Saint John the Baptist

I was born in the Herodian Kingdom of Judea through the intercession of God to Zachariah and Elizabeth. She was far too old to bear children. Not surprisingly therefore, when angel Gabriel told my father that he was to have a son, he was very skeptical. As a result of his lack of faith, he was rendered mute until I was born. When my mother was pregnant with me, Mary visited her, and I leapt in her womb. This revealed to my mother that the child Mary carried was to be the Son of God, Jesus. I began my public ministry of teaching the faith around 30 AD and attracted large crowds. One day, Jesus came to ask me to baptise him. I instructed my followers to turn to Jesus, calling him the “Lamb of God”. My frank conviction of the illicit relationship of the local ruler Herod with the wife of his half-brother led him to arrest me. At the suggestion of his wife, his daughter asked for my head on a plate. Herod felt he could not refuse, so I was beheaded.