The Passion of Saint John the Baptist

John the Baptist, son of Zechariah and Elizabeth, prepared the way for Jesus by preaching repentance and baptizing in the Jordan. The Gospels of Matthew and Mark tell how he boldly told Herod Antipas, ruler of Galilee, that it was not lawful for him to have Herodias, the wife of his brother. Herodias wanted John dead, and Herod had him arrested and imprisoned, though he respected him as a holy man.

At a banquet for Herod's birthday, the daughter of Herodias, whom the historian Josephus names Salome, danced and pleased the king, who swore to give her whatever she asked. Prompted by her mother, she asked for John's head on a platter. Herod, unwilling to break his oath before his guests, sent a guard to behead John in prison, and his disciples buried him. Josephus places this at the fortress of Machaerus. The feast began with the dedication of a church at Sebaste, in Samaria, where tradition located his tomb.

The Church honors John's martyrdom as a witness to truth and to the sanctity of marriage. In many places in Latin America and Spain where San Juan Bautista is patron, this day is marked with Mass and prayers.

In the Eastern Churches it is a strict fast day in memory of his death.