Saint John the Baptist

St. John the Baptist was a great forerunner of Jesus and also his relative.

John prepared for his mission, as a youth, in the wilderness. He was clad in animal skins, calling people to repent and baptized them in the Jordan River. John baptized Jesus. St. John identified himself as "the voice of one crying out in the desert "Make straight the way of the Lord."

John was put in prison by King Herod, and while in prison, Jesus praised him saying, "Among those born of women, there is no greater than John the Baptist."

The Church celebrates St. John's birth on June 24th and his martyrdom on August 29th.