(Hebrew: worshiper of God)
Wife of Zachary, mother of Saint John the Baptist. According to the Gospel of Saint Luke she was "of the daughters of Aaron," and a kinswoman of the Blessed Virgin Mary, although their actual relationship is unknown. She had reached an advanced age, but still remained childless, when the Angel Gabriel announced that she would bear a son and that he would be called John. Five months later when Elizabeth was visited in her home by Mary, not only was her son sanctified in her womb, but she herself was divinely inspired to salute her cousin as "Mother of my Lord." No further mention of her occurs in the Scriptures. Feast, November 5,.