St. John the Baptist - San Juan Bautista, CA
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Metro2
N 36° 50.755 W 121° 32.172
10S E 630509 N 4078779
This sculpture is located in the church at Mission San Juan Bautista.
Waymark Code: WMRVDA
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 08/07/2016
Views: 3
This sculpture is one of six works set behind the main altar a tthe church at Mission San Juan Bautista. It depicts St. John that Baptist in the Mission and city named after him. He appears standing, his right chest exposed. He holds a crucifix at the end of a long pole. The "Lamb of God" is set at his feet.
This website (
visit link) has additional photos and informs us:
"St. John the Baptist, being the patron Saint of the Mission, gets the place of honor just above the altar."
Wikipedia (
visit link) adds:
"John the Baptist ... known as the prophet Yahya in the Quran), also known as John the Baptizer, was a Jewish itinerant preacher in the early first century AD. John is revered as a major religious figure in Christianity, Islam, the Bahá'í Faith, and Mandaeism. He is called a prophet by all of these traditions, and is honoured as a saint in many Christian traditions.
John used baptism as the central sacrament of his messianic movement. Most scholars agree that John baptized Jesus. Scholars generally believe Jesus was a follower or disciple of John and several New Testament accounts report that some of Jesus' early followers had previously been followers of John. John the Baptist is also mentioned by the Jewish historian Josephus. Some scholars maintain that John was influenced by the semi-ascetic Essenes, who expected an apocalypse and practiced rituals corresponding strongly with baptism, although no direct evidence substantiates this.
According to the New Testament, John anticipated a messianic figure greater than himself, and Jesus was the one whose coming John foretold. Christians commonly refer to John as the precursor or forerunner of Jesus, since John announces Jesus' coming. John is also identified with the prophet Elijah."