Who were Mary's family?

Answer 1

A:

We do not really know who Mary's parents were, but an early tradition held they were called Joachim and Anne, although there is no biblical support for that tradition. Both Joachim and Anne are regarded as saints in the Catholic Church.

A later tradition is based on the contradiction between the genealogies of Jesus in Matthew and Luke, in which two different fathers are named for Joseph. Theologians since the eighth century have argued that the genealogy in Lukeis actually the family tree of Mary, and that Heli is her father, in which case Joachim and Anne cease to exist. Heli is supported by most Protestants and some Catholics as the father of Mary, but this is not a universal assumption.

Mary maried Joseph. Jesus was her son, and his brothers are recorded as James, Joses, Juda and Simon; the names of his sisters remaining unknown (Mark 6:3). Some say that the siblings of Jesus are not the children of Mary, in which case they would have been older than he. Against this is that neither nativity story, in Matthew and Luke, makes any mention, or even room, for older children - it is inconceivable that a parent would leave young children alone in Nazareth while undertaking a long and dangerous journey (Luke), it is also inconceivable that Joseph and Mary would abandon young children to flee from Bethlehem to Egypt (Matthew). Also, the gospel stories make the relationship between Mary and, the by then adult, children such that she would seem to have been their mother. On the gospel account the best we can say is that her husband was Joseph, and it seems that her sons were Jesus, James, Joses, Juda and Simon, and she had unnamed daughters. We do not know the names of her parents.