Ein Karem - Church of St. John the Baptist

After visiting the Second Temple scale model on Day 6, we drove to the ancient village of Ein Karem, the birthplace of John the Baptist. Ein Karem, in Hebrew, means "Spring of the Vineyard." A spring that provides water to the village stimulated settlement there from an early time. Pottery has been found nearby dating to the Middle Bronze Age (2100-1500 B.C.). Today it is considered to be a neighborhood of southwest Jerusalem. And from a Catholic perspective, this is where Mary visited Elizabeth in the second Joyful Mystery of the rosary: The Visitation.

The Church of St. John the Baptist in Ein Karem is the traditional spot where Elizabeth felt the infant "leap in her womb" when visited by her kinswoman Mary in Luke 1:41. It was built in the second half of the 19th century on the remnants of earlier Byzantine and Crusader churches. Inside are the remains of an ancient mosaic floor and a cave where, according to Tradition, John the Baptist was born.

Ein Karem is also the place where Mary sang her "Magnificat" and Zechariah recited his poem of praise and prophecy, the "Benedictus."


Catholic pilgrims walk towards the Church of St. John the Baptist.

 

Name plaque on the church.

 

 

Church of St. John the Baptist.

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

Main altar inside church. From left to right -- statues of Zechariah, Mary (above tabernacle), and Elizabeth.

 

The most revered site in the church is the Grotto. Believed to be part of the home in which John the Baptist was born to Zechariah and Elizabeth, and perhaps even the site of his birth, it was incorporated into the church's left apse. You reach the crypt by walking through an elaborately adorned green and gold gate and descending a few marble steps.

 

 

 
 



 

The "Benedictus" (by Zechariah, father of John the Baptist) written in 24 languages in the courtyard of the church.