Everything about Saint Januarius totally explained
» "Januarius" is also the Latin name of the month of January, and of a son of Saint Felicitas of Rome.
Saint Januarius, (in Italian,
San Gennaro),
bishop of Naples, is a
saint and
martyr for both the
Roman Catholic Church and the
Eastern Orthodox Church. According to legendary sources, he died in 305 during the
Diocletian persecution of Christians. He was imprisoned while visiting incarcerated
deacons at the
sulphur mines of Puteoli, the modern
Pozzuoli. After many tortures, including being thrown to wild beasts in Pozzuoli's
Flavian Amphitheater, he was
beheaded at
Solfatara, along with his companions, who included
Proculus of Pozzuoli.
Relocations of body and head
According to an early
hagiography, his relics were transferred by order of
Saint Severus,
bishop of Naples, to the
Neapolitan catacombs extra moenia. Later the body was moved to
Beneventum by Sico, Duke of Benevento, with the head remaining in Naples. Subsequently, during the turmoil at the time of
Frederick Barbarossa, his body was moved again, this time to the
Abbey of Montevergine where they were rediscovered in
1480.
At the instigation of Cardinal
Oliviero Carafa, his body was finally transferred in
1497 to
Naples, where he's the city's
patron saint. Carafa commissioned a richly decorated
Succorpo in the cathedral to properly house the reunited body and head. The Succorpo was finished in 1506 and is considered one of the more prominent monuments of the
High Renaissance in the city.
Life Story, Blood miracle and veneration
His
feast day is celebrated on
19 September, in the calendar of the Catholic Church. In the Eastern Church it's celebrated on
21 April.
There is little known on the life of Januarius but local Neapolitan tradition says he was born in
Benevento to a rich patrician family, decendant of the
Caudini tribe of the
Samnites. Ever since Januarius was young he wished to be a priest and at a young age of 15, became local priest of his parish in Benevento, which at the time was relatively
Pagan. When Januarius was 20, he became Bishop of
Naples and befriended
Juliana of Nicomedia and
St.Sossius whom he met during his priestly studies as young boys. As Bishop of Naples, he preformed many miracles. During the persecution of Christians by Emperor
Diocletian, he hid his fellow Christians and prevented them from being caught. Unfortuantly, while visiting Sossius in jail, he too was arrested. He was placed in a furance to be cooked alive, he came out unscathed. He was pushed into the
Flavian Amphitheater at
Pozzuoli to be eaten by wild bears, who hadn't eaten in days. Yet the animals refused to eat them, instead licking their toes. Januarius was beheaded along with Sossius and his companions at
Solfatara.
Despite very limited information about his life and works, he's famous for the reputed
miracle of the annual liquefaction of his
blood, first reported in
1389. The dried blood is safely stored in small capsules in a
reliquary. When these capsules are brought into the vicinity of his body on three occasions in the year, the dried blood supposedly liquefies.
Thousands of people assemble to witness this event in the cathedral of Naples. When the liquefaction has taken place, the archbishop holds up the glass
phial containing what previously was seen as the dried blood of the martyr. The announcement of the liquefaction is greeted with a
21-gun salute at the 13th-century
Castel Nuovo.
The ceremony takes place three times a year. The most famous is on the feast day on
19 September, which commemorates the saint's martyrdom. On
16 December, it celebrates his patronage of both Naples and of the archdiocese. The celebration on the Saturday before the first Sunday in May is for the commemoration of the unification of his relics. The first recorded reference to the 'miracle of the blood' was in
1389. The liquefaction sometimes takes place almost immediately, but can take hours or even days.
For the Italian population of
Little Italy, Manhattan, and other New Yorkers, the
Feast of San Gennaro is a highlight of the year, when the saint's
polychrome statue is carried through the streets and a blocks-long street fair ensues.
Scientific scrutiny
John Henry Cardinal Newman attested to the veracity of the miracle of liquefaction:
» I think it impossible to withstand the evidence which is brought for the liquefaction of the blood of St. Januarius at Naples and for the motion of the eyes in the pictures of the Madonna in the Papal States
St. Alphonsus Liguori wrote:
"The Neapolitans honor this saint as the principal patron of their city and nation, and the Lord himself has continued to honor him, by allowing many miracles to be wrought through his intercession, particularly when the frightful eruptions of Mount Vesuvius have threatened the city of Naples with utter destruction. While the relics of St. Januarius were being brought in procession towards this terrific volcano, the torrents of lava and liquid fire which it emitted have ceased, or turned their course from the city.
But the most stupendous miracle, and that which is greatly celebrated in the church, is the liquefying and boiling up of this blessed martyr's blood whenever the vials are brought in sight of his head. This miracle is renewed many times in the year, in presence of all who desire to witness it; yet some heretics have endeavored to throw a doubt upon its genuineness, by frivolous and incoherent explanations; but on one can deny the effect to be miraculous, unless he be prepared to question the evidence of his senses.
Some critics try to explain the miracle in secular thinking, by making a suggestion that the liquefaction miracle involves not blood but rather a
thixotropic gel, such as
hydrated iron oxide, or FeO(OH). In such a substance viscosity increases if left unstirred and decreases if stirred or moved.
Further Information
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