God sent Angel Gabriel to announce to St. Joachim of the birth of his daughter, St Mary, the mother of God. This righteous man and his wife St. Anna (Hannah) were old and had no children. They were sad, and prayed continually, asking God day and night for a child. They vowed that the child they would have would be dedicated to the temple all their life.

While St. Joachim was praying, he fell into a deep sleep and Angel Gabriel appeared to him and announced that his wife Anna would conceive a child who would delight him and all the world would rejoice and be glad. He told him: "The Lord will give you a child through whom salvation comes to the world.”

When he woke, he told his wife about the vision, which she believed. Anna conceived, and gave birth to the Virgin Mary in the city of Nazareth.

When she was 3 years old, St. Mary was taken to the temple where she lived for 12 years. The priests wanted her to stay with someone who would look after her because she was consecrated to God and they were not allowed to keep her in the temple after this age. They decided that she be engaged to a man who could take care of her and who would look after her.

They gathered 12 righteous men from the house of David of the Tribe of Judah so they might leave her with one of them. They took their staffs inside the Sanctuary, and a dove flew up and rested on the staff belonging to Joseph the Carpenter, who was a righteous man. They knew that this was God's will.

Joseph took St. Mary, and she lived with him until Angel Gabriel came to her and announced to her that the Son of God was to be incarnated from her, for the salvation of the world.

St. Mary gave birth to our Lord Jesus Christ and when he was two years old, the angel appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, "Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him. They were known to have passed by areas like Basta, where the Holy Family drank from a well, and the water of the well became a curing water for all sicknesses. From Meniet Samannoud, they crossed the Nile to the western side, where Jesus put His foot on a stone, and the trace of His foot appeared. The stone was called "Picha Isos" in Coptic, meaning “The heal of Jesus”. From there, they went to Wadi El-Natroun, and St. Mary blessed the place, where now many monasteries are built. Then they went to Al-Ashmoneen, after which they went to Mount Qosqam, where the monastery of St. Mary (known as El-Moharrak monastery) was later built.

When Herod died, the angel appeared to Joseph in a dream saying: "Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the young Child's life are dead." They came back to Cairo, and on their return they stayed in a cave which is today located in the church of Abu-Serga in Old Cairo. They passed by El-Mataryia, and they washed there with water from a well. Since then, the well has been blessed, and a tree of Balsam grew beside it. From the tree’s oil, the Chrism (El-Myroun) is made, which is used to consecrate new churches. The Holy Family walked to El-Mahama and from there to Israel.

The Virgin St. Mary departed on the 21^st of Tobi. As she was praying, the Holy Spirit informed her that she was about to depart from this world. When the time of her departure arrived, the virgins of the Mount of Olives came to her, with the apostles, who were still alive, and they surrounded her bed. The Lord Jesus Christ, with a host of angels came to her and comforted her and told her about the eternal joy that was prepared for her and she rejoiced. The apostles and the virgins asked her to bless them. She stretched her hand and blessed them all, and she gave up her pure spirit.

The apostles prepared the body in a fitting manner and carried it to Gethsemane. Some of the Jews blocked their way to prevent them from burying the body. One of the Jews seized the coffin with his hands, which were separated instantly from his body and they remained attached to the coffin. He regretted his evil deed and wept bitterly. Through the prayers of the apostles, his hands were reattached to his body, and he believed in the Lord Christ. When they placed the body in the tomb, the Lord hid it from them.

St. Thomas the Apostle was not present at the time of St. Mary's departure. He wanted to go to Jerusalem and a cloud carried him there. On his way, he saw the body of St. Mary carried by the angels and he ascended to heaven with it. One of the angels told him, "Make haste and kiss the pure body of St. Mary," and he did.

When St. Thomas arrived where the disciples were, they told him about St. Mary's departure and he said to them, "You know how I was at the resurrection of the Lord Christ, and I will not believe unless I see her body." They went with him to the tomb, and uncovered the place of the body but they did not find it, and everyone was surprised. St. Thomas told them how he saw the holy body and the angels that were ascending with it. They heard the Holy Spirit saying to them, "The Lord did not will to leave her body on earth." The Lord had promised his pure apostles to let them see her in the flesh once again. They were waiting for this promise to be fulfilled, until the 16th day of the month of Misra, when the promise was fulfilled and they saw her.

The years of her life on earth were 60 years. She was 12 years old when she left the temple. She spent 34 years in Joseph's house, until the Ascension of the Lord, and 14 years with St. John the Evangelist, as Jesus told her from the cross, "Behold, this is your son," and to St. John, "Behold, this is your mother."