#Saint Anne

[koredzas]

Lucas Cranach the Elder - Saint Anne. 1510

[ilongforthewaves]

Is Jesus from France ?

Or how St Anne, his grandmother, became the patron of a random french region.

After catching your eye with this wonderfully crafted title, I will introduce you to the traditions and legends surrounding the cult of St Anne in Bretagne - France, and how they implie Mary and Jesus might have spoken baguette.

Venerated in Europe since the Middle Ages, she quicly became an important figure to christians in Bretagne, the westermost region of France, as shows the Sainte-Anne-du-Palud sanctuary, established in the year 500.

It is commonly admitted that her presence there is due to a syncretism with the celtic godess Dana / Ana, or other local divinities (Ana being an indo-european goddess, venerated across Europe, associated with the representation of the Mother Goddess "Mamm gohz (Grandmother)", mother of all Gods, which could explain the popularity of her cult).

Much later, in 1624, she appeared to Yvan Nicolazic, a farmer, and asked for a chapel to be built in Ker-Ana, where she was worshipped a thousand year ago. While building the chapel, Yvan and his brothers dug up an ancient statue of St Anne, which would later be stolen during the Revolution. After two investigations, the local bishop allowed the cult and soon crowds of pilgrims came to visit the sanctuary and witness conversions and miraculous healings. It is her "only known" apparation.

Many local legends also make her to be born there, in Merléac or Plonévez-Porzay. She is believed to be a local noble or princess, married to a cruel Lord. She fled to Galilee, either travelling all through Europe, or by sea guided by an angel. Some say she fled because she was pregnant, some that she became a mother later on, after meeting St Joachim. Some legends add that she then came back to Armoric, where she accomplished miracles.

Her cult gained even more popularity in 1854 with the dogma of the Immaculate Conception. In july 1914, she is officialy recognized as « Patrona Provinciæ Britanniæ (patron of Brittany province)" by Pope Pius X. The Sainte-Anne-d'Auray sanctuary holds the largest pardon every year, making it the third most important pilgrimage in France, after Lourdes and Lisieux. Pope John-Paul II visited the sanctuary to pray to St Anne in 1996, making him the first Pope to set foot in the region, which Macron would later introduce to Pope Francis as the "French Mafia".

Today, Bretagne or Brittany is one of the most catholic region of France. I can't help but link it to the importance of pardon ceremonies and saint worship, especially Mother Mary and St Anne, which persist even today, and are unique to the region due to the mixing with older celtic beliefs (also that is an opinion i have yet to factcheck :] ). I aslo find it very funny that, acording to those legends, Jesus would be 1/4 French, and very conforting that St Anne and Mary might be from the same region as me, i don't know, it's nice.

Hope you enjoyed learning about those local traditions, I'll link the sources bellow if you want to go further on the topic. Tysm for your time, have an amazing day !

Sources :

Anne, saint patron of Bretagne - Why is St Anne so important in Bretagne ? - St Anne's cult in Bretagne - Who is St Anne ?

[dorrance30]

Saint Anne and The Blessed Virgin Mary.

[d-ovee]

Caravaggio (1571-1610)

Madonna and Child with Saint Anne

[northemoonduringthenight]

Albrecht Dürer (German, 1471-1528) Virgin and Child with Saint Anne (probably 1519)

[overunderground]

Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré in Québec, Canada.

[transistoradio]

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), “The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne and Saint John the Baptist” (c. 1499), charcoal heightened with white chalk on paper, mounted on canvas, 104.6 x 141.5 cm.

[grainelevator]

Looks at u with my big wet eyes

[thevirginofthelillies]

Le voeu à Sainte-anne-d'Auray (The wish to Sainte-anne-d’Auray), William Bouguereau. 1869

[chierotti]

Taking a stroll under the palm trees in Ocho Rios in the Saint Ann parish of Jamaica.

[ilongforthewaves]

-Sainte-Anne-La-Palud sanctuary, Finistère

24 / 04 / 24

[dorrance30]

Saint Anne and The Blessed Virgin Mary.

[cathedralrosary]

If you were wondering, God will find you.

For years I’ve been researching saints and trying to kind of create my own little group of saintly friends to turn to. I’ve struggled so much with mental health, family issues, and loneliness these past few years and trying to find saints who had maybe been through something similar, who could join me in prayer, and who I connected to was a way of coping. And while I have some connections to some saints, those connections didn’t feel super strong. Which makes sense - you have to work to build relationships with anyone, the strongest connections don’t happen overnight.

But all that changed in a class project from last semester. I go to a state university in the US and was in a religion class and ended up with a project relating to Saint Anne. I chose the topic (of St. Anne) from a large list of topics, and it was one of the few options relating to Catholicism (I knew I wanted something Catholic-related if there was that option). As I did that class project (and the subsequent longer-term research project that came from that assignment), I very quickly felt a connection to St. Anne.

I didn’t think much of the connection at first, but I’ve realized over these past few months the ways God has worked to put St. Anne into my life. It wasn’t a random coincidence. The project in that course that led me to St. Anne was only possible because of a new course offering from my university. I just so happened to be taking that course in the right semester, after having to drop out and come back years later due to mental health. My professor said they almost didn’t include St. Anne on the list to choose from, but did for whatever reason and was glad that they did because the work was outstanding. I was able to get a grant (with help from my professor) to study St. Anne in an academic sense (this has only deepened a spiritual connection to her and of course God).

And what I think is most striking, is that for almost a decade, I have struggled with feeling like I don’t really have a grandmother (or grandfather, but that stings less for some reason). My father’s mom died before I was two, and I never met her. My mother’s mother plays favorites with her grandchildren and I was never close to being the favorite; she’s never been very interested in me. But St. Anne, Jesus’ grandmother, has come into my life and has become an incredibly important figure to me. I didn’t even notice it at first. Now I see that Christ worked in his own mysterious way and in his own time to give me his grandmother as a source of comfort and love in my life. Someone who can guide me towards her grandson and fill what has often felt like a void in my life.

God saw my struggles and my desire to grow towards him. He gave me the person I needed so quietly and gently that I didn’t even notice my answered prayers. In a public university, on some random day in September, while I was listening to Spotify, God put St. Anne in my life. You do not need to worry. God will find you.

[spiritualityloves247]

[northemoonduringthenight]

Joachim And Anne Choosing A Lamb For Sacrifice (1512)

[allaboutyoupostnthings]

Heaven's Messenger: Gabriel's Announcement to Mary

In the book of Luke, chapter 1 verse 28, the angel Gabriel’s greets to Mary. He said, “Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.” This greeting is significant as it marks the beginning of the Annunciation, where Gabriel informs Mary that she will conceive and give birth to Jesus, the Son of God. These are the words that start the Hail Mary. The next phrase…