Saint John the Baptist
†: beheaded c.30 at Machaerus, buried at Sebaste, Samaria,relics in Saint Sylvester’s church, Rome, Italy, and at Amiens, France
Memorial: 24 June (birth), 29 August (death), 24 February(discovery of his relics)
Profile
Cousin of Jesus Christ: Son of Zachary, a priest of the order of Abia whose job in the temple was to burn incense; and of Elizabeth, a descendent of Aaron. As Zachary was ministering in the Temple, an angel brought him news that Elizabeth would bear a child filled with the Holy Spirit from the moment of his birth. Zachary doubted and was struck dumb until John’s birth.
Prophet: John began his ministry around age 27, wearing a leather belt and a tunic of camel hair, living off locusts and wild honey, and preaching a message of repentance to the people ofJerusalem. He converted many, and prepared the way for the coming of Jesus. He Baptized Christ, after which he stepped away and told his disciples to follow Jesus.
Imprisoned by King Herod: He died a victim of the vengeance of a jealous woman; he was beheaded, and his head brought to her on a platter. Saint Jerome says Herodias kept the head for a long time after, occasionally stabbing the tongue with his dagger because of what John had said in life.
Canonized
- Pre-Congregation
Patronage
- against convulsions
- against epilepsy
- against hail
- against hailstorms
- against spasms
- baptism
- bird dealers
- converts
- convulsive children
- cutters
- epileptics
- farriers
- French Canadians
- innkeepers
- lambs
- monastic life
- motorways
- printers
- tailors
- Jordan
- Puerto Rico
- Aquino-Pontecorvo, Italy, diocese of
- Auchi, Nigeria, diocese of
- Belley-Ars, France, diocese of
- Charleston, South Carolina, diocese of
- Dodge City, Kansas, diocese of
- Genoa, Italy, archdiocese of
- Ndalatando, Angola, diocese of
- Nicolet, Québec, diocese of
- Paterson, New Jersey, diocese of
- Portland, Maine, diocese of
- Saint John’s, Newfoundland, diocese of
- Savannah, Georgia, diocese of
- Sora-Aquino-Pontecorvo, Italy, diocese of
- Albacete, Spain
- Albera Ligure, Italy
- Alice bel Colle, Italy
- Avigliana, Italy
- Badiangan, Philippines
- Bistagno, Italy
- Bonavigo, Italy
- Borgia, Italy
- Brenzone, Italy
- Camerano, Italy
- Campobello di Licata, Italy
- Campodolcino, Italy
- Canale d’Agordo, Italy
- Caprese Michelangelo, Italy
- Ceccano, Italy
- Cenadi, Catanzaro, Italy
- Cesena, Italy
- Ciutadella, Menorca, Spain
- Colletorto, Italy
- Cortale, Italy
- Crissolo, Italy
- Dagupan City, Philippines
- Fabriano, Italy
- Faicchio, Italy
- Fürstenberg, Germany
- Garbagna, Italy
- Genoa, Italy, city of
- Gizzeria, Italy
- Gressoney-Saint-Jean, Italy
- Grubbenvorst, Netherlands
- Herve, Belgium
- Igbaras, Iloilo, Philippines
- Ivanska, Croatia
- Kalibo, Aklan, Philippines
- Leioa, Spain
- Lucoli, Italy
- Macau, China
- Melegnano, China
- Monte San Giovanni Campano, Italy
- Montepulciano, Italy
- Monza, Italy
- Palermo, Sicily, Italy
- Penzance, Cornwall, England
- Poggio Bustone, Italy
- Pontecorvo, Italy
- Pozzallo, Sicily, Italy
- Pula, Italy
- Quebec, Canada
- Racconigi, Italy
- Ragusa, Sicily, Italy
- Saint-Jean-le-Blanc, Loiret, France
- San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy
- San Giovanni Valdarno, Italy
- San Juan Indian Pueblo
- San Juan, Puerto Rico
- San Juan Chamula, Chiapas, Mexico
- San Juan Cosala, Mexico
- San Juan Tecomatlan, Mexico
- Sassano, Italy
- Sassello, Italy
- Teising, Germany
- Torino, Italy
- Turi, Italy
- Umbria, Italy
- Vicchio, Italy
- Xewkija, Gozo, Malta
- Wenden, Germany
- Wenings, Germany
- Wroclaw, Poland
- Knights Hospitaller
- Knights of Malta
- Maltese Knights
Representation
- cross in hand
- lamb
- severed head on a platter
- skin of an animal
- slender cross
- tall, thin cross
