Saint John the Baptist
Saint John the Baptist has two feast days: 24 June for his birth and 29 August for his death. The June date is the solemnity.
Remembered on 24 June
24/6
Liturgical rank: Solemnity · Liturgical colour: white
Patron of: Quebec, Genoa, Florence and Turin
Who they were
John was the son of Zechariah and Elizabeth and a relative of Jesus. He preached in the Judean desert and baptised in the Jordan, Jesus among others. Herod Antipas had him imprisoned and beheaded, probably at Machaerus, around the year 30.
His birth is, with Mary's, the only one the calendar keeps as a solemnity. The date comes from a calculation: Luke says Elizabeth was six months pregnant when the angel spoke to Mary, and six months before 25 December is 24 June.
Why they are remembered
The Church keeps him as the forerunner, the one who points to Jesus. Midsummer bonfires on the night of 23 June are older than the Christian feast and were absorbed by it; in Quebec 24 June is the national holiday.
29 August, the Beheading of John the Baptist, is a separate memorial, kept in red, the colour the liturgy uses for martyrs.
In the liturgy
The Nativity of Saint John the Baptist is a solemnity, in white, on 24 June, and it takes precedence even over a Sunday in Ordinary Time.
| Period | first century; died around the year 30 |
| Feast days | 24 June (birth) and 29 August (beheading) |
Mass readings
| First reading | Isaiah 49:1-6 |
| Responsorial psalm | Psalm 139 |
| Second reading | Acts 13:22-26 |
| Gospel acclamation | Luke 1:76 |
| Gospel | Luke 1:57-66, 80 |
We give only the scripture reference. The text of the readings is not reproduced here.
How to read the rank and colour
"Solemnity" and the colour white come from the General Roman Calendar: the rank decides the celebration's weight and whether it drops out in a year it falls on a Sunday or strong season; the colour sets the vestments worn at that day's Mass.
Where this page comes from
Date, rank and colour come from the LitCal API (Apache-2.0 code, a community project, not an official publication of the Holy See). The biographical facts come from Wikidata (CC0). Checked on 7 October 2026.
What this page is not
This page is not an official publication of the Holy See and does not reproduce the Roman Martyrology: every descriptive line is written by us, from open facts. For the official liturgy of the day, check your diocese or parish.
What canonization means
Canonization is the act by which the Church officially declares someone a saint who may be publicly venerated anywhere. It is the final step of a longer process, which usually passes through beatification and requires a recognised miracle.
Understanding Saint John the Baptist's place in the calendar
What does the rank "Solemnity" change in practice for Saint John the Baptist?
Solemnity is the calendar's highest rank: Saint John the Baptist's celebration has its own full liturgy and outranks almost any other date, including Ordinary Time Sundays. The day's liturgical colour is white.
Is Saint John the Baptist in the General Roman Calendar or just tradition?
Saint John the Baptist has a fixed date in the General Roman Calendar, the calendar that applies to the whole Catholic Church — so the date and rank shown here do not depend on where someone lives. Local calendars (a diocese, country or religious order) can raise the rank, but the base is the same everywhere.
Where does Saint John the Baptist's reputation as a patron come from?
Saint John the Baptist is invoked as patron of Quebec, Genoa, Florence and Turin. This kind of patronage almost never comes from a single document: it is the sum of popular tradition, the saint's life story and, sometimes, a formal decree from a diocese or a trade, built up over centuries.
Words on this page
Patron saint
A saint chosen as the protector of a place, profession, cause or person, usually by popular tradition or formal church decree. The same saint can patronise several things at once, through a link to their life or to the legend that grew up around it.
Canonization
The act by which the Catholic Church officially declares that a deceased person is a saint and may be publicly venerated anywhere. It is the final step of a longer process, which usually passes through beatification and requires a recognised miracle.
Standard definition by Código de Direito Canônico, cân. 1186–1190 · Canonization
Solemnity
The highest rank of celebration in the General Roman Calendar: it has its own full liturgy, begins the evening before, and outranks almost any other date. Christmas, Easter and the Assumption are solemnities; most saints on the calendar never reach this rank.
Liturgical colour
The colour of the vestments worn at Mass, marking the character of the celebration: white for feasts and joy, red for martyrs and the Holy Spirit, green for Ordinary Time, purple for penance (Advent and Lent), and rose on two specific Sundays of the year.
Liturgical season
Each period of the church year (Advent, Christmastide, Lent, the Easter Triduum, Eastertide, Ordinary Time) has its own tone and colour, and that season can suppress a saint's memorial that falls within it. That is why the same civil-calendar date can, in different years, fall inside or outside a strong season.
Martyrology
The official book that lists, day by day, every saint and blessed recognised by the Catholic Church, with biographical facts and an account of their death or life. The text of the Roman Martyrology (2004 edition) belongs to the Libreria Editrice Vaticana and is not reproduced on this site; the facts used here come from open sources.
Sources
Saints with their own page
This page follows the General Roman Calendar. It is not an official publication of the Holy See. The dates, the liturgical rank and the colour come from LitCal, an open community project (Apache-2.0 licence), and the text is ours, written from open sources. For your diocese or parish calendar, ask your diocese.
- LitCal API (Liturgical Calendar API) · Apache-2.0 · v5.7 · Rev. John R. D'Orazio
- Wikidata · CC0 1.0
- Checked on 7 October 2026