St. Zachary

St. Zachary (also Zechariah) was, according to the Gospel of Luke, a priest of the division of Abijah who served in the Temple at Jerusalem, and the husband of Elizabeth, a kinswoman of the Virgin Mary. The couple were righteous and blameless but childless and advanced in years. While Zachary was offering incense in the sanctuary, the angel Gabriel appeared to him and announced that Elizabeth would bear a son to be called John, who would go before the Lord in the spirit of Elijah.

Because he doubted the promise, asking for a sign, Zachary was struck mute until the child was born. When at the circumcision he confirmed in writing that the boy's name was to be John, his speech was restored, and, filled with the Holy Spirit, he burst forth in the great canticle of praise known as the Benedictus — "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel" — prayed daily by the Church at Morning Prayer. He is venerated as a saint, the father of St. John the Baptist and a prophet of the coming Redemption.