The Divine Childhood 

    Herod tried to find little John the Baptist, probably intending to kill him like the Holy Innocents, by 

questioning John's father, Zechariah.  He had caused Zecharias to be questioned several times as to the 

whereabouts of John . 

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 Zechariah did not reveal John's hiding place to Herod. And, according to Blessed 

Anne Catherine, Zechariah never visited John in the wilderness,  so that he might truthfully say, if asked by 

Herod where his son was, that he did not know. 

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    On one occasion, when Elizabeth was visiting John in the wilderness, Zechariah went to the Temple at 

Jerusalem:   as he was on his way to the Temple, he was attacked by Herod's soldiers These soldiers, who 

had been lying in wait for him, dragged him brutally to a prison on the slope of the Hill of Sion . The old 

man was here subjected to ill treatment and even torture, in order to force from him a confession of his son's 

whereabouts. When this had no effect, he was, by Herod's soldiers, stabbed to death. 

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 Zechariah was 

martyred because of Herod's continued attempts to find and kill the Christ child. In this way, Zechariah's 

martyrdom was like the martyrdom of the Holy Innocents, who also died because of Herod's desire to kill the 

Christ child. 

    According to Blessed Anne Catherine, the martyrdom of Zechariah occurred when John was about six years 

old.

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 Since John was born in late June or early July of  15 

B.C.

, he would have reached his sixth birthday 

about that time of year in 9 

B.C.

 (Herod must still have been alive at this time, since he was responsible for 

Zechariah's murder.) Zechariah's death likely occurred sometime in 9 

B.C.

, before Herod's death (in early 8 

B.C.

) and before the Holy Family returned from Egypt (late 7 

B.C.

). 

     On reaching home Elisabeth heard the terrible news of the murder of Zecharias. She grieved and lamented 

so sorely that she could find no peace or rest at home, and so left Jutta for ever and hastened to join John in 

the wilderness. She died there not long after, before the return of the Holy Family from Egypt. 

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    Elizabeth was not killed by Herod's soldiers; however, it can be truly said that she died of a broken heart in 

consequence of the martyrdom of Zechariah. Her great sorrow at her husband's death eventually brought 

about her own death. Elizabeth shared in her husband Zechariah's martyrdom in much the same way that the 

Virgin Mary shared in the martyrdom of her Divine Son Jesus Christ. Both Mary and Elizabeth grieved greatly 

at the suffering and death of someone they loved, and each suffered more than they would have suffered had 

they been killed in place of the one they loved. Zechariah and Elizabeth were both martyrs. 

    Elizabeth's death occurred after Zechariah's death and before the Holy Family returned from Egypt. This 

places her martyrdom sometime from 9 

B.C.

 to 7 

B.C.

 Since Blessed Anne Catherine says that she died  not 

long after  her husband's death, she may have died in 9 

B.C.

, the same year as her husband, or sometime in 8 

B.C.

The Return from Egypt 

     But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, `Rise, 

take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child's life are dead.' And 

he rose and took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel.  (Mt 2:19 21). 

    Sacred Scripture tell us that the Holy Family returned from Egypt to Israel after the death of Herod. 

However, Sacred Scripture does not tell us the length of time between Herod's death and the Holy Family's 

return from Egypt. We should not assume that the length of time was very short, merely because the two 

events are mentioned one after the other. 

    Notice also that the angel uses the plural  those who sought the child's life are dead.  In this way, Sacred 

Scripture indicates that there were others, in addition to Herod, who sought to kill the Christ Child. The use of 

the plural ( those ) leaves open the possibility that Herod was not the last to die of those who sought to kill the 

Child Jesus. 

    Blessed Anne Catherine said that Jesus was in His fifth or seventh year when two angels appeared to Him to 

announce the death of Herod.

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  He knelt down to pray on the way, and I saw two angels appearing to Him 

and announcing the death of Herod the Great. Jesus said nothing of this to His parents, why I do not know, 

whether from humility or because the angel had forbidden Him to, or because He knew that the time had not 

yet come for them to leave Egypt. 

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