Important Dates in the Lives of Jesus and Mary 

walk, being a year and a half old, shed tears the whole day. 

333

 Again, she tells us:   the Massacre of the 

Innocents was in His second year. 

334

 (Notice that the  second year  is not the year following Jesus' second 

birthday, but rather, the year between His first and second birthdays. A person's second birthday marks the 

end, not the beginning of their second year of life since birth.) 

    Jesus was born Nov. 25 of 15 

B.C.

, and so He completed His 18th month since His Birth at the end of May 

in 13 

B.C.

 Blessed Anne Catherine says that Jesus was  nearly  18 months old, indicating that the Massacre 

happened before the end of May. 

    However, she also states that John was two years old when the Massacre happened. John was born in late 

June or early July of 15 

B.C.

 and was about 5 months older than Jesus. John completed his second year from 

birth in late June or early July of 13 

B.C.

; he would have been not quite 2 years old in May. So the Massacre 

could have happened as late as June or July. 

    On the other hand, Blessed Anne Catherine received her visions about the Massacre of the Holy Innocents 

on March 9. She usually received her visions on either the actual day of the event, or on the day of the 

Church's celebration of that event. The Church's celebration of the Martyrdom of the Holy Innocents is held 

on Dec. 28. So, perhaps the actual day of the Massacre occurred on the day that she received the vision, which 

was March 9. 

    In 13 

B.C.

, the Passover was most likely held from April 18 to 25.

335

 If the Passover was held in March, it 

would have started before the Spring Equinox. Huge numbers of Jews came to Jerusalem for the Passover. 

Herod would not have put so many Jewish children to death just before or during the Passover, for fear of the 

crowds. The Jewish feast of Pentecost (the Feast of Weeks) begins on the 50th day (Sivan 6; June 8 that year) 

from the second day of Passover. Since huge crowds also came to Jerusalem for the Feast of Weeks, Herod 

would likely have avoided killing the Holy Innocents at that time. So, the Massacre of the Holy Innocents 

could have occurred in early March, well before the late April Passover. Or, it could have occurred in early 

May, after the Passover crowds had left the area. Or, it could have occurred in mid to late June or in July, after 

the Feast of Weeks had ended. 

    Based on various statements by Blessed Anne Catherine, the Massacre most likely occurred sometime 

between March and July of 13 

B.C.

 The exact date of the Massacre of the Holy Innocents is not certain. 

However, within this time frame, I favor the date of March 9. Early March is not long after the Holy Family 

fled to Egypt; in fact, they were still in transit at that time. They fled to Egypt to avoid the Massacre, so a date 

closer to the date of their flight is preferable. Also, March 9 was the date on which Blessed Anne Catherine 

received her visions of the event. 

    The number of infants killed in the Massacre, according to Blessed Anne Catherine, was probably about 

700.  Their number was shown to me, but I have no clear recollection of it. I think it was 700, and another 

number with 7 or 17 in it. 

336

 These children were taken, not only from Bethlehem and the adjacent towns, but 

also from other towns in Judea. There would not have been so many infants killed if only the male infants 

from Bethlehem and the immediate area were taken. 

    Herod sent his soldiers out to various towns around Jerusalem, even those some distance from Bethlehem. 

 Under various pretexts he dispatched soldiers to different places round Jerusalem, such as Gilgal, Bethlehem, 

and Hebron, and ordered a census of the children to be made. 

337

 Bethlehem is only a few miles from 

Jerusalem, but the town of Hebron is about 20 miles south of Jerusalem. And the town of Gilgal is over 15 

miles northeast of Jerusalem, just north of Jericho.

338

 Blessed Anne Catherine also tells us:  The children were 

massacred in seven different places. 

339

 Herod would not have needed 7 different places to kill the children if 

they were taken from only one small area around Bethlehem. 

    Sacred Scripture also indicates that the Holy Innocents were taken from a large area:  he sent and killed all 

the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region .  (Mt 2:16). The phrase  in all that region  is a broad 

generalization, which does not limit the area spoken of to one immediate location, but extends it to a large 

area. Also, Sacred Scripture tells us that the Massacre of the Holy Innocents was a fulfillment of a prophecy of 

Jeremiah that refers to Ramah.   `A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel 

weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled, because they were no more.'   (Mt 2:18). Bethlehem is 

about 5 miles south of Jerusalem, but the town of Ramah is about 7 miles north of Jerusalem.

340

 In this way, 

90