Saint Januarius

Bishop and Martyr
(died c. 305)

Saint Januarius, known in Italian as San Gennaro, is the patron saint of Naples and one of the most celebrated martyrs of the early Church in southern Italy. He was Bishop of Benevento and suffered martyrdom during the persecution of Diocletian around the year 305. The details of his martyrdom, as recorded in his Acts, include his being thrown to wild beasts in the amphitheatre at Pozzuoli, where the animals refused to harm him, and his subsequent beheading.

He is venerated above all for the famous miracle of the liquefaction of his blood, which is one of the most widely known and most debated miraculous phenomena in the Catholic world. Vials said to contain his dried blood, preserved in a silver reliquary in the Cathedral of Naples, are reported to liquefy when exposed to the faithful on his feast day and on two other occasions each year. This phenomenon, which has been reported consistently since at least the fourteenth century, draws enormous crowds to the cathedral, and its failure to occur is traditionally regarded as an omen of disaster for the city.

The miracle has been the subject of scientific study without definitive natural explanation. The liquefaction occurs in an unpredictable time frame, sometimes quickly and sometimes slowly, and the blood is reported to change in volume and colour as well as consistency. Whatever its ultimate explanation, the phenomenon has sustained the faith and devotion of the Neapolitan people for centuries and has made Saint Januarius one of the most beloved figures in the popular Catholicism of southern Italy.

He is the patron of Naples, of blood banks, and of those who work in the proximity of volcanic eruptions, Mount Vesuvius looming over the city he protects. His feast is celebrated on September 19th.