Holy Anne

Life

The life of holy Anne was inspired by that of Hannah and his/her son, the Samuel prophet in the Old Testament. After a twenty years marriage without children with Joachim (Hebrew: Jojakim), Anne gave birth to Marie. According to the tradition, they had made a wish and carried out Marie when it was three years old with the Temple with Jerusalem so that it was educated there.

Worship

In 550, one built a church with Constantinople with the honor of holy Anne. The end of the Moyen-âge saw the apogee of sound Culte what one can see for example in the multitude of the statues showing Anne, Marie and the Jesus child, called " trinities mariales" , in opposition to the Holy Trinity. In 1481, the pope Sixte IV made add the solemn festival of holy Anne to the calendar. In 1584, the pope Gregoire XIII fixed his solemn festival at the July 26th and officialized its worship. But the Church prohibits the representation of the trinities mariales to avoid confusion with the Trinité with the theological direction.

The " grandmother of Bretons"

In Breton, holy Anne is called “ Mamm gozh rear Vretoned ”, i.e. the grandmother of the Bretons. Legends describe it like originating in Plonévez-Porzay. Anatole Braz publishes an account in which Anne is married with a cruel and jealous lord, who prohibits to him to have children. When it falls pregnant, it drives out it castle of Moëllien. Its wandering with the small Marie leads it to the beach of Tréfuntec where an angel waits, close to a boat. According to the will of God, the angel brings it until in Judaea. Many years later, Marie wife Joseph and becomes the mother of the Christ. Anne returns in Brittany to finish her life in the prayer there and distributes her goods to the poor. Always according to this legend, Christ comes to visit him, accompanied by her disciples Pierre and Jean, and asks him its blessing, before turning over in Holy Land. Its body would have disappeared after its death, but of the fishermen would have found a statue with its bay effigy of Douarnenez.

But this is only one legend. Another legend says to us well that holy Anne was the mother of Marie, grandmother of Jesus and wife of Joachim. If its body actually disappeared, it would have appeared with a peasant, Yves Nicolazic, in 1624 close to Auray in Morbihan. Nicolazic still remains, today (2007) , the only one to have seen it. She asked for to him the construction of a vault in her honor, in this place of the village of Ker-Anna (which into Breton means At Anne) become field which rented it formerly. March 7th, 1625, for proof of this appearance, Nicolazic unearths within sight of a whole a thousand-year-old statue of the holy one. The bishop of Vannes then authorizes his worship and the construction of the vault become basilica with the passing of years.

The place took the name of Holy-Anne-in Auray, holy Anne became owner of Breton and the forgiveness which is held there each year is most important of Brittany, 3rd place of pilgrimage in France after Doors and Lisieux.

In 1996, on the initiative of the Bishop in place Mgr Gourvès, the pope Jean-Paul II came to request it in his Breton sanctuary. He is the first pope to have pressed the ground of Brittany.

The holy one is frequently represented teaching the reading with his/her Marie daughter.

Its popularity at the Breton ones is generally explained by the remanence of the Celtic antique goddess Dana.

Artistic representation

Named in certain tables including/understanding Marie and Jesus, in Anna Selbdritt , literally Anne, itself, the third character .
In table the Virgin, the Jesus Child and holy Anne of Léonard de Vinci, it is known as trinitaire with his/her Marie daughter and her Jesus grandson.

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