Januarius
Encyclopedia
Januarius, Bishop of Naples, is a martyr
saint
of the Roman Catholic
and the Eastern Orthodox Church
es. While no contemporary sources on his life are preserved, later sources and legends claim that he died during the Diocletianic Persecution, which ended with Diocletian's retirement in 305.
Januarius is the patron saint of Naples
, where the faithful gather three times a year in Naples Cathedral to witness the alleged liquefaction
of what is claimed to be a sample of his blood kept in a sealed glass ampoule
.
The earliest extant mention of him is contained in a 432 letter by Uranius, bishop of Nola, on the death of his mentor Saint Paulinus of Nola
, where it is stated that the ghosts of Januarius and Saint Martin
appeared to Paulinus three days before the latter's death in 431. About Januarius, the account says only that he was "bishop as well as martyr, an illustrious member of the Neapolitan church" The Acta Bononensia says that "At Pozzuoli in Campania [is honored the memory] of the holy martyrs Januarius, Bishop of Beneventum, Festus his deacon
, and Desiderius lector
, together with Sossius deacon of the church of Misenum, Proculus, deacon of Pozzuoli
, Eutyches and Acutius, who after chains and imprisonment were beheaded under the Emperor Diocletian
".
to a rich patrician family that traced its descent to the Caudini
tribe of the Samnites. At a young age of 15, he 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 Saint Sossius whom he met during his priestly studies. During the -year-long persecution of Christians by Emperor Diocletian, he hid his fellow Christians and prevented them from being caught. Unfortunately, while visiting Sossius in jail, he too was arrested. He and his colleagues were condemned to be thrown to wild bears in the Flavian Amphitheater
at Pozzuoli
, but the sentence was changed due to fear of public disturbances, and they were instead beheaded at the Solfatara
crater near Pozzuoli. Other legends state either that the wild beasts refused to eat them, or that he was thrown into a furnace but came out unscathed.
According to an early hagiography
, his relics were transferred by order of Saint Severus
, Bishop of Naples, to the Neapolitan catacombs
"extra moenia
," "outside the walls". In the early tenth century the body was moved to Beneventum by Sico, prince 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 it was rediscovered in 1480.
At the instigation of Cardinal Oliviero Carafa
, his body was finally transferred in 1497 to Naples
, where he is the city's patron saint
. Carafa commissioned a richly decorated crypt
, the Succorpo, beneath the cathedral to house the reunited body and head properly. The "Succorpo" was finished in 1506 and is considered one of the prominent monuments of the High Renaissance
in the city.
has more than fifty official patron saints
, although its principal patron is Saint Januarius.
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.
of the annual liquefaction of his blood
, which, according to legend, was saved by a woman called Eusebia
just after the saint's death. Thousands of people assemble to witness this event in Naples Cathedral 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).
The miracle is not a unique phenomenon to the extent that the city of Naples became known as urbs sanguinum. Other examples include Saint Patricia, blood said to belong to Saint John the Baptist
in the monastery of San Gregorio Armeno, and that of Saint Pantaleon
which liquifies in nearby Ravello
. The liquefication of coagulated blood is therefore peculiar to the region of Campania
and virtually unheard of elsewhere. The veneration of many of the blood cults have died out since the sixteenth century, but it may have been the Christian development of an earlier, local pagan ritual to protect the population from unexpected lava bursts flowing from Vesuvius. Disbelievers credit its invention to a medieval Neapolitan alchemist
s, held since the 17th century in a silver
reliquary
between two round glass plates about 12 cm wide. The smaller ampoule, of cylindrical shape, contains only a few reddish spots on its walls (the bulk having allegedly been removed and taken to Spain
by Charles III
). The larger ampoule, with capacity of about 60 ml and almond-shaped, is about 60% filled with a dark reddish substance. Separate reliquaries hold bone fragments believed to be of Saint Januarius.
For most of the time, the ampoules are kept in a bank vault, whose keys are held by a commission of local notables, including the Mayor
of Naples; while the bones are kept in a crypt
under the main altar of Naples Cathedral. On feast days, all these relics are taken in procession from the cathedral to the Monastery of Santa Chiara
, where the archbishop
holds the reliquary up and tilts it to show that the contents are solid, and places it on the high altar next to the saint's other relics. After intense prayers by the faithful, including the so-called "relatives of Saint Januarius" (parenti di San Gennaro), the content of the larger vial typically liquefies. The archbishop then holds up the vial and tilts it again to demonstrate that liquefaction has taken place. The announcement of the liquefaction is greeted with a 21-gun salute
at the 13th-century Castel Nuovo
. The ampoules remain exposed on the altar for eight days, while the priests move or turn them periodically to show that the contents remain liquid.
The liquefaction sometimes takes place almost immediately, but can take hours or even days.
A chronicle of Naples written in 1382 describes the cult of Saint Januarius in detail, but mentions neither the relic nor the miracle. The first recorded reference to the 'miracle of the blood' was in 1389.
Saint Alphonsus Liguori wrote regarding Saint Januarius:
John Henry Cardinal Newman also attested to the veracity of the miracle of liquefaction:
The Catholic Church does not permit the vials to be opened, for fear that doing so may cause irreparable damage. This makes close analysis difficult. Nevertheless, a spectroscopic analysis performed in 1902 by Gennaro Sperindeo and Raffaele Januario claimed that the spectrum was consistent with hemoglobin
. A later analysis, with similar conclusions, was carried out in 1989. However, the reliability of these observations has been questioned. While clotted blood can be liquefied by mechanical stirring; the resulting suspension cannot solidify again.
Measurements made in 1900 and 1904 claimed that the ampoules' weight increased by up to 28 grams during liquefaction. However, later measurements with a precision balance, performed over five years, failed to detect any variation.
Various suggestions for the content's composition have been advanced, such as a material that is photosensitive, hygroscopic, or has a low melting point. However, these explanations run into technical difficulties, such as the variability of the phenomenon and its being unrelated to ambient temperature.
A recent hypothesis by Garlaschelli, Ramaccini, and Della Sala is that the vial contains a thixotropic
gel
, he also explained on the Blood Miracle of Riddles of the Dead series on National Geographic Channel
. In such a substance viscosity increases if left unstirred and decreases if stirred or moved. Researchers have proposed specifically a suspension of hydrated iron oxide
, FeO(OH), which reproduces the color and behavior of the 'blood' in the ampoule. The suspension can be prepared from simple chemicals that would have been easily available locally since antiquity.
in the month of January 1882, Book Four of The Gay Science
by Friedrich Nietzsche
opens with a poem entitled 'Sanctus Januarius', meaning both Holy January and Saint Januarius. The dedication can be read in various ways, both as a reference to the symbolic importance of the saint as well as the particular month of January in Nietzsche's biography. Walter Kaufmann's footnote to the English translation of the passage underscores that the use of Sanctus Januarius is as a symbol for Nietzsche's restored intellectual and literary output after years of wandering across Europe. Thus, 'Sanctus Januarius' honors the miracular transformation of deadened life into liquid blood again, which is the leitmotif of the contents of the fourth book of the Gay Science that values becoming a 'Yes-sayer' to everything one is fated to.
Christian martyrs
A Christian martyr is one who is killed for following Christianity, through stoning, crucifixion, burning at the stake or other forms of torture and capital punishment. The word "martyr" comes from the Greek word μάρτυς, mártys, which means "witness."...
saint
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
of the Roman Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
and the Eastern Orthodox Church
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
es. While no contemporary sources on his life are preserved, later sources and legends claim that he died during the Diocletianic Persecution, which ended with Diocletian's retirement in 305.
Januarius is the patron saint of Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
, where the faithful gather three times a year in Naples Cathedral to witness the alleged liquefaction
Liquefaction
Liquefaction may refer to:* Liquefaction, the general process of becoming liquid* Soil liquefaction, the process by which sediments become suspended* Liquefaction of gases in physics, chemistry, and thermal engineering* Liquefactive necrosis in pathology...
of what is claimed to be a sample of his blood kept in a sealed glass ampoule
Ampoule
An ampoule is a small sealed vial which is used to contain and preserve a sample, usually a solid or liquid. Ampoules are commonly made of glass, although plastic ampoules do exist....
.
Biography
Little is known of the life of Januarius, and what follows is mostly derived from later Christian sources, such as the Acta Bononensia (BHL 4132, not earlier than 6th century) and the Acta Vaticana (BHL 4115, 9th century), and from later-developing folk tradition.The earliest extant mention of him is contained in a 432 letter by Uranius, bishop of Nola, on the death of his mentor Saint Paulinus of Nola
Paulinus of Nola
Saint Paulinus of Nola, also known as Pontificus Meropius Anicius Paulinus was a Roman senator who converted to a severe monasticism in 394...
, where it is stated that the ghosts of Januarius and Saint Martin
Martin of Tours
Martin of Tours was a Bishop of Tours whose shrine became a famous stopping-point for pilgrims on the road to Santiago de Compostela. Around his name much legendary material accrued, and he has become one of the most familiar and recognizable Christian saints...
appeared to Paulinus three days before the latter's death in 431. About Januarius, the account says only that he was "bishop as well as martyr, an illustrious member of the Neapolitan church" The Acta Bononensia says that "At Pozzuoli in Campania [is honored the memory] of the holy martyrs Januarius, Bishop of Beneventum, Festus his deacon
Deacon
Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...
, and Desiderius lector
Lector
Lector is a Latin term for one who reads, whether aloud or not. In modern languages the word has come to take various forms, as either a development or a loan, such as , , and . It has various specialized uses:...
, together with Sossius deacon of the church of Misenum, Proculus, deacon of Pozzuoli
Proculus of Pozzuoli
Saint Proculus of Pozzuoli was martyred around 305 AD, at the same time as Saint Januarius.He was martyred with:*Sossius or Sosius, deacon of Miseno *Festus, lector *Desiderius, lector *Acutius, layman *Eutyches , layman...
, Eutyches and Acutius, who after chains and imprisonment were beheaded under the Emperor Diocletian
Diocletian
Diocletian |latinized]] upon his accession to Diocletian . c. 22 December 244 – 3 December 311), was a Roman Emperor from 284 to 305....
".
Legends about his life and death
According to various Christian legends, Januarius was allegedly born in BeneventoBenevento
Benevento is a town and comune of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, 50 km northeast of Naples. It is situated on a hill 130 m above sea-level at the confluence of the Calore Irpino and Sabato...
to a rich patrician family that traced its descent to the Caudini
Caudini
The Caudini were a Samnite tribe that lived among the mountains ringing Campania and in the valleys of the Isclero and Volturnus rivers. Their capital was at Caudium, but it seems certain that the appellation was not confined to the citizens of Caudium and its immediate territory...
tribe of the Samnites. At a young age of 15, he 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
Juliana of Nicomedia
Saint Juliana of Nicomedia is said to have suffered Christian martyrdom during the Diocletian persecution in 304. She was popular in the Middle Ages, especially in the Netherlands, as the patron saint of sickness.-Historical background:...
and Saint Sossius whom he met during his priestly studies. During the -year-long persecution of Christians by Emperor Diocletian, he hid his fellow Christians and prevented them from being caught. Unfortunately, while visiting Sossius in jail, he too was arrested. He and his colleagues were condemned to be thrown to wild bears in the Flavian Amphitheater
Flavian Amphitheater (Pozzuoli)
The Flavian Amphitheater , located in Pozzuoli, is the third largest Roman amphitheater in Italy. Only the Roman Colosseum and the Capuan Amphitheater are larger. It was likely built by the same architects who previously constructed the Roman Colosseum...
at Pozzuoli
Pozzuoli
Pozzuoli is a city and comune of the province of Naples, in the Italian region of Campania. It is the main city of the Phlegrean peninsula.-History:Pozzuoli began as the Greek colony of Dicaearchia...
, but the sentence was changed due to fear of public disturbances, and they were instead beheaded at the Solfatara
Solfatara (volcano)
Solfatara is a shallow volcanic crater at Pozzuoli, near Naples, part of the Campi Flegrei volcanic area. It is a dormant volcano, which still emits jets of steam with sulphurous fumes. The name comes from the Latin, Sulpha terra, "land of sulphur", or "sulfur earth"...
crater near Pozzuoli. Other legends state either that the wild beasts refused to eat them, or that he was thrown into a furnace but came out unscathed.
Relics
Hagiography
Hagiography is the study of saints.From the Greek and , it refers literally to writings on the subject of such holy people, and specifically to the biographies of saints and ecclesiastical leaders. The term hagiology, the study of hagiography, is also current in English, though less common...
, his relics were transferred by order of Saint Severus
Severus of Naples
Saint Severus was a bishop of Naples during the 4th and 5th centuries. He is considered the twelfth bishop of Naples, succeeding Maximus. His episcopate ran from February 363 to April 29, 409, the traditional date of his death...
, Bishop of Naples, to the Neapolitan catacombs
Catacombs of San Gennaro
The Catacombs of San Gennaro are underground paleo-Christian burial sites in Naples, Italy. They are situated in the northern part of the city, on the slope leading up to Capodimonte...
"extra moenia
Extra moenia
Extra moenia is a Latin phrase that means outside the walls or outside the walls of the city.The phrase is commonly used in reference to the original attributes of a building, usually a church, where it was built outside the original city walls...
," "outside the walls". In the early tenth century the body was moved to Beneventum by Sico, prince of Benevento
Sico of Benevento
Sico was the Lombard Prince of Benevento from the 817 to his own death.-Life:Before becoming the Prince of Benevento, he had been the gastald of Acerenza. On the assassination of Grimoald IV, Sico succeeded to the princely throne...
, with the head remaining in Naples. Subsequently, during the turmoil at the time of Frederick Barbarossa
Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick I Barbarossa was a German Holy Roman Emperor. He was elected King of Germany at Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March, crowned King of Italy in Pavia in 1155, and finally crowned Roman Emperor by Pope Adrian IV, on 18 June 1155, and two years later in 1157 the term...
, his body was moved again, this time to the Abbey of Montevergine
Monte Vergine
The Benedictine Williamites, more often known by the name of its chief house, Territorial Abbey of Montevergine in central Italy, was a Catholic monastic order....
where it was rediscovered in 1480.
At the instigation of Cardinal Oliviero Carafa
Oliviero Carafa
Oliviero Carafa was an Italian cardinal and diplomat of the Renaissance. Like the majority of his era's prelates, he displayed the lavish and conspicuous standard of living that was expected of a prince of the Church...
, his body was finally transferred in 1497 to Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
, where he is the city's patron saint
Patron saint
A patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person...
. Carafa commissioned a richly decorated crypt
Crypt
In architecture, a crypt is a stone chamber or vault beneath the floor of a burial vault possibly containing sarcophagi, coffins or relics....
, the Succorpo, beneath the cathedral to house the reunited body and head properly. The "Succorpo" was finished in 1506 and is considered one of the prominent monuments of the High Renaissance
High Renaissance
The expression High Renaissance, in art history, is a periodizing convention used to denote the apogee of the visual arts in the Italian Renaissance...
in the city.
Celebrations
Saint Januarius' feast day is celebrated on September 19, in the calendar of the Catholic Church. In the Eastern Church it is celebrated on April 21. The city of NaplesNaples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
has more than fifty official patron saints
Patron saints of Naples
The city of Naples has more than 50 official patron saints, although its principal patron is Saint Januarius. Second in terms of importance is Saint Aspren , first bishop of Naples.-Co-patrons of Naples and date that the saint was named a patron:...
, although its principal patron is Saint Januarius.
For the Italian population of Little Italy, Manhattan
Little Italy, Manhattan
Little Italy is a neighborhood in lower Manhattan, New York City, once known for its large population of Italians. Today the neighborhood of Little Italy consists of Italian stores and restaurants.-Historical area:...
, and other New Yorkers, the Feast of San Gennaro
Feast of San Gennaro
The Feast of San Gennaro, originally a one-day religious commemoration, began in September 1926 when newly arrived immigrants from Naples congregated along Mulberry Street in the Little Italy section of New York City, to continue the tradition they had followed in Italy to celebrate San Gennaro as...
is a highlight of the year, when the saint's polychrome
Polychrome
Polychrome is one of the terms used to describe the use of multiple colors in one entity. It has also been defined as "The practice of decorating architectural elements, sculpture, etc., in a variety of colors." Polychromatic light is composed of a number of different wavelengths...
statue is carried through the streets and a blocks-long street fair ensues.
The Blood Miracle
Saint Januarius is famous for the reputed miracleMiracle
A miracle often denotes an event attributed to divine intervention. Alternatively, it may be an event attributed to a miracle worker, saint, or religious leader. A miracle is sometimes thought of as a perceptible interruption of the laws of nature. Others suggest that a god may work with the laws...
of the annual liquefaction of his blood
Blood
Blood is a specialized bodily fluid in animals that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells....
, which, according to legend, was saved by a woman called Eusebia
Eusebia
Eusebia may refer to:* Eusebia , second wife of the Roman emperor Constantius II* Ereleuva or Eusebia , the mother of Theoderic the Great* Kayseri or Eusebia, a Turkish city* St...
just after the saint's death. Thousands of people assemble to witness this event in Naples Cathedral 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).
The miracle is not a unique phenomenon to the extent that the city of Naples became known as urbs sanguinum. Other examples include Saint Patricia, blood said to belong to Saint John the Baptist
John the Baptist
John the Baptist was an itinerant preacher and a major religious figure mentioned in the Canonical gospels. He is described in the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus, who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River...
in the monastery of San Gregorio Armeno, and that of Saint Pantaleon
Saint Pantaleon
Saint Pantaleon , counted in the West among the late-medieval Fourteen Holy Helpers and in the East as one of the Holy Unmercenary Healers, was a martyr of Nicomedia in Bithynia during the Diocletian persecution of 303 AD...
which liquifies in nearby Ravello
Ravello
Ravello is a town and comune situated above the Amalfi Coast in the province of Salerno, Campania, southern Italy, with has approximately 2,500 inhabitants. It is a popular tourist destination.-History:...
. The liquefication of coagulated blood is therefore peculiar to the region of Campania
Campania
Campania is a region in southern Italy. The region has a population of around 5.8 million people, making it the second-most-populous region of Italy; its total area of 13,590 km² makes it the most densely populated region in the country...
and virtually unheard of elsewhere. The veneration of many of the blood cults have died out since the sixteenth century, but it may have been the Christian development of an earlier, local pagan ritual to protect the population from unexpected lava bursts flowing from Vesuvius. Disbelievers credit its invention to a medieval Neapolitan alchemist
Alchemist
An alchemist is a person who practices alchemy. Alchemist may also refer to:-People and groups:*The Alchemist , a hip hop music producer and rapper*Alchemist , an Australian progressive metal band...
Description of the ritual
The dried blood is stored in two hermetically sealed small ampouleAmpoule
An ampoule is a small sealed vial which is used to contain and preserve a sample, usually a solid or liquid. Ampoules are commonly made of glass, although plastic ampoules do exist....
s, held since the 17th century in a silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
reliquary
Reliquary
A reliquary is a container for relics. These may be the physical remains of saints, such as bones, pieces of clothing, or some object associated with saints or other religious figures...
between two round glass plates about 12 cm wide. The smaller ampoule, of cylindrical shape, contains only a few reddish spots on its walls (the bulk having allegedly been removed and taken to Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
by Charles III
Charles III of Spain
Charles III was the King of Spain and the Spanish Indies from 1759 to 1788. He was the eldest son of Philip V of Spain and his second wife, the Princess Elisabeth Farnese...
). The larger ampoule, with capacity of about 60 ml and almond-shaped, is about 60% filled with a dark reddish substance. Separate reliquaries hold bone fragments believed to be of Saint Januarius.
For most of the time, the ampoules are kept in a bank vault, whose keys are held by a commission of local notables, including the Mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Naples; while the bones are kept in a crypt
Crypt
In architecture, a crypt is a stone chamber or vault beneath the floor of a burial vault possibly containing sarcophagi, coffins or relics....
under the main altar of Naples Cathedral. On feast days, all these relics are taken in procession from the cathedral to the Monastery of Santa Chiara
Santa Chiara (Naples)
Santa Chiara is a religious complex in Naples, southern Italy, that includes the Church of Santa Chiara, a monastery, tombs and an archeological museum.-Architecture:...
, where the archbishop
Archbishop
An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
holds the reliquary up and tilts it to show that the contents are solid, and places it on the high altar next to the saint's other relics. After intense prayers by the faithful, including the so-called "relatives of Saint Januarius" (parenti di San Gennaro), the content of the larger vial typically liquefies. The archbishop then holds up the vial and tilts it again to demonstrate that liquefaction has taken place. The announcement of the liquefaction is greeted with a 21-gun salute
21-gun salute
Gun salutes are the firing of cannons or firearms as a military or naval honor.The custom stems from naval tradition, where a warship would fire its cannons harmlessly out to sea, until all ammunition was spent, to show that it was disarmed, signifying the lack of hostile intent...
at the 13th-century Castel Nuovo
Castel Nuovo
Castel Nuovo , often called Maschio Angioino, is a medieval castle in the city of Naples, southern Italy. It is the main symbol of the architecture of the city...
. The ampoules remain exposed on the altar for eight days, while the priests move or turn them periodically to show that the contents remain liquid.
The liquefaction sometimes takes place almost immediately, but can take hours or even days.
A chronicle of Naples written in 1382 describes the cult of Saint Januarius in detail, but mentions neither the relic nor the miracle. The first recorded reference to the 'miracle of the blood' was in 1389.
Catholic Church's position
While the Catholic Church has always supported the celebrations, it has never formulated an official statement on the phenomenon, and maintains a neutral stance about scientific investigations.Saint Alphonsus Liguori wrote regarding Saint Januarius:
"The NeapolitansNaplesNaples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
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 VesuviusMount VesuviusMount Vesuvius is a stratovolcano in the Gulf of Naples, Italy, about east of Naples and a short distance from the shore. It is the only volcano on the European mainland to have erupted within the last hundred years, although it is not currently erupting...
have threatened the city of NaplesNaplesNaples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province 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 no one can deny the effect to be miraculous, unless he be prepared to question the evidence of his senses."
John Henry Cardinal Newman also 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."
Scientific studies and other theories
Believers continue to insist on the reality of the phenomenon based on their faith, insisting that the annual event is a miraculous one. However, this has not stopped scientists from trying to develop theories to explain the liquification using modern scientific methods.The Catholic Church does not permit the vials to be opened, for fear that doing so may cause irreparable damage. This makes close analysis difficult. Nevertheless, a spectroscopic analysis performed in 1902 by Gennaro Sperindeo and Raffaele Januario claimed that the spectrum was consistent with hemoglobin
Hemoglobin
Hemoglobin is the iron-containing oxygen-transport metalloprotein in the red blood cells of all vertebrates, with the exception of the fish family Channichthyidae, as well as the tissues of some invertebrates...
. A later analysis, with similar conclusions, was carried out in 1989. However, the reliability of these observations has been questioned. While clotted blood can be liquefied by mechanical stirring; the resulting suspension cannot solidify again.
Measurements made in 1900 and 1904 claimed that the ampoules' weight increased by up to 28 grams during liquefaction. However, later measurements with a precision balance, performed over five years, failed to detect any variation.
Various suggestions for the content's composition have been advanced, such as a material that is photosensitive, hygroscopic, or has a low melting point. However, these explanations run into technical difficulties, such as the variability of the phenomenon and its being unrelated to ambient temperature.
A recent hypothesis by Garlaschelli, Ramaccini, and Della Sala is that the vial contains a thixotropic
Thixotropy
Thixotropy is the property of certain gels or fluids that are thick under normal conditions, but flow over time when shaken, agitated, or otherwise stressed...
gel
Gel
A gel is a solid, jelly-like material that can have properties ranging from soft and weak to hard and tough. Gels are defined as a substantially dilute cross-linked system, which exhibits no flow when in the steady-state...
, he also explained on the Blood Miracle of Riddles of the Dead series on National Geographic Channel
National Geographic Channel
National Geographic Channel, also commercially abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo, is a subscription television channel that airs non-fiction television programs produced by the National Geographic Society. Like History and the Discovery Channel, the channel features documentaries with factual...
. In such a substance viscosity increases if left unstirred and decreases if stirred or moved. Researchers have proposed specifically a suspension of hydrated iron oxide
Iron(III) oxide-hydroxide
A number of species are dubbed iron oxide-hydroxide. These chemicals are oxide-hydroxides of iron, and may occur in anhydrous or hydrated forms...
, FeO(OH), which reproduces the color and behavior of the 'blood' in the ampoule. The suspension can be prepared from simple chemicals that would have been easily available locally since antiquity.
Friedrich Nietzsche
Written in GenoaGenoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
in the month of January 1882, Book Four of The Gay Science
The Gay Science
The Gay Science is a book written by Friedrich Nietzsche, first published in 1882 and followed by a second edition, which was published after the completion of Thus Spoke Zarathustra and Beyond Good and Evil, in 1887. This substantial expansion includes a fifth book and an appendix of songs...
by Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a 19th-century German philosopher, poet, composer and classical philologist...
opens with a poem entitled 'Sanctus Januarius', meaning both Holy January and Saint Januarius. The dedication can be read in various ways, both as a reference to the symbolic importance of the saint as well as the particular month of January in Nietzsche's biography. Walter Kaufmann's footnote to the English translation of the passage underscores that the use of Sanctus Januarius is as a symbol for Nietzsche's restored intellectual and literary output after years of wandering across Europe. Thus, 'Sanctus Januarius' honors the miracular transformation of deadened life into liquid blood again, which is the leitmotif of the contents of the fourth book of the Gay Science that values becoming a 'Yes-sayer' to everything one is fated to.
See also
- Feast of San GennaroFeast of San GennaroThe Feast of San Gennaro, originally a one-day religious commemoration, began in September 1926 when newly arrived immigrants from Naples congregated along Mulberry Street in the Little Italy section of New York City, to continue the tradition they had followed in Italy to celebrate San Gennaro as...
, as held annually in New York, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas - Order of St. JanuariusOrder of St. JanuariusThe Illustrious Royal Order of Saint Januarius is an order of knighthood bestowed by the head of the Royal House of Bourbon of the Two Sicilies...
External links
- CICAP: "The Blood of St. Januarius"
- San Gennaro
- New York's Feast of San Gennaro
- The Blood Still Boils by Doug SkinnerDoug Skinner-Music:Skinner has written music for many dance companies, including and . He has often written for the theater: in particular, he has had a long association with the actor/clown Bill Irwin; he wrote and performed the music for Irwin's Murdoch , The Regard of Flight , The Courtroom , The Clown...
, Fate, July 2006 - The Skeptic's Dictionary entry on Januarius