Finding in the Temple

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Depiction of Jesus at age twelve from Jesus and the doctors of the Faith, a painting by the entourage of Giuseppe Ribera.

The Finding in the Temple was an early episode of the life of Jesus. It is so far the most known event during Jesus' childhood.

The traditional narrative is taken from Luke 2:42-51. It involves Jesus at the age of twelve accompanying Mary and Joseph to Jerusalem on pilgrimage. Unaware that Jesus stayed behind, Mary and Joseph went ahead without him, leaving Jesus in Jerusalem for three days. He was found in the Temple teaching the elders who were amazed at his knowledge of the scripture, especially given his young age. When admonished by Mary, Jesus replied "Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?" (Interestingly enough, the later custom of b'nai mitzvah would occur when a boy turned 13 or a girl 12, the age at which a Jewish person would attain responsibility for learning and adhering to the commandments. This tradition started more than a century after the Finding in the Temple, and perhaps a few centuries after that event; it arose in the Talmudic period, and even then, only for boys. Girls wouldn't be initiated as bat mitzvah until the 20th century.)

The finding in the temple is the fifth joyful mystery of the rosary.