WELCOME-----LIFE OF THE SAINT-----DEVOTIONS-----FEASTS-----THE SAINT'S PATRONAGE AND SYMBOLS
GALLERY---------------VIEW THE BANNER IMAGE IN FULL, LARGE, PLAIN----------------SOURCES USED
EXTERNAL LINKS: WORKS OF ART

ELCOME to our presentation of the Life of St. John the Baptist, the greatest of all the Saints, after the Blessed Virgin Mary. Our Lord's cousin, although he was conceived in Original Sin like the rest of us, he was Baptized while still in his mother's womb; yet he had the most humility of all, apart from Our Lady, thus the Church considers him the greatest among the Saints and Martyrs. The Raccolta of 1957, the Manual of Indulgences is arranged in hierarchical order: After the Holy Trinity can be found indulgenced devotions to the Blessed Virgin; next the Angels, and then the section on the Saints, which begins with St. John the Baptist. The Raccolta follows the teaching of the Church even in its ordering of the devotions, a kind of little catechism we might say. The Roman Missal also says that after the Feasts of Our Lord, Our Lady, and the Angels the Feasts of most importance are that of St. John the Baptist. 1 The name, John means God is merciful, or gift of God. Let us proceed to open this gift of mercy: The Feasts of St. John the Baptist: Our Martyr Saint has two Feasts, the first with a Vigil: June 23, The Vigil of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, Purple; June 24, The Nativity of St. John the Baptist, Double of the Frist Class, White; and August 29, The Beheading [Decollation] of St. John the Baptist, Double Major, Red. His parents Feast is celebrated on November 5. To read a full account of the Feasts of St. John, CLICK HERE. BACK TO THE TOP OF THE PAGE The Saint's Patronage and Symbols: St. John the Baptist has many symbols, the chief being: The Head, the Lamb, the Shell [for Baptism], the Holly [for the Passion of Christ which he prefigured], the Maltese Cross, the Reed, from which his own cross was made, the Grasshopper and Camel's Hair. He is the patron of farriers, Baptism, and those who suffer spasms, as well as that of Quebec, Canada. Throughout the centuries the great artists who bore witness to the Catholic Faith have all painted this Martyr. Hundreds of Madonnas portray the Infant St. John with Lady and the Christ Child or depict him by himself, with Christ, and or with other Saints. Many of the portraits of this beloved Saint feature the Lamb, representing Christ and show him pointing the way to Christ [through penance]. We have what we hope is a good representation. This presentation was inspired by a sermon given by Fr. John Fongemie, FSSP in 2005 on the Martyr-Saint. Below is the Directory in three sections: His Life, Devotions, and His Gallery. BACK TO THE TOP OF THE PAGE The Life of Saint John the Baptist Prologue: The Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth 1. The Coming of John the Baptist 2. The Prophecy of the Messias 3. The Baptism of Jesus 4. The Witness of John the Baptist 5. The First Disciples 6. The Death of John the Baptist 7. Herod and Jesus Devotions The Litany of St. John the Baptist Prayers from the Raccolta BACK TO THE TOP OF THE PAGE Image Gallery "His Name Shall Be John" STAINED GLASS WINDOW St. John the Baptist JEAN CLOUET The Naming of St. John the Baptist GHIRLANDAIO Adoration of the Magi with St. John GHIRLANDAIO The Sleeping Christ Child with Sts. John, Zachary GUIDO CAGNACCI The Baptism of Christ DEL VERROCCHIO The Madonna of St. Zachary PARMIGIANINO The Baptism of Christ PARIS BORDONE The Holy Family with Angels LORENZO LOTTO The Baptism of Christ 1 VERONESE The Infant St. John MURILLO The Baptism of Christ 2 VERONESE The Alba Madonna RAPHAEL The Baptism of Christ NAVARRETE The Young St. John BOUGUEREAU The Baptism of Christ PERUGINO The Madonna and Child with Young St. John 1 BOTTICELLI The Baptism of Christ GUIDO RENI The Madonna and Child with Young St. John 2 BOTTICELLI The Baptism of Christ JEAN-BAPTISTE COROT The Madonna and Child with Young St. John PINTURICCHIO St. John the Baptist with the Pharisees MURILLO The Young St. John MURILLO St. John the Baptist Pointing to Christ MURILLO St. John the Baptist BERNARDO STROZZI Virgin and Child with Saints GHIRLANDAIO Holy Family with John the Baptist ANDREA DEL SARTO Madonna and Child Enthroned with Saints RAPHAEL Madonna and Child with St. John BOUGUEREAU Virgin and Child Between Saints 1 PALMEZZANO St. John in the Desert CRISTOFANI ALLORI Virgin and Child Between Saints 2 PALMEZZANO St. John Preaching in the Desert MASSIMO STANZIONE Salome with the Head of St. John GUIDO RENI St. John the Baptist FRANCESCO SOLIMENA Salome Receiving the Head of St. John GUERCINO St. John the Baptist CARAVAGGIO Madonna in Glory with Saints DOSSO DOSSI St. John the Baptist RIBERA St. Martin Tryptych VIVARINI Bonus Images: St. John the Baptist FRANCESCO DEL COSSA Madonna and Child with Saints PIETRO DA CORTONA The Foligno Madonna RAPHAEL BACK TO THE TOP OF THE PAGE External Links: Works of Art Verified February 06 THE NAMING OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST ST. ANNE WITH THE VIRGIN, CHRIST CHILD AND ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST PAINTED BUST OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST THE BIRTH OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST Sources Used: Fr. John Fongemie, FSSP; The Public Life of Our Lord, Jesus Christ, Vol. 1 by Bishop Alban Goodier, SJ; Excerpts from the City of God by Mary of Agreda as found in The Divine Mysteries of the Rosary, JMJ Book Co., Necedah, WI; The Raccolta; The Douay-Rheims Bible, Bishop Challoner Version, 1752; Signs and Symbols in Christian Art, by George Ferguson, Oxford University Press, New York and Melbourne, 1954; The Directory of Saints, by Annette Sandoval, Penguin, 1996; The Liturgical Year by Dom Gueranger, Vols. XII and XIV; and The New Roman Missal by Fr. F. X. LaSance and Rev. Augustine Walsh, OSB, 1937 with Imprimatur and Nihil Obstat. 1. The New Roman Missal by Fr. F. X. LaSance and Rev. Augustine Walsh, OSB, 1937 with Imprimatur and Nihil Obstat, p. 50. BACK TO THE TOP OF THE PAGE

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