The Diocese of Phoenix celebrated the birth of the prophet St. John the Baptist, Jesus' cousin.

The diocese shared a Facebook post on Thursday commemorating the occasion.

"Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist," the diocese said in the Facebook post. "Pray for us!"

John is the only saint celebrated on multiple feast days, aside from Jesus and Mary, Vatican News reported. John's birth is celebrated on June 24 because it is three months after the annunciation, at which time his mother, Elizabeth, was six months pregnant. John was a prophet of Israel who baptized Jesus and was one of the first to acknowledge him as the Son of God.

"I tell you, among those born of women, no one is greater than John," Jesus said of John in the Gospel of Luke.

John played a pivotal role in the history of salvation by preparing the way for Jesus, Franciscan Media reported. He lived as an ascetic in the desert, and people would come to him to be baptized. Some of those attracted to John believed that he was the Messiah, but John always deferred to Jesus.

The Gospel reading for June 23, the Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, comes from Luke Chapter 1 and describes John's birth to Elizabeth and Zechariah, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops reported.