About the Holy Innocents
Feast Day: December 28
December 28 is the feast day of the Holy Innocents. This day commemorates the children who were executed by Herod in fear that the newborn messiah would take his throne.
Holy Innocents
- Feast Day: December 28
- Patron Saint of …
- Mass Readings
Patron Saint of …
The Holy Innocents are the patron saints of babies.
Daily Mass Readings
- First Reading – 1 John 1:5 – 2:2: “He is expiation for our sins, and not for our sins only but for those of the whole world.”
- Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 124: “Our soul has been rescued like a bird from the fowler’s snare.”
- Gospel – Matthew 2:13-18: “When Herod realized that he had been deceived by the magi, he became furious. He ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had ascertained from the magi.”
Additional Ideas and Resources
Bless Your Children
This feast day reminds us of the vulnerability of children. As a parent, the world can seem a dangerous place to send our children out into. But we must remember that they are gifts from God and that they belong to God. We must place them in His hands.
So on the feast day of the Holy Innocents, bless your children with a traditional Jewish blessing from Numbers 6:24-26. Trace the sign of the cross on your child’s forehead when you say the blessing:
The Lord bless you and keep you!
The Lord let his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you!
The Lord look upon you kindly and give you peace!
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Today we pray for all the children who are not allowed to be born, who cry with hunger, who hold weapons in their hands instead of toys.
Pope Francis on the Feast of the Holy Innocents
Learn More About These Children
This extremely cruel act is historical. It is mentioned by a Jewish historian. Read more.
Prayer for the Grieving
Grieving the death of a child can be especially difficult. Don’t despair! God is still there. He is waiting for you and patiently allows each of us to grieve in our own way.