The Holy Innocents: Feast Day, Patronage & Prayers
Feast day: December 28 (Feast of the Holy Innocents, Martyrs)
Patron of: Babies and young children, and families who have lost a child.
About the Holy Innocents
The Holy Innocents are the baby boys of Bethlehem and its surroundings killed on the orders of King Herod, as St. Matthew's Gospel records. When the Magi did not return to tell him where the newborn King of the Jews could be found, Herod, fearing a rival, ordered the death of every boy two years old and under in the region. Joseph, warned by an angel in a dream, had already fled into Egypt with Mary and the Child. Matthew recalls the words of the prophet Jeremiah: "A voice in Rama was heard, lamentation and great mourning; Rachel bewailing her children."
From very early times the Church has honored these children as martyrs. They could not yet speak or choose, but they died in the place of Christ, and so, as St. Augustine and others taught, they were the first to give their lives for Him. Their feast is kept on December 28, within the joy of the Christmas Octave, as a reminder that the world into which Christ came was wounded. Parents who have lost a child, through miscarriage, illness, or violence, have long found consolation in these little saints.
Prayers to the Holy Innocents on Daily Catholic Prayers
Browse every saint in our Catalog of Saints A–Z.
Comments