The story of Joachim and Anne first appears in the Gospel of James, part of the New Testament apocrypha.

[2] At the temple, Joachim's sacrifice was rejected, as the couple's childlessness was interpreted as a sign of divine displeasure.

An ancient belief held that a child born of an elderly mother who had given up hope of having offspring was destined for great things.

This cycle remained popular in Christian art until the Council of Trent (1545–1563) restricted the depiction of apocryphal events.

[8] Joachim is named as the patron saint of fathers, grandfathers, grandparents, married couples, cabinet makers, and linen traders.

He is often treated as a saint, with a halo, but in the Latin Church, there was some awareness that he had quite likely died too soon to be counted as a Christian.

Joachim and Anne Meeting at the Golden Gate was a popular subject in artistic renditions of the life of the Virgin.