It’s told as a retrospective in Mark: Herod Antipas’ mind almost flashes back when he hears John’s name, thinking back to the scene in which he and his wife and daughter became responsible ...

John the Baptist was killed because he was critical of the contemporary Herodian ruler, Herod Antipas. All of the sources agree on that, both Josephus and the testimony of the gospels.

Bartlomiej Strobel, “Feast of Herod with the Beheading of St. John the Baptist” (detail), ca. 1630-1633 (photo: Public Domain) John Grondelski Blogs August 29, 2022 Tradition holds that today ...

D ecember 28 in the Christian calendar marks the Feast of the Holy Innocents — remembering King Herod’s slaughter of all male children age two or under in Bethlehem and the surrounding region ...

Liturgically, the Church marks the birth of St. John the Baptist — the only saint whose birth is celebrated aside from the Blessed Virgin Mary — once a year (June 24), but also does so every day.