John the Baptist
Saint John the Baptist is the patron of baptism and of converts for the most direct of reasons: he is the Baptist, who preached repentance and a baptism of conversion at the Jordan, and upon whom fell the honor of baptizing Christ himself (Matthew 3:13-17) — the very pattern of the sacrament. Tailors take him as patron with gentle humor, because of his own famous garment of camel’s hair (Matthew 3:4); farriers and smiths claim him by tradition, possibly linked to his bonfires on the eve of his June feast. He is patron of the river Jordan, sanctified by Christ’s baptism in its waters, and the much-loved patron of French Canada and the province of Quebec, whose national feast is kept on his day, June 24.
Saint John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, was the son of Zechariah and Elizabeth. He lived an ascetic life in the desert and preached a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. He baptized Jesus in the Jordan River and was later martyred by King Herod Antipas.
