We know Joachim and Anne only by tradition and it holds that Joachim was born in Nazareth around 50 BC and that St. Anne was born around the same time in Bethlehem. 

Joachim and Anne first lived in Galilee and then moved to Jerusalem. 

Joachim was a wealthy man who regularly gave to the poor but at one point his offering at the Temple was rejected because he and Anne had no children which was seen as a sign that God had rejected them. 

Joachim retreated to the desert where he fasted for 40 days. During this time, angels appeared to both he and Anne, telling them they would have a child and that they should go meet one another at the golden gate of Jerusalem, which they did in a beautiful embrace to share the amazing news. 

Although this is all based on tradition, it is fundamental to understanding why and how The Blessed Mother is The Immaculate Conception. 

In Lourdes, she appears to St. Bernadette and tells her: “I am the Immaculate Conception.” 

In 1941, St. Maximillian Kolbe, shortly before he was arrested by the Nazis and sent to Auschwitz where he would give his life to save a fellow prisoner, finally realizes what the Blessed Mother meant when she told St. Bernadette: “I am The Immaculate Conception.” 

And it was this, Mary, because she was Immaculately Conceived in the womb of St. Anne by The Holy Spirit, is the Created Immaculate Conception, and The Holy Spirit, is the Uncreated Immaculate Conception. 

Sts. Joachim and Anne, please pray for us.