Virgin Mary's father
If you read about the church dedicated to Saint Joachim in Milan here you can find some more information about the saint.
We know from the Biblical texts that he and his wife Anna were in an advanced age and couldn’t have children due to Joachim’s alleged sterility. Therefore he left home and went into the wilderness to pray for a child.
His payers were indeed listened and an angel appeared. Firstly to him and later to Anna, the angel announced that miraculously she will give birth.
Great miracle
When Joachim returned home, Anna was waiting him at the door and gave him the news that she was pregnant. This door later became the golden gate of Jerusalem, a symbol of the Ianua Coeli – Heaven’s Gate.
The name is also both reference for the Conception of the Virgin – with whom the Heaven’s Gate were opened – but also a frequent attribute in the iconography of Saint Joachim and Saint Anne.
Saint Anne and Saint Joachim can be seen as a symbol of the old humanity that opened the fruitfulness of grace. God’s grace was on them and opened the gates of faith and holiness so their story can be seen as a great miracle.
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