Click here to learn about the Feast of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist. Only three birthdays are celebrated on the Church’s liturgical calendar: the Nativity of Our Lord (December 25), the Nativity of His Mother (September 8), and the Nativity of His forerunner, John the Baptist, on June 24. The Church honors him because of his role in preparing the way for Christ. 

Solemnities, Feasts, and Memorials are days which are celebrated in commemoration of the sacred mysteries and events recorded in the history of our redemption, in memory of the Virgin Mother of Christ, or of His apostles, martyrs, and saints.

About the image: Nacimiento de San Juan Bautista, an oil on canvas by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo  (1617–1682), and part of the Norton Simon Museum collection.