Although St. Anne was undoubtedly a holy woman and given the graces needed to raise a sinless daughter, the Church does not teach that St. Anne was born without sin or that such was necessary for Mary’s Immaculate Conception. The Immaculate Conception was God’s miraculous intervention to preserve Mary free from sin at the very moment of her conception. We might say that he saved her from falling into the pit of sin, but he did not remove the pit.
