The Blessed Virgin Mary’s parents, Anne and Joachim, had been childless and were past the child-bearing years; however, they received an Angelic visitation that Anne would bear a child.
It was customary in Jewish tradition to offer your firstborn child to the Lord, and so they took Mary to the Temple in thanksgiving for at long last having a child.
The celebration of the Feast is first documented in the 11th century within the Byzantine Catholic Church. It was introduced into the Roman Catholic Church in the 15th century by Pope Gregory XI, then removed from the calendar by Pope Pius V in the mid 16th century. Pope Sixtus V later reestablished the feast in 1585, and it is still celebrated today, commemorating the faith of her parents, Joachim and Anne, and the purity of Mary.
This should not be confused with the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus on February 2,when Joseph and Mary brought Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem 40 days after His birth.
The Feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary is celebrated annually on November 21st, and commemorates the presentation of the Blessed Virgin as a child by her parents in the Temple in Jerusalem.
