St Januarius, the famous Saint of Naples |
St.
Januarius (Gennaro) is a patron saint of and former bishop of Naples in the 4th
century. Januarius and his friends were initially sentenced to be eaten by the
lions, .tigers, and bears ( Oh my) at the Naples amphitheatre. Although the
beasts had been starved for several days before the day of the planned
transformation of the Christians into animal crackers, the beasts refused to
attack Januarius and his colleagues. The spectators at the amphitheatre were
frightened by the indifference of the starving animals to the Christians and
rumors began to circulate that the Christians had magical powers and were
possibly protected by their god. The governor of Campania ordered their
immediate beheading and Januarius' body was later returned to the Cathedral in
Naples.
The Cardinal of Naples holding the liquefied reliquary of St Januarius |
Over a
century later, it was purported that a vial of St. Januarius' blood surfaced
and was preserved and permanently fixed in the metal reliquary in the Cathedral
of Naples. Thousands of people assemble to witness this event in the Cathedral
of Naples, three times a year: on September 19 (Saint Januarius day, to
commemorate his martyrdom), on December 16 (to celebrate his patronage of both
Naples and of the archdiocese), and on the Saturday before the first Sunday of
May (to commemorate the reunification of his relics).
Sometimes
the "blood" liquefies immediately, other times it takes hours. When the priest brings the vial to the altar
that holds the saint's blood, the people, who gather by the thousands, pray
that the blood becomes liquid once again. If the miracle takes place, the
officiant proclaims, "Il miracolo é fatto!" ("The miracle has happened.") and waves a white
handkerchief. Then a Te Deum is sung and the reliquary is taken to the altar
rail so the faithful can kiss the vial.
There have been a few instances when the
substance in the vial had not liquefied and the faithful believes that it is a
sign of impending peril. Five times when liquefaction has failed there have
been major disasters, the latest being an earthquake in southern Italy that
killed 3,000 people in 1980.
Father Julian, Thank you for your blog. We use it regularly to learn about the saints and feast days, as I know many do. Have a great day! The Smith Family
ReplyDeleteFather Julian -- you brighten our days with learning, laughter, and love!
ReplyDeleteSandy