Novena to St John The Baptist

The novena to St John the Baptist is the nine-day prayer to the Forerunner of Our Lord — the greatest of the prophets, the last and highest of the old covenant, the voice crying in the wilderness who pointed to the Lamb of God. It is prayed for a heart detached from the world, for zeal in bringing souls to Christ, and for the courage to profess the faith openly whatever it costs; and it is kept above all in the nine days from 15 to 23 June, ending on the eve of his great feast, the Nativity of St John the Baptist on 24 June. Below we give the full novena from the Raccolta, the three ancient prayers to the Prophet, the Apostle and the Martyr, together with his life, his patronage, and the questions most often asked about the devotion.

The full novena to St John the Baptist

This is the traditional novena carried in the old Catholic prayer-books and enriched with indulgences by the Holy See. It is said once a day for nine days, and follows the three great phases of the Baptist's life — his hidden years in the desert, his preaching by the Jordan, and his martyrdom under Herod. After each of the three prayers one says an Our Father, a Hail Mary, and a Glory Be. If you are new to this form of prayer, our guide to what is a novena explains why the Church has always prayed in nines.

Begin, if you wish, with the Sign of the Cross, and name your intention.

I. The Saint in the Wilderness

O glorious St John the Baptist, greatest of the prophets among those born of woman, although thou wast sanctified in thy mother's womb and didst lead a most innocent life, nevertheless it was thy will to retire into the wilderness, there to devote thyself to the practice of austerity and penance; obtain for us of thy Lord the grace to be wholly detached, at least in our hearts, from earthly goods, and to practise Christian mortification with interior recollection and with the spirit of holy prayer.

Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory Be.

II. The Zealous Apostle

O most zealous Apostle, who, without working any miracle on others, but solely by the example of thy life of penance and the power of thy word, didst draw after thee the multitudes, in order to dispose them to receive the Messias worthily and to listen to His heavenly doctrine; grant that it may be given unto us, by means of thy example of a holy life and the exercise of every good work, to bring many souls to God, but above all those souls that are enveloped in the darkness of error and ignorance and are led astray by vice.

Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory Be.

III. The Martyr Invincible

O Martyr invincible, who, for the honour of God and the salvation of souls didst with firmness and constancy withstand the impiety of Herod even at the cost of thine own life, and didst rebuke him openly for his wicked and dissolute life; by thy prayers obtain for us a heart, brave and generous, in order that we may overcome all human respect and openly profess our faith in loyal obedience to the teachings of Jesus Christ, our divine Master.

Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory Be.

Versicle, response, and collect

V. Pray for us, St John the Baptist.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray. O God, who hast made this day worthy of honour by the nativity of blessed John the Baptist, grant unto Thy people the grace of spiritual joys, and direct the minds of all the faithful into the way of everlasting salvation. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

This is the complete devotion. Say the three prayers, the three sets of Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be, and the closing collect each day for the nine days, naming your particular request within them.

A shorter novena prayer to St John the Baptist

Where the fuller form cannot be kept, the heart of the novena can be prayed in a single petition. It carries the same intention and the same three-fold memory of the saint's life:

O glorious St John the Baptist, forerunner of Our Lord, who wast sanctified in thy mother's womb, who didst prepare the way of the Lord in the wilderness, and who didst give thy life rather than be silent before sin: obtain for me detachment from all that is passing, zeal for the souls around me, and the courage to confess Christ before men. Pray for me, that I may be made worthy of the promises of Christ, and obtain for me this favour I now ask (name your request), if it be for the glory of God and the good of my soul. Amen.

The novena to St Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptist

Many search for a novena to St Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, and the two devotions belong naturally together. St Elizabeth was the cousin of the Blessed Virgin, the wife of the priest Zachary, and though "well advanced in years" and long thought barren, she conceived the Forerunner by the plain gift of God. It was at Mary's greeting that "the infant leaped in her womb," and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Ghost, cried out the words the Church has never ceased to repeat: "Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb." She is a patron of expectant mothers and of those who long for a child after years of waiting. You may pray to her within this same novena — asking her, who received a son against all hope, to intercede — or keep a distinct novena to St Elizabeth. Her scene with Our Lady, the Visitation, is the second Joyful Mystery of the Rosary; those who wish to join it to their prayer will find it in our guide on how to pray the Rosary.

How to pray the nine days

A novena is nine days of steady, unhurried asking, and this one has a natural home in the calendar.

• When to start. The classic dates are 15 June through 23 June, so that the ninth day falls on the vigil and the novena ends as the feast of the Nativity begins on 24 June. But the novena may be prayed at any time of year, before any need — count back nine days from the day you wish to close, and begin.
• Keep a fixed hour. Pray at the same time each day, morning or evening, so the devotion becomes a small rule and not an afterthought.
• Name one intention. Carry a single, plain request through all nine days, and ask it in submission: Thy will be done. A novena does not bend God to our wish; it disposes us to receive what He wills to give.
• Join it to more where you can. Add the novena to Mass, to Holy Communion, or to a decade of the Rosary. Where a feast is kept, crown the nine days by keeping the feast itself — at Mass if you are able.

For the disposition proper to St John, there is no better school than his own word about Our Lord: "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30). To pray this novena well is to pray for that spirit — the humility that makes room for Christ. Those drawn to it may wish to add the Litany of Humility, which asks for the very self-forgetfulness the Baptist embodied.

Who is St John the Baptist?

St John the Baptist is the Precursor, or Forerunner, of Jesus Christ — the herald sent to prepare His way. His birth is one of the few the Church celebrates, and for a singular reason. St Augustine observed that the Church keeps the feasts of the saints on the day of their death, their birthday into eternal life; but the Nativity of St John forms an exception, because, as the constant tradition holds, he was sanctified in his mother's womb and so came into the world already in grace. This sanctification is understood to have been wrought at the Visitation, when the unborn John "leaped" at the approach of the unborn Christ.

His father Zachary was a priest of the Jewish law, and his mother Elizabeth was of the house of Aaron; Scripture calls them both just, "walking in all the commandments and justifications of the Lord without blame" (Luke 1:6). As Zachary offered incense in the temple, the angel Gabriel appeared and foretold the birth of a son who should be great before the Lord, who should be called John, and who should drink no wine — a Nazarite from the womb. Zachary doubted, and was struck dumb until the child was born and he wrote upon a tablet, "John is his name." At that his speech returned, and he sang the Benedictus, the canticle the Church prays every morning in her office.

Grown to manhood, John withdrew into the desert, clothed in camel's hair and living on locusts and wild honey, and there began to preach a baptism of penance by the Jordan, drawing multitudes. He baptised Our Lord Himself, saw the heavens opened, and named Him for all time: "Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who taketh away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). Of him Christ said that among those born of women there hath not risen a greater (Matthew 11:11). He is at once prophet, virgin and martyr — a rank of graces belonging to no other saint. Because he pointed out in the flesh the Redeemer whom the older prophets had foretold only from afar, he is called "more than a prophet."

His death and his feasts

John's boldness cost him his life. He had rebuked Herod Antipas openly for taking Herodias, his brother's wife, and Herod cast him into prison. At a banquet Herodias's daughter danced before the king, and, prompted by her mother, asked for the head of John the Baptist on a dish; Herod, bound by a rash oath and by human respect before his guests, gave the order, and the Forerunner was beheaded. For this the Church keeps two feasts: the Nativity of St John the Baptist on 24 June, the joyful feast this novena precedes, and the Beheading (or Decollation) of St John the Baptist on 29 August. He is honoured as the patron of many lands and cities — among them French Canada, Puerto Rico, and the ancient Knights of St John — and is invoked by all who must speak the truth at a cost, by those seeking conversion of life, and by expectant mothers together with his own mother Elizabeth. His name stands high in the Litany of the Saints, called upon immediately after Our Lady and the angels.

Frequently Asked Questions

When do you pray the novena to St John the Baptist?

The traditional nine days run from 15 to 23 June, ending on the eve of the Nativity of St John the Baptist, which is kept on 24 June. This is why it is called a nine-day novena to the feast. It may also be prayed at any other time of year for a particular need — simply count back nine days from the day you wish to end and begin then.

Is this a 9-day novena?

Yes. Novena comes from the Latin for "nine," and this devotion is prayed once a day for nine consecutive days. Each day you say the three prayers — to the Prophet in the wilderness, to the zealous Apostle, and to the invincible Martyr — with an Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be after each, and close with the versicle, response and collect given above.

What is St John the Baptist the patron saint of?

St John the Baptist is invoked as the patron of converts and of those called to penance, of preachers and of all who must proclaim the truth without fear, of expectant mothers, and of a great many places, including French Canada and Puerto Rico. Because he prepared the way of the Lord, he is a fitting intercessor for any new beginning of the interior life.

Is there a printable PDF of the novena?

The complete text you need is on this page: the three prayers, the Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be after each, and the closing collect, said once a day for nine days. You may copy it to keep beside you through the nine days. The Iter Fidei app also carries the full devotion in Latin and your own language with audio, so it can be prayed from a phone without a printed sheet.

Was St John the Baptist really sanctified before he was born?

This is the constant teaching of the Fathers and the reason the Church, uniquely, celebrates his earthly birthday. At the Visitation, when Our Lady greeted Elizabeth, "the infant leaped in her womb" (Luke 1:41), and tradition understands that John was then cleansed of original sin and filled with grace by the presence of the unborn Christ. He came into the world, therefore, already holy — which is why his Nativity, not only his death, is kept as a feast.

What is the difference between the two feasts of St John the Baptist?

The Church keeps the Nativity of St John the Baptist on 24 June, celebrating his holy birth, and the Beheading of St John the Baptist on 29 August, commemorating his martyrdom under Herod. This novena leads up to the June feast of his birth. The August feast honours the courage that cost him his head rather than his silence before sin.

Can I pray this novena for a specific intention?

Yes. Name your request within the prayers — the collect and the closing petition are the natural place — and carry the same intention through all nine days. Ask in trust and in submission to God's will. The Baptist, who sought nothing for himself and everything for Christ, is a sure intercessor for the grace that is truly best for your soul.

Pray this novena with day-by-day reminders and audio, alongside the litanies and prayers of the Forerunner, in the Iter Fidei app. Download it here.

Sources. Holy Scripture (Luke 1; Matthew 11:11; Matthew 14; John 1:29; John 3:30); Butler's Lives of the Saints (The Birthday of St John the Baptist, 24 June; The Beheading, 29 August); the Novena to St John the Baptist as carried in the Raccolta and the traditional Catholic prayer-books; the feasts of the Nativity (24 June) and the Decollation (29 August) of St John the Baptist in the 1962 calendar.