Yesterday was the feast of St. Anne! Longtime readers will know that’s a big deal for Sancta Nomina, as St. Anne is our patroness. Every year since I started the blog, I’ve tried to make a pilgrimage of some kind to a St. Anne church or shrine in order to thank her for her intercession. You can read about each previous one:

2023 St. Ann by the Sea in Marshfield, MA

2022 St. Anne niche at the Holy Family Church in Syracuse, NY

2021 St. Anne came to me when I couldn’t go to her via a friend’s thoughtful gift of a beautiful St. Anne Shrine by Violets and Moss

2020 St. Ann’s in Fort Ann, NY

2019 St. Mary and St. Anne’s Cathedral in Cork, Co. Cork, Ireland

2018 Shrine of St. Anne for Mothers in Waterbury, CT

2017 Basilica of the National Shrine of St. Ann in Scranton, PA

2016 St. Anne Shrine in Sturbridge, MA

2015 Saint Anne’s Shrine in Isle La Motte, VT

(And you can read an article I wrote on taking pilgrimages with small children in tow: Pilgrimages for Parents of Young Families.)

Last night I was able to post on Instagram about my 2024 “pilgrimage,” the difficulty of which lay mostly in going out on a Friday night when there were a bunch of things going on at home. (Orrrr … some may think that’s not a difficulty at all? 😉 But no, for a homebody like me, leaving the house is almost always harder than staying home.) A church near me called Notre Dame-Visitation (such a beautiful name!) had a beautiful Mass in honor of St. Anne, sponsored by the Daughters of St. Anne, whom I’d never heard of! I haven’t been able to find anything about them — they’re a lay group, not the Order of Sisters that I keep finding in my searches — and the priest who said Mass, who I know, was surprised to see me there (since it’s not my home parish) and said, “Are you a Daughter of St. Anne?” Of course I wanted to say yes! Even though I know that’s not what he was asking. Anyway! It was a beautiful Mass, and as I always do during these pilgrimages, I prayed for the entire Sancta Nomina community and all your intentions. 🩷🩷🩷 St. Anne, pray for us!

(I’m about to post a special guest post — check back in a few minutes!)

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