John the Baptist

Who they were

John was the son of the priest Zechariah and of Elizabeth, who was old and had been barren; the Archangel Gabriel announced his birth. The Gospel of Luke tells that he leapt for joy in his mother's womb when Mary, carrying Jesus, came to visit.

He lived in the desert, dressed in camel hair and eating locusts and wild honey, and preached repentance, baptising at the Jordan. There he baptised Jesus himself, saying 'He must increase, but I must decrease.' Arrested by King Herod for condemning his marriage to his brother's wife Herodias, he was beheaded in prison at her daughter's request.

The miracles

There was never a formal cause: John is honoured as a saint from the Gospels. He is the only saint besides Our Lady whose birth, on 24 June, is kept as a solemnity; his martyrdom is remembered on 29 August. His head is venerated at San Silvestro in Capite in Rome.

Why that counted as sanctity

John is the last of the prophets and the forerunner who pointed to Christ and then stepped aside: 'He must increase, but I must decrease.' His holiness lay in that self-effacement, in a life of penance given entirely to preparing the way, and in his refusal to bend the truth for a king, for which he died.

Connected on this site

• Alfonso Maria Fusco Saint
  “Alfonso Maria Fusco (23 March 1839 – 6 February 1910) was a Roman Catholic priest and the founder of the Sisters of Saint John the Baptist – also known as the Baptistine Sisters.” — Wikipedia
• Andrew the Apostle Saint
  “The title First-Called (Πρωτόκλητος, Prōtoklētos) used by the Eastern Orthodox Church stems from the Gospel of John, where Andrew, initially a disciple of John the Baptist, follows Jesus and, recognising him as the Messiah, introduces his brother Simon Peter to him.” — Wikipedia
• Ava Saint
  “Her work on the lives of John the Baptist and Jesus "has been praised as the first German epic".” — Wikipedia
• Ctesiphon of Vergium Saint
  “A noblewoman named Luparia, interested in their mission, hid them and converted to Christianity after building an altar in honor of John the Baptist.” — Wikipedia
• Euphrasia Eluvathingal Saint
  “John the Baptist is celebrated on 29 August, the feast of St.” — Wikipedia
• Euthymius of Athos Saint
  “His relics are buried in the Church of Saint John the Baptist at the Iveron Monastery on Mt.” — Wikipedia
• Gabriel Saint
  “In the New Testament Gospel of Luke, Gabriel appears to Zechariah foretelling the birth of John the Baptist.” — Wikipedia
• Gaudentius of Brescia Saint
  “He brought back relics of St John the Baptist, the Apostles and the Forty Martyrs, and enshrined them in a basilica.” — this site's research
• Gerardo dei Tintori Saint
  “Saint Gerardo dei Tintori or Tintore (1134(?) – 6 June 1207) is a saint of the Catholic Church, joint patron saint (with Saint John the Baptist) of Monza in Italy, where he is particularly noted as the founder of a hospital.” — Wikipedia
• Gohard of Nantes Saint
  “John the Baptist, a month after the defeat of Blain, the Vikings arrived at Nantes.” — Wikipedia
• John de Brito Saint
  “He is also called "the John the Baptist of India."” — Wikipedia
• John the Evangelist Saint
  “John, son of Zebedee and Salome and brother of James, was a fisherman on the Lake of Galilee and probably a disciple of John the Baptist before Christ called him.” — this site's research