Painted iron relief of the Meeting of Saint Anne and Saint Joachim at the Golden Gate, mounted above a chapel gate in the Basilica de Santa María de los Reales Alcázares, Úbeda, Spain.
At first glance, it looks like a joyful reunion. A woman and a man, both haloed and aged, meet at a gate and clasp each other in a heartfelt embrace. Around them, astonished onlookers — women, shepherds, even angels — witness this tender moment. But what we see in this painted iron relief, mounted above a chapel entrance in the Basilica de Santa María de los Reales Alcázares in Úbeda, Spain, is much more than a greeting. It’s a moment of sacred significance: the meeting of Saint Anne and Saint Joachim at the Golden Gate.
This scene draws its roots not from the canonical gospels, but from an early Christian apocryphal text — the Proto-Evangelium of James (also known as the Proto-Gospel of James), written in the second century CE. In this text, Anne and Joachim are the elderly, childless couple who become the parents of Mary, the future mother of Jesus. After being separated and praying in solitude, each is visited by an angel with miraculous news: Anne will bear a child. They rush to meet each other in Jerusalem, and embrace at the Golden Gate.
The scene captured in the ironwork shows this event in vivid, almost theatrical detail. Anne, cloaked and veiled, reaches toward Joachim, who is depicted with a long beard and a broad gesture of affection. The shepherd with the ram over his shoulders, and the angelic figures floating above, remind us that this is not just a family moment — it is the beginning of a divine plan. Mary is not yet born, but already her story is in motion.
In this small piece of devotional art — forged and painted, then placed above a gate where worshippers pass — we see a powerful symbol of new beginnings. Hope when all hope seemed lost. Life arriving quietly, unexpectedly, through faith.
