“Glorious Saint John the Baptist, who was sanctified in the maternal womb, when your mother heard the greeting of Mary Most Holy, and canonized while still alive by the same Jesus Christ who solemnly declared that there was none greater than you among those born of women; through the intercession of the Virgin and through the infinite merits of her divine Son, whose forerunner you were, announcing him as Master and pointing him out as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, obtain for us the grace to bear witness to the truth and even seal it, if necessary, with your own blood, as you did, unjustly beheaded by order of a cruel and sensual king, whose excesses and whims you had justly denounced. Bless all who invoke you and make all the virtues you practiced in life flourish here, so that, truly animated by your spirit, in the state in which God has placed us, we may one day enjoy eternal bliss with you. Amen."