The Maronite monks maintain that Lebanon is synonymous with Maronite history and ethos; that its Maronitism antedates the Arab conquest of Syria and Lebanon and that Arabism is only a historical accident.

See also

Cross of All Nations

Cypriot Maronite Arabic

Maron

List of Maronites

Hbaline

List of Maronite Patriarchs

Lebanese Christian Nationalism: The Rise and Fall of an Ethnic Resistance

Saint George: Devotions, traditions and prayers

References

Monasterio San Charbel Caracas Venezuela

Further reading

Moosa, Matti, ''The Maronites in History'', Gorgias Press, Piscataway, NJ, 2005, ISBN 978-1-593-33182-5

R. J. Mouawad, ''Les Maronites. Chrétiens du Liban'', Brepols Publishers, Turnhout, 2009, ISBN 978-2-503-53041-3

Kamal Salibi - ''A House of Many Mansions - The History of Lebanon Reconsidered'' (University of California Press, 1990).

''Maronite Church''. ''New Catholic Encyclopedia'', Second Edition, 2003.

Riley-Smith, Johnathan - ''The Oxford Illustrated History of the Crusades'' (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1995)

External links

Maronite History Project — a Maronite encyclopedia wiki

The Druzes and the Maronites under the Turkish Rule from 1840 to 1860 Cornell University Library Historical Monographs Collection.

Catholic Culture: News — Maronite population discussed

Maronite hierarchy

The Maronite Patriarchate at Bkerké

Eparchies

Maronite Rite diocese based in Sydney, Australia

Eparchy of Saint Maron of Brooklyn

Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon

Church organizations

Congregation of the Lebanese Maronites Missionnaries

The Maronite Monks of Adoration, Most Holy Trinity Monastery — monastery in Massachusetts

Category:Maronites Category:Christian communities Category:Christianity in Lebanon Category:Lebanese society Category:Eastern Catholicism Lebanon Category:Ethnoreligious groups

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Coordinates	33°51′35.9″N151°12′40″N
Name	Saint Anne
Feast day	July 26 (Western calendar) and July 25 (Eastern calendar)
Venerated in	ChristianityIslamAglipayan Church
Birth place	c. 1st century B.C.E.
Titles	Mother of the Virgin, Mystic, Maternal Heroine, Woman of Amram
Attributes	Book, door, with Mary, Jesus or Joachim
Patronage	carpenters; childless people; equestrians; grandparents; homemakers/housewives; lace makers; lost articles; Fasnia(Tenerife); Mainar; Detroit; miners; mothers; moving house; old-clothes dealers; poverty; pregnancy; seamstresses; stablemen; sterility
Issues	}}

Saint Hanna (also Ann or Anna, from Hebrew Hannah חַנָּה, meaning "favor" or "grace") of David's house and line, was the mother of the Virgin Mary and grandmother of Jesus Christ according to Christian and Islamic tradition. English ''Anne'' is derived from Greek rendering of her Hebrew name Hannah. Mary's mother is not named in the canonical gospels or the Qur'an.

Church tradition

The story bears a similarity to that of the birth of Samuel, whose mother Hannah had also been childless. Although Hanna receives little attention in the Western church prior to the late 12th century, dedications to Hanna in the Eastern church occur as early as the 6th century. In the Eastern Orthodox Churches and Eastern Catholic Churches, she is revered as Hanna. In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, Hanna, is ascribed the title ''Forbear of God'', and both the Birth of Mary and the Dedication of Mary to the Temple are celebrated as two of the Twelve Great Feasts. The Dormition of Hanna is also a minor feast in the Eastern Church.

Islamic view of Anne

Anne (Arabic: ''Hannah'') is also a revered woman in Islam, and she is recognized as a highly spiritual woman and the mother of Mary. The daughter of Faqud, Hannah was childless until her old age. She saw a bird feeding its young while sitting in the shade of a tree, which made her want children of her own. She prayed for a child and eventually conceived. Her husband, known as Imran in the Qur'an, died before the child was born. Expecting the child to be male, Hannah vowed to dedicate him to isolation and the service in the Temple. However, Hannah bore a daughter instead, and she named her Mary. Her words after the birth of Mary reflect her status as a great mystic. Hannah wanted a son, but she realized that the daughter was God's gift to her.

Legends

Varying theologians have believed either that Joachim was Anne's only husband or that she was married thrice. Ancient belief, attested to by a sermon of St John Damascene, was that Anne married once. In late medieval times, legend held that Anne was married three times, first to Joachim, then to Clopas and finally to a man named Solomas and that each marriage produced one daughter: Mary, mother of Jesus, Mary of Clopas, and Mary Salomae, respectively. The sister of Saint Hanna was Sobe who was the mother of Saint Elizabeth.

Similarly, in the 4th century and then much later in the 15th century, a belief arose that Mary was born of Anne by virgin birth. Those believers included the 16th century mystic Valentine Weigel who claimed Anne conceived Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit. This belief was also condemned as an error by the Catholic Church in 1677. Instead, the Church teaches that Mary was conceived in the normal fashion, but that she was miraculously preserved from original sin in order to make her fit to bear Christ. The conception of Mary free from original sin is termed the Immaculate Conception—which is frequently confused with the Virgin Birth or Incarnation of Christ.

Ann in art

The iconographic subject of Joachim and Anne ''The Meeting at the Golden Gate'' fitted both views, and was a regular component of artistic cycles of the Life of the Virgin. The couple meet at the "Golden Gate" of Jerusalem and embrace. They are aware of Anne's pregnancy, of which they have been separately informed by an archangel. For those believing in the virgin birth of Mary, this moment stood for her conception, and the feast was celebrated on the same day as the Immaculate Conception. The Birth of Mary, the Presentation of Mary and the Marriage of the Virgin were usual components of cycles of the Life of the Virgin in which Anne is normally shown.

Anne is never shown as present at the Nativity of Christ, but is frequently shown with the infant Christ in various subjects. She is sometimes believed to be depicted in scenes of the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple and the Circumcision of Christ but in the former case this likely reflects a misidentification through confusion with Anna the Prophetess. Anne is described in Luke's Gospel as a holy widow who recognizes Jesus as the Messiah at his Presentation, along with Simeon the Righteous and both frequently appear in artistic depictions of the story. There was a tradition that Anne went (separately) to Egypt and rejoined the Holy Family after their Flight to Egypt. Anne is not seen with the adult Christ, so was regarded as having died during the youth of Jesus. Anne is also shown as the matriarch of the Holy Kinship, the extended family of Jesus, a popular subject in late medieval Germany. In modern devotions, Anne and her husband are invoked for protection for the unborn.

Patronage

Ann is the patron saint of the following places: Detroit, Michigan; Brittany, France; Castelbuono, Sicily, Italy; Quebec and the Mi'kmaq peoples of Canada; Fasnia; Adjuntas, Puerto Rico; Norwich, Connecticut; Santa Ana Pueblo; Santa Ana, El Salvador; Jucuarán, El Salvador; Seama, New Mexico; Taos, New Mexico; Chiclana de la Frontera, Spain; Marsaskala; Tudela, Navarre; Philippines, where the National Shine of St. Anne is in the poblacion of Hagonoy, Bulacan; Santana, São Paulo, Brazil; Saint Anne, Illinois; and places in Malaysia and South Vietnam. She is also the patron saint of horseback riders, housewives, grandmothers, cabinet makers, unmarried women, women in labor and miners.

Düren has been the main place of pilgrimage for Anne since 1506, when Pope Julius II decreed that her relics should be kept there.

Cities

The city of Santa Ana, California was named in her honour. Many schools and places of worship are named after St Anne, the most famous being a parish church and primary school in Caversham, Reading.

Gallery

See also

Anna (Bible)

Notes

References

External links

Saint Anne at Patron Saints Index

Brief American Catholic article on "Sts. Joachim and Ann"

"Anna, Grandmother of Jesus" by Claire Heartsong

Category:Mary (mother of Jesus) Category:Eastern Orthodox saints Category:Saints from the Holy Land Category:1st-century Christian female saints Category:Anglican saints Category:Angelic visionaries

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