St. John the Baptist is one of the rare saints who are venerated with multiple feast days in the liturgical calendar.
The Church honors his passion and death on August 29, while also celebrating his birth on June 24.
He is one of only three saints whose birth is celebrated by the Church, grouping him with Jesus Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Conception of St. John the Baptist
Many claim that one of the reasons for the celebration of his birthday is that John was potentially born free of original sin.
Technically speaking the Church has never proclaimed in an official document or statement that St. John the Baptist was born without original sin. On the other hand, the Church does not dismiss the idea either.
The reason why the faithful entertain such a belief is because of the visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary to St. Elizabeth. It is recorded by St. Luke, "And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe [St. John the Baptist] leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit" (Luke 1:41).
This does not mean that he was "immaculately conceived," as was the Blessed Virgin Mary, but that potentially he was cleansed of sin while in the womb.
Regardless of what precisely happened to St. John the Baptist's stain of original sin prior to birth, early Christians were accustomed to celebrating his conception on a specific feast day.
According to the Byzantine Catholic Archeparchy of Pittsburgh, this was a feast that was shared by both East and West:
On September 23rd-THE CONCEPTION OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST is commemorated, on account of the special intervention of God in his birth (Lk. 1 :5-25) . The Roman Church discontinued this commemoration by the end of the 15th century.
However, in the 2004 Roman Martyrology, there is a mention of both Sts. Elizabeth and Zechariah on September 23:
Commemoration of Saints Zechariah and Elizabeth, parents of Saint John the Baptist, forerunner of the Lord. Elizabeth, welcoming into her house Mary, her relative, full of the Holy Spirit, greeted the Mother of the Lord blessed among women; Zachariah, priest, full of prophetic spirit, at the birth of his son, praised God the Redeemer and foretold the coming advent of Christ, who will come from above as the rising sun.
While it does not mention his conception, the dating of this commemoration is an obvious nod to the historical celebration that is still observed by many Eastern Christians.
Above all the conception of St. John the Baptist is meant to point us to Jesus Christ and to prepare our hearts for the upcoming Christmas season.
