According to tradition, an ampoule of blood is kept in Naples, taken from the body of the patron saint of the city, Saint Januario, after his martyrdom.
Three times a year, the so-called “miracle” occurs, which consists in the thinning of blood, passing from a solid to a liquid state: on the Saturday preceding the first Sunday in May, September 19 – the day of St. Januario. – and December 16. The first mention of this phenomenon dates back to 1389.
The ampoule under consideration has a compartment with two glasses, and between them two containers: the smaller one is practically empty, with several dark spots; the larger one is half filled with a solid dark red substance.
When moving away from the place where it is naked, the Archbishop of Naples shakes the ampoule, and after a while, the so-called liquefaction of the blood of Saint Januario takes place in the larger flask – but not always. Therefore, when this happens, it is a good sign.
On the contrary, when the blood does not melt, people think that something bad is happening. In history some dates without dilution, giving strength to believers: in 1939, when World War II broke out; in 1973, when Naples was hit by a cholera epidemic, in 1980, when there was a massive earthquake in Irpinia, and in December 2020, when the novel coronavirus pandemic continued.
But this sundayOn September 19 at 10:00 in the Cathedral of Naples, the expected words sounded: “The blood melted.” On video at the celebration, you can see this moment, accompanied by applause.
In a sermon for the celebration, Bishop Domenico Battaglia mentioned the feat. “The blood, whether it melts or remains in its firm holiness, is always and only a sign of the blood of Christ, shed out of love and mixed with the blood of all those who throughout the centuries gave their lives to testify of love. Christ, the Lord, the power of the gospel and demands justice and peace flowing from it. “
As for the justification for the phenomenon of liquefaction, he wrote Vatican News in 2018, that this may be due to a thixotropy situation, that is, with the moment when the viscosity of some liquids decreases due to agitation – as happens, for example, with ink in some pens.
It should also be noted that there is an ingredient in the Naples region that would have made a substance with these characteristics possible since the Middle Ages: the mineral molisite, found on the slopes of Vesuvius. Hence, such use could explain several liquefaction phenomena that are part of the Neapolitan tradition.
However, there are cases when the blood of San Januariu has already been melted before shaking, which makes it difficult to analyze the phenomenon without in-depth scientific study of the contents of the ampoule. However, those in charge of the relic never allowed this.
