According to apocryphal gospels, St. Anne is the mother of the Virgin Mary and the grandmother of Jesus Christ; she and her husband Joachim were announced the birth of their daughter by angels. She is usually portrayed as a dignified woman in a long dress and with a veil. She usually holds a book or lily; however, her most common attribute is the Virgin Mary. The St. Anne cult has been spreading in the Eastern Church since the 6th century and in the Western Church since the 8th century. She is a patron of several cities (Florence, Insbruck and Naples); people pray to her for a happy marriage, blessed children or happy childbirth. She is a protector of mothers, widows, homemakers, workwomen, miners, weavers, turners, carpenters, millers, shopkeepers, rope-makers, tailors, lace-makers, stable boys and many others.