The Lamb

The lamb is one of the oldest signs of Christ. It recalls the Passover lamb, whose blood saved the Israelites in Egypt (Exodus 12), and the servant of God led “like a lamb to the slaughter” (Isaiah 53:7).

Behold the Lamb of God. When St John the Baptist saw Jesus coming, he said, “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). So John is shown pointing to a lamb, often resting on a book, with a banner reading Ecce Agnus Dei. At every Mass the priest repeats his words before Communion.

The Lamb in glory. In Revelation the risen Christ appears as “a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain” (Revelation 5:6). A lamb with a cross and a banner is the Lamb of God victorious, carved on altars and tabernacles.

St Agnes. Her name sounds like agnus, Latin for lamb, and she holds one as a sign of her innocence.

St Francis. Francis loved lambs because they reminded him of Christ, and once bought lambs at the market to save them from slaughter.

Also called: Agnus Dei; the Lamb of God