St. John the Baptist
Feast 06-24
Patron of
About
John the Baptist was the son of Zechariah and Elizabeth, a relative of the Virgin Mary. He lived as an ascetic in the desert, preaching repentance and baptizing in the Jordan River in preparation for the coming of the Messiah.
He baptized Jesus and pointed his own disciples toward him, saying, "Behold, the Lamb of God." He fearlessly rebuked Herod Antipas for his unlawful marriage to Herodias.
Herod imprisoned him and, at the request of Herodias's daughter Salome, had him beheaded. Jesus called him the greatest of those born of women. He is venerated as the patron saint of tailors, among many other patronages.
Suggested prayer
O God, who sent St. John the Baptist to prepare the way of your Son and to point to him as the Lamb of God, grant through his intercession that we may decrease so that Christ may increase in us. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.