The Holy Innocents are the children mentioned in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 2, verses 16 to 18. When King Herod realized that the wise men had deceived him, he became furious. In his rage, he ordered his soldiers to kill all male children aged two years and under in Bethlehem and its surrounding areas, based on the time he had carefully learned from the wise men. Through this tragic event, the prophecy of Jeremiah was fulfilled: “A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning; Rachel weeping for her children, and she would not be comforted, because they were no more.”
Ancient traditions differ greatly on the number of children killed. The Greek Liturgy claims that 14,000 boys were slain, while Syrian sources speak of 64,000. Many medieval writers even mention 144,000, drawing a symbolic connection with the Book of Revelation. Modern scholars, however, consider these figures exaggerated, noting that Bethlehem was a small town at the time. Some estimate the number to be between fifteen and twenty, others suggest ten to twelve, and a few place it as low as six children.
This massacre is not recorded by the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus, even though he documents many brutal acts committed by Herod during the final years of his reign. The likely reason is that the number of children killed was relatively small and may have seemed insignificant compared to Herod’s other crimes. A later writer, Macrobius, recounts that when Emperor Augustus heard that Herod had ordered the killing of boys under two years old, including his own son, he remarked that it was better to be Herod’s pig than his son, referring to Jewish laws that forbade the killing of swine. This story was widely accepted in the Middle Ages and was even included by Abelard in a hymn for the Feast of the Holy Innocents.
The exact date and year of the Holy Innocents’ death cannot be determined, as the chronology of Christ’s birth and the events that followed remains uncertain. What is known is that the children were killed within two years of the appearance of the star to the wise men. The Church honors these children as martyrs, calling them the “flowers of martyrdom.” They are seen as the first victims of persecution, who died not only for Christ, but in his place.
The Feast of the Holy Innocents was established by the Latin Church sometime between the late fourth and fifth centuries. In Rome, the liturgical station for December 28 is held at St. Paul Outside the Walls, a church believed to house the remains of several of the Holy Innocents. Some of these relics were later transferred to Santa Maria Maggiore by Pope Sixtus V. Other churches, including those in Padua, Lisbon, and Milan, also preserve relics believed to belong to these innocent martyrs.