December 28 : Holy Innocents

The feast of the Holy Innocents has been remembered by the Church since the fifth century. Feast of the Holy Innocents, also called Childermas or Innocents’ Day is a Christian feast in remembrance of the massacre of young children in Bethlehem by King Herod the Great in his attempt to kill the infant Jesus. These children are venerated as martyrs of sorts—they died not only for Christ but actually instead of Christ. St. Augustine called them buds killed by the frost of persecution the moment they showed themselves. In Rome it was a day of fasting and mourning. The Holy Innocents are honored as patrons of babies, and some of the relics in the Basilica reliquary chapel indicate that they come from these children.