Are Sts. Joachim and Anne mentioned in the Bible?

One of the most highly regarded traditions in the Catholic Church is that the Virgin Mary was born to Sts. Joachim and Anne.

These names have been connected to the Virgin Mary's parents since the very beginning and are inscribed on statues and stained glass windows. Numerous churches are even dedicated to them.

Where did we get these names? Are they included in the Bible?

Interestingly, the names of the Virgin Mary's parents are not found anywhere in the Bible. However, the tradition behind these names dates back to the first centuries of the Church.

The Catholic Encyclopedia explains, "All our information concerning the names and lives of Sts. Joachim and Anne, the parents of Mary, is derived from apocryphal literature, the Gospel of the Nativity of Mary, the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew and the Protoevangelium of James. Though the earliest form of the latter, on which directly or indirectly the other two seem to be based, goes back to about A.D. 150."

While these ancient texts were never included in the Bible, many Christians found parts of them potentially "inspired" by the Holy Spirit and highly revered them.

They kept them and continued to use them to help fill in the gaps of the Bible. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, "In the Orient the Protoevangelium had great authority and portions of it were read on the feasts of Mary by the Greeks, Syrians, Copts, and Arabians."

Furthermore,  It should be borne in mind, however, that the apocryphal character of these writings, that is to say, their rejection from the canon...do not imply that no heed whatever should be taken of some of their assertions...they contain some historical data borrowed from reliable traditions or documents; and difficult though it is to distinguish in them the wheat from the tares, it would be unwise and uncritical indiscriminately to reject the whole."

Eastern Christians were the first to adopt these names and it took many centuries before the Western Church followed in the same tradition.

It's important to keep in mind that while these name may not be historically accurate (we have no way to verify them), what's more important are the people behind them. The Virgin Mary truly did have parents and the Church believes her parents were saints.

What their exact names were is not extremely important. What's important is that they helped prepare the way for the Messiah in their cooperation with God's plan.