SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST is the son of Zechariah and Elizabeth. His birth was foretold by the angel Gabriel. John the Baptist was itinerant preacher and a major religious figure who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River where he baptised Jesus Christ. John the Baptist was seen as a threat so Herod Antipas had him executed. In Luke 1:17, the role of John is referred to as being " to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." His feast day is celebrated on June 24