Important Dates in the Lives of Jesus and Mary 

    The flight to Egypt could not have occurred in Feb. of 14 

B.C.

, just a few months after the Birth of Christ 

(Nov. of 15 

B.C.

), because that year was not a leap year and because the Christ Child was much less than one 

year old. So the Holy Family must have fled to Egypt the following year, in 13 

B.C.

, on February 29. 

    This chronology of the Flight to Egypt provides additional support for the conclusion that Christ was born 

in 15 

B.C.

 Herod killed the children two years of age or younger, so the flight to Egypt must have occurred 

between one and two years after the Birth of Christ. It could not have occurred only a few months after 

Christ's Birth, or Herod would not have killed children as old as two years. But the flight to Egypt also could 

not have occurred more than two years after Christ's Birth, or Herod would have killed children older than 

two years. Also, Blessed Anne Catherine described the Christ Child as being, at most, between one and two 

years old at the time of the flight to Egypt.

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 So, since the flight to Egypt took place in a leap year on Feb. 29, 

any proposed year for the Birth of Christ must be followed by a non leap year and then a leap year. The only 

year which fits this line of reasoning, and has Nov. 25 falling on a Sunday, is 15 

B.C.

 The year 4 

B.C.

 is too 

long before the leap year of 1 

B.C.

 to have been the year of Christ's Birth. And Nov. 25 of 

A.D.

 3, which was a 

Sunday, is only a few months from Feb. 29 of 

A.D.

 4. Other years which are two years prior to a leap year do 

not fit the criteria for the year of Christ's Birth, nor do they fit the criteria for the year of Christ's death 33 years 

later. 

    Blessed Anne Catherine's description of the Child Jesus during the flight to Egypt indicates that Jesus was 

just over 1 year old at that time.  Once she said: `The Child may well be more than a year old, I saw Him 

playing about by a balsam bush at one of the halting places on the journey, and sometimes His parents led 

Him by the hand for a little way.'  

321

    There was some confusion, though, on the part of Blessed Anne Catherine about the age of Christ at the 

time of His flight to Egypt. She gives conflicting information about whether the flight to Egypt occurred in the 

calendar year after Christ's Birth, or a year later. Though she describes the Child Jesus as walking while His 

parents held His hand during the journey, in another place, she asserts that Jesus was at this time only about 

12 weeks old.  The Child was twelve weeks old. I had seen three times four weeks. 

322

 This statement conflicts 

with her description of the Child Jesus being able to walk. 

    Her statement that Christ was 12 weeks old also conflicts with her descriptions of the young Saint John the 

Baptist.  Little John had nothing on but a lamb's skin; although scarcely eighteen months old, he was sure on 

his feet and could run and jump about. 

323

 We know from Sacred Scripture that John was conceived just over 

5  months before the Incarnation (see chapter 5). If John was born about 5 months or so before Christ was 

born, then he was born in late June or early July. Since the flight to Egypt began at the very end of February, 

John must have been about 20 months old. John's 18th month occurred about December (14 

B.C.

), and his 

20th month occurred about February (13 

B.C.

). If John was able to run and jump about, he must have been 

about 20 months old, not the 8 months old that he was in late February of the previous year. Therefore, the 

Christ Child was about 15 months old, and not 3 months old (12 weeks), when the flight to Egypt began. 

    So then, why would God show Blessed Anne Catherine three times four weeks? Perhaps this was an 

indication of the month when the flight to Egypt began, but not the year. In this way, the three times four 

weeks means that the flight began at the end of February, about three months after the Birth of Jesus Christ. A 

similar misunderstanding occurred regarding the time of the Virgin Mary's death, where Blessed Anne 

Catherine interprets 13 plus 2 months to mean 13 years and 2 months, whereas an interpretation of 13 days 

plus 2 months is a much better fit for the information which she herself gives (see chapter 10). 

    The Holy Family's flight to Egypt began on February 29 of 13 

B.C.

 In that year, February 29 coincided with 

Saturday, AdarI 24 in the Jewish calendar.

324

 Devout Jews would not travel more than a short distance on 

Saturday, because it is the Sabbath. But the Holy Family fled in the evening, as is clear from Sacred Scripture: 

 And he rose and took the child and his mother by night, and departed to Egypt .  (Mt 2:14). And Blessed 

Anne Catherine tells us:  It was not yet midnight when they left the house. 

325

 Since the Sabbath day ends at 

sunset on Saturday, the beginning of the Holy Family's flight to Egypt did not conflict with their obligation to 

rest on the Sabbath. By the Jewish calendar each day ends at sunset, so the Holy Family's flight to Egypt 

actually began on Sunday (AdarI 25), but by the Roman calendar it was near the end of Saturday on February 

29.

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