SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST "patiently, suffer for truth's sake" John the Baptist was the son of Elizabeth and Zechariah, and was related to Jesus on his mother's side. He was freed from original sin and sanctified in his mother's womb. John lived ascetically in the desert. He was clothed in camel's hair, with a leather belt, and ate locusts and wild honey. He preached repentance, and called upon people to prepare for the coming of the Kingdom and of the Messiah. He baptized his followers to signify their repentance and new life. Jesus himself was baptized by John in the Jordan River. Because of his denunciation of the sins of Herod, especially Herod's incestuous marriage, John incurred the enmity of Herodias, Herod's wife, and was put in prison. Through Herodias' plotting with Salmone, her daughter, Herod was led to promise a gift to Salome, who demanded John's head. John was thereupon executed. Saint John is one of the most popular saints, and his life in the desert appealed to many of the earliest monks. Therefore, he has been a major patron of the monastic orders. Saint John is typically shown as a lean man with a rough robe, carrying a lamb or with a lamb near him. He holds a tall staff often ending in a cross or is shown carrying his own head. Emblems associated with Saint John the Baptist are a tall cross, water, a honey-pot, a lamb nearby and his head on a platter. Saint John the Baptist was donated by: Marie Riegler and Norma Riegler Wood in memory of the Reverend Gordon A. Riegler