*Ø* Blogmanac | The blood miracle of St Januarius
Feast day of St Januarius (San Gennaro) Bishop of Benevento, and his companions
The fourth-century bishop of Benevento, Italy, patron saint of Naples, was martyed in 304 during the Roman emperor Diocletian's persecution.
His head and a glass phial of his blood are preserved in the cathedral of Naples, and eighteen times a year the blood is shown publicly, having miraculously liquefied. No mention of the liquefying blood was made until 1389, when on August 17, the phenomenon was first reported, by an anonymous traveller.
The 18 days on which the liquefaction takes place annually include his saint’s day (September19), the Saturday before the first Sunday in May, and December 16.
Diocletian had him roasted in a furnace, but he survived; he then set wild beasts on him, but they licked his feet. Then Januarius’s head was severed, and a woman collected two phials of his blood. Later the ghost of Januarius directed a Neapolitan to find the severed head in a thicket. When the head and body were reunited the woman approached with the solidified blood, which re-liquefied. On the appointed days, it has done so ever since. Or, so it is said.
Saint Januarius is the patron saint of blood banks.
A skeptical view
“During the ceremony the reliquary is repeatedly picked up, moved around and upturned to check whether the liquefaction has taken place. If it has, the dark mass is seen to flow freely into the vial. The liquefaction sometimes takes place almost immediately, or can take hours, even days …
"Thixotropy might prove a good hypothesis to explain this ‘miracle’. Thixotropy denotes the property of certain gels to became more fluid, even from solid to liquid, when stirred, vibrated, or otherwise mechanically disturbed, and to resolidify when left to stand. Common examples of such substances are catsup, mayonnaise and some types of paints and toothpastes.
"Thus, the very act of handling the reliquary, repeatedly turning it upside down to check its state, might provide the necessary mechanical stress to induce the liquefaction ...” Source
San Gennaro Festival, New York
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Feast day of St Januarius (San Gennaro) Bishop of Benevento, and his companions
The fourth-century bishop of Benevento, Italy, patron saint of Naples, was martyed in 304 during the Roman emperor Diocletian's persecution.
His head and a glass phial of his blood are preserved in the cathedral of Naples, and eighteen times a year the blood is shown publicly, having miraculously liquefied. No mention of the liquefying blood was made until 1389, when on August 17, the phenomenon was first reported, by an anonymous traveller.
The 18 days on which the liquefaction takes place annually include his saint’s day (September19), the Saturday before the first Sunday in May, and December 16.
Diocletian had him roasted in a furnace, but he survived; he then set wild beasts on him, but they licked his feet. Then Januarius’s head was severed, and a woman collected two phials of his blood. Later the ghost of Januarius directed a Neapolitan to find the severed head in a thicket. When the head and body were reunited the woman approached with the solidified blood, which re-liquefied. On the appointed days, it has done so ever since. Or, so it is said.
Saint Januarius is the patron saint of blood banks.
A skeptical view
“During the ceremony the reliquary is repeatedly picked up, moved around and upturned to check whether the liquefaction has taken place. If it has, the dark mass is seen to flow freely into the vial. The liquefaction sometimes takes place almost immediately, or can take hours, even days …
"Thixotropy might prove a good hypothesis to explain this ‘miracle’. Thixotropy denotes the property of certain gels to became more fluid, even from solid to liquid, when stirred, vibrated, or otherwise mechanically disturbed, and to resolidify when left to stand. Common examples of such substances are catsup, mayonnaise and some types of paints and toothpastes.
"Thus, the very act of handling the reliquary, repeatedly turning it upside down to check its state, might provide the necessary mechanical stress to induce the liquefaction ...” Source
San Gennaro Festival, New York
Pip Wilson's articles are available for your publication, on application. Further details
Receive similar items free each day with a free subscription to Wilson's Almanac ezine. Send a blank email
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