Elizabeth and Zechariah were the parents of John the Baptist. Elizabeth was the cousin of the Virgin Mary, and Zechariah was a priest in Jerusalem. As depicted in this stained glass window from the Basilica, an angel visited Zechariah in an incense-filled vision when he was in the temple. The angel told him that Elizabeth, who was well beyond child-bearing years, would have a son and they should name him John.

Zechariah doubted the news and the angel struck him mute. When their child was born, he was consulted as to what name their son should be given. When he wrote on a slate that the boy shall be called John, his speech was restored.

After the Annunciation, when the angel Gabriel told Mary she would bear the Son of God, Mary traveled to be with Elizabeth as she prepared for motherhood. Upon hearing Mary’s greeting, Elizabeth cried out:

“Most blessed are you among women, and blessed in the fruit of you womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.”

— Lk 1:42-45

We celebrate this moment on the Feast of the Visitation, which is held on May 31 each year to mark the end of the month dedicated to Mary.

Elizabeth is the patron of pregnant women. Relics of both Elizabeth and Zechariah rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica, as does a piece of the house they lived in.

Saints Elizabeth and Zechariah, parents of John the Baptist who prepared the way of the Lord—pray for us!