Historical accounts as early as the sixth century C.E. claim that the Virgin Mary and her mother, Saint Anne, were born in Sepphoris, a small village about 5 miles northwest of Nazareth in the hills of Galilee. A Crusader church was built here and apparently dedicated to Anna during the twelfth century C.E. The Church of Saint Anne was presumably built over the site where Anna lived with her husband, Saint Joachim, and Mary.
