December 28

Holy Innocents

Feast · Remembered by Catholics, Anglicans and Lutherans

Children of Bethlehem killed by King Herod in his hunt for the infant Jesus

The Holy Innocents were the boys of Bethlehem who, according to Matthew’s Gospel, were killed on the orders of King Herod the Great soon after Jesus was born. Wise men from the east had come asking for a newborn king of the Jews, and Herod, who had executed some of his own sons to protect his throne, ordered the death of every boy in Bethlehem and its surroundings aged two and under. Joseph, warned in a dream, had already fled to Egypt with Mary and the child.

Only Matthew tells this story, and no writer of the time mentions it, not even Josephus, who recorded many of Herod’s crimes. Bethlehem was a small village, so historians think the number of children may have been small; later traditions grew it to thousands.

Christians have kept their memory since ancient times (28 December in the West, 29 December in many Eastern churches). They honour children who died before they could speak, and remember every child who suffers violence at the hands of the powerful.

When Herod saw that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was filled with rage. Sending orders, he put to death all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, according to the time he had learned from the Magi. Then what was spoken through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: “A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”

Matthew 2:16–18 · BSB

A prayer

God of life, the children of Bethlehem lost their lives when a frightened king tried to destroy your Son. Hear the cry of every mother who weeps like Rachel. Give us courage to protect the small and the defenceless, and to stand against the cruelty of the powerful, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.