St. John the Baptist

Who they were

John is the hinge of the Testaments: the son of Zechariah and Elizabeth, leaping in the womb at Mary's greeting, which is the second Joyful Mystery and means this app prays his prenatal cameo weekly; the desert preacher in camel hair living on locusts and wild honey; and the voice at the Jordan crying prepare the way.

The Church honours him uniquely. His is one of only three birthdays on the calendar, with Jesus and Mary, set at 24 June, midsummer, so that as the days begin to shorten toward the December Nativity the calendar itself acts out his motto: he must increase, I must decrease. He baptized the One he announced, pointed his own disciples away from himself, and it is at his words, behold the Lamb of God, that St. Andrew's story begins. He confronted Herod over his marriage and was beheaded for it, and the Passion of John the Baptist has its own feast on 29 August. Every baptism since stands in his lineage.

Why people turn to St. John the Baptist

Parents and godparents preparing for a baptism. And everyone whose vocation is preparing the way for someone else's moment: the mentor, the assistant coach, the parent. His is the decrease that increases.

How to ask their intercession

Before a baptism, for the child by name. And his motto, prayed at a career or family threshold where someone else is stepping forward, is a hard and freeing prayer.