From the desk of the Tar Heel disciple:
June 19, 2026 (#109)
St. John the Baptist (Part I)
The Nativity (birth) of Saint John the Baptist is celebrated in the Roman Catholic Church on June 24th. It is an ancient feast and today it carries the rank of a “solemnity.” In previous centuries, June 23 was designated as a day of fasting in preparation for the feast. And even after the liturgical reforms of 1969, there is a Mass for the vigil with orations and a set of readings distinct from those of the feast day itself. The importance of this feast is further signaled by the fact that if June 24 falls on a Sunday of Ordinary Time, the celebration of John the Baptist takes precedence over the Sunday celebration.
This feast is a patronal feast day in Quebec, Puerto Rico, and Catalonia. Through the centuries countless churches, monasteries, and shrines have been dedicated in honor of this saint, and the Lord Jesus himself indicated that no man born of woman is greater than John (cf. Matthew 11:11 and Luke 7:28). In addition to this commemoration, the Church only liturgically celebrates the birth of Jesus himself and his mother, the holy Virgin Mary. It is the usual custom of the church to set the feast day of a saint on the day of his/her death. In fact, there is a second feast in honor of St. John, commemorating his martyrdom, on August 29.
In the Eastern Orthodox Churches and the Churches of the Byzantine Rite (in union with Rome), an all-night vigil in preparation for this feast is celebrated. Moreover, in addition to St. John's Nativity on June 24, the following feast days are also observed in these Churches:
- January 7 – The Synaxis of St John the Forerunner
- February 24 – First and Second Finding of the Head of St. John the Forerunner
- May 25 – Third Finding of the Head of St. John the Forerunner
- August 29 – The Beheading of St. John the Forerunner
- September 23 – Conception of St John the Forerunner and the Commemoration of Saints Zechariah and Elizabeth.
Given this long and rich liturgical tradition in the Churches of both the East and the West, we might ask ourselves why there appears to be so little devotion to St. John the Baptist/Forerunner among the faithful in our own time. To be continued…
Devotional materials related to St. John the Baptist can be found at:
https://inhisname.com/search?options%5Bprefix%5D=last&q=St.+John+the+baptist
