Church of Saint John the Baptist

A brief history

This Franciscan sanctuary in Ein Karem preserves a grotto venerated as John the Baptist’s birthplace. The devotion connects the village with Elizabeth and Zechariah, John’s parents. That local identification belongs to Christian tradition; Luke narrates John’s birth without identifying this church or its grotto.

Saints & traditions

Luke tells that Zechariah regained his speech after confirming the child’s name as John, then praised God in the canticle known as the Benedictus.