The Nativity of Saint John the Baptist
Solemnity
- Feast Day
- June 24
- Life
- d. 30
- Born
- Hill country of Judah
The Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist celebrates the birth of the forerunner of Christ to the priest Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth, kinswoman of the Virgin Mary, in the hill country of Judah (Luke 1:5-25, 57-80). The date of June 24 is set six months before the Nativity of the Lord (December 25), in accord with Luke 1:26 (in the sixth month).
John's nativity is one of only three nativities celebrated as Solemnities in the Roman Calendar, alongside those of the Lord (December 25) and the Blessed Virgin Mary (September 8). The Church teaches, on the strength of his being filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother's womb (Luke 1:15) and of his sanctification at the Visitation when he leaped at Mary's greeting (Luke 1:41), that John alone among the saints is honored with a Solemnity of his birth as well as of his death (the Beheading, August 29).
The feast is among the oldest in the Latin Calendar, attested by Saint Augustine in his sermons (Sermon 287 ff.). Augustine notes the providential symbolism: from the day of John's birth the days of the Northern Hemisphere shorten, while from Christmas they lengthen, fulfilling John's word, He must increase, but I must decrease (John 3:30).
John is the last and greatest of the prophets (Matthew 11:11), the voice of one crying in the wilderness, the Bridegroom's friend, and the herald who pointed to the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). His Nativity is a feast of joyful expectation, a midsummer counterpart to Christmas, summoning the Church to make straight the way of the Lord (Mark 1:3).
Patronages
French Canada (Quebec) · Jordan (the river) · lambs · tailors · the Hospitallers of Saint John of Jerusalem
Catholic Churches Named After The Nativity of Saint John the Baptist
20 parishes on Catholic Church Times share The Nativity of Saint John the Baptist's name. Find their Mass times, confession schedules, and adoration hours:
- The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Roman Catholic Church — Belgique, MO
- Immaculate Conception -Church of the Nativity Parish — Pompey, NY
- Church of the Nativity — St. Marys, AK
- Church of the Nativity — Brandon, FL
- Church of the Nativity of Our Lord — Wayne, WV
- Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary — Nada, TX
- Church of the Nativity at St. Joseph — LaFayette, NY
- Church of the Nativity — Timonium, MD
- Chapel of the Nativity — Linlithgo, NY
- Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary-Cestohowa — Falls City, TX
- Chapel of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary — Quezon City
- Our Lady of the Nativity — Las Navas, NORTHERN SAMAR
- Our Lady of the Nativity, Hamley Bridge — Hamley Bridge, SA
- Church of the Nativity — Lutherville, MD
- Church of the Nativity (Prince of Peace Parish) — Bethlehem, CT
- The Church of the Nativity at St. Leo's Catholic Church — Tully, NY
- Church of the Nativity — Midland Park, NJ
- Catholic Church of the Nativity — Bartlett, TN
- St. Mary's of the Nativity Catholic Church — Nassau, NY
- St. Mary of the Nativity — Marshall, WI
Sources